Genetic Counseling for Couples Seeking Noninvasive Prenatal Testing in Japan: Experiences of Pregnant Women and their Partners.
The recent advent of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has had a significant impact in the field of prenatal testing. Although reports on pregnant women who used NIPT have accumulated, little is known about the experiences of their male partners. In this study, we assessed the experiences of couples who were expecting a child and undergoing NIPT, with a focus on both the pregnant women and their partners. Questionnaires were administered to 282 participants focusing on their specific experiences at three time points: after pre-test counseling (first visit), when undergoing NIPT (second visit), and when results were received (third visit). Responses were analyzed to assess the differences between pregnant women and their partners. We found that more partners selected "family" as their first information source about NIPT and "my partner" as the first person to request NIPT than did pregnant women (35.6 vs. 5.9 %; p < 0.001 and 19.3 vs.1.5 %; p < 0.001). However, pregnant women more often consulted others including family and friends until undergoing NIPT than their partners (89.1 vs. 54.6 %; p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that it is important to encourage male partners to be actively involved in the NIPT decision-making process. Differences between pregnant women and their partners should be seriously considered when providing genetic counseling.
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.|Department of Genetic Counseling, Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
Motoko
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6779-7059
M
Watanabe
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.
Mari
M
Matsuo
Maternal and Perinatal Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan.
Masaki
M
Ogawa
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.
Toshitaka
T
Uchiyama
Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan.
Satoru
S
Shimizu
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.|Diabetes Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan.
Naoko
N
Iwasaki
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.
Akemi
A
Yamauchi
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan.
Mari
M
Urano
Department of Genetic Counseling, Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan.
Hironao
H
Numabe
Institute of Medical Genetics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 10-22 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan. saito.kayoko@twmu.ac.jp.
Kayoko
K
Saito
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D018454:Spouses
Couples; Decision-making; Genetic counseling; NIPT; Partners; Pregnant women; Prenatal testing