Chorionic villous sampling: differences in patients' perspectives according to indication, ethnic group and religion.
BACKGROUND
The decision to undergo prenatal testing may be influenced by ethnic or religious factors.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate factors that might influence the decision of pregnant women to choose chorionic villous sampling for prenatal testing.


METHODS
The study group comprised 239 women referred for prenatal diagnosis who elected to undergo CVS. The data were analyzed according to indication, ethnic group and religion.


RESULTS
Among women undergoing CVS because of advanced maternal age and anxiety, we noted a significantly high proportion of unbalanced families, i.e., with three or more children of the same gender and deviated gender ratio. We found a significant excess of males among the Jewish families and a significant excess of females among the non-Jewish families. Jews were over-represented in the monogenic group while Christian Arabs were over-represented in the maternal age/anxiety group.


CONCLUSIONS
The proportion of women who chose CVS for prenatal diagnosis varied according to indication, ethnic group and religion. The data in this study indicate that CVS may have been utilized for balancing families with > or = 3 or more children of the same sex. Christian Arabs chose CVS more often than the other groups. Jewish women may have utilized CVS for family balancing of both sexes, while non-Jews may have utilized CVS for balancing families with > or = 3 daughters.
Dar
Hanna
H
Simon Winter Institute for Human Genetics, Bnei-Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Zuck
Chedva
C
Friedman
Svetlana
S
Merkshamer
Ruth
R
Gonen
Ron
R
D015193:Chorionic Villi Sampling / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003657:Decision Making; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012067:Religion