ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into the motives and experiences of women who had decided to continue with the pregnancy after Down's syndrome had been diagnosed in the foetus. DESIGN: In-depth interviews. METHOD: In ten women who had decided to continue her pregnancy after Down's syndrome had been diagnosed in the foetus, qualitative in-depth interviews were held. Four women were pregnant at the time of the interview, the other six were parent of a Down's syndrome child already. One of the women was in her first pregnancy, the other nine had been pregnant once or several times. Four women had problems in their history (subfertility, miscarriage, in-vitro fertilisation). RESULTS: Many pregnant women were confronted with an increased risk as the result of maternal serum testing or nuchal translucency. They hoped to reduce the uncertainty which had arisen by submitting to an amniocentesis or a chorionic villus sampling. The result of this diagnostic test put those concerned in the position of having to make a difficult decision. They had to make the choice between having to bring up a child with intellectual limitations or allowing the termination of an already well-advanced pregnancy. For the ten respondents, the latter proved to be unacceptable. Initially, little understanding was shown for the parent's decision by some social and medical workers; however, sufficient help and support were usually given. The respondents received a lot of support from members of their family, friends and acquaintances, but there were also negative and disapproving reactions. Only one woman regretted the examination. CONCLUSION: As the technological possibilities for determining individual risks during pregnancy increase, it will occur more often that women hesitate to have their pregnancy terminated after diagnostic testing has identified Down's syndrome. Whatever decision is made, those involved should be treated with understanding.