Table 3.
The reasons for having/not having amniocentesis: presented in descending order of popularity (from top to bottom). The reasons were inferred during the interview not as a multiple‐choice or menu‐itemed question
| Age group | AMA | AMA | Young | Young | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amniocentesis (number of interviewsa) | Had amniocentesis (24) | Did not have amniocentesis (4) | Had amniocentesis (2) | Did not have amniocentesis (22) | |
| Ageb | 21c | 6 | 27 | ||
| Procedure risk | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 | |
| Doctor's recommendationb | 7 | 1 | 9 | 17 | |
| Normal statistical risk estimate | 4 | 11 | 15 | ||
| Certainty that foetus is normal | 8 | 2 | 10 | ||
| Previous amnio | 8 | 8 | |||
| Government funding | 4 | 4 | |||
| Previous children/healthy family | 4 | 4 | |||
| Abnormal child is worse than miscarriage | 3 | 3 | |||
| Family/friends | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Amnio detects other abnormalities except DS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Having control | 2 | 2 | |||
| Had exposure to DSd | 2 | 2 | |||
| May not terminate a DS pregnancy | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Fear of needles | 1 | 1 |
AMA, advanced maternal age; DS, Down syndrome.
a
Based on the 52 fully transcribed interviews only.
b
‘Age’ and ‘doctor's recommendation’ were mentioned by AMA women as a reason to have amniocentesis and by Young women as a reason not to have the procedure.
c
Among the 21 AMA women who mentioned age as a reason for amniocentesis, 14 were asked what that risk was. Only five of them (36%) could accurately quote that risk.
d
Had exposure to information about families with Down syndrome.