title: Termination of pregnancy: attitudes and behavior of women in a traditional society.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Bedouin Arabs, a Muslim traditional ethnic minority in Israel, are faced with difficult choices when offered prenatal diagnosis as part of the universally provided prenatal care in Israel. This paper is to examine attitudes towards and practice of pregnancy termination, following an unfavorable prenatal diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semistructured interviews with 83 women were conducted to study attitudes. Data from the Soroka Medical Center, where all births in the area take place, were used to assess the rate of terminations of pregnancies following a diagnosis of a chromosomal anomaly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While divided on the question of termination, many women believed that a second medical opinion is needed, preferably from an Arab physician. The reasons for termination are both child- and mother-related. Opposing termination is based on both the suspicion that the diagnosis might be wrong and on religious reasons. Between 1995 and 1999, 686 Bedouin women had undergone amniocentesis (2.4% of all pregnancies). Six of 11 pregnancies with the diagnosis of a trisomy were terminated (54.5%). All cases in which a trisomy was terminated were trisomy 21.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Culturally acceptable prenatal diagnostic services for Muslim populations should be based on early testing, and should involve Muslim physicians and religious authorities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. vilana@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shoham-Vardi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weitzman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levcovich
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000649:Amniocentesis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018912:Arabs / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology*; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D014314:Trisomy / Q000175:diagnosis*