Down Syndrome: what do pregnant women know about their individual risk? A prospective trial

Introduction Down Syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality causing intellectual disability in western countries. The incidence relates directly to maternal age. Mothers have to face two risks when prenatal diagnosis is concerned: the probability of a congenital aneuploidy in their fetus, on the one hand, and the procedure-related risk of an invasive prenatal intervention, on the other hand. Women need precise information to deal with these risks. The aim of the study was to evaluate women’s knowledge about the individual risk of their fetus being affected by Down Syndrome. Materials and methods A structured questionnaire was distributed among all pregnant women who visited the prenatal care unit at Munich University Hospital, Campus Großhadern. Data evaluation was performed using Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 12.0 for Windows. Statistical analysis was achieved by applying the Student t test, with statistical significance defined as p