Effects of framing on teratogenic risk perception in pregnant women

We examined the effects of information presentation (framing) on women's pe rception of fetal risk, and their Intention to use a safe drug during pregn ancy. Half the women received negatively-framed information (1-3% chance of having a malformed child), the other half received positively-framed infor mation (97-99% chance of having a normal child). Women In the negative grou p had a significantly higher perception of teratogenic risk (14.9%) than th ose in the positive group (8.3%), p=0.0484, and were less likely to want to take the drug. These findings suggest that health professionals and policy makers need to carefully consider how information is best presented.