Attitude toward Prenatal Testing and Termination of Pregnancy among Health Professionals and Medical Students in Saudi Arabia

J Pediatr Genet. 2017 Sep;6(3):149-154. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1600131. Epub 2017 Mar 16.

Abstract

This study was aimed at assessing the attitude of health care professionals in Jeddah city toward prenatal diagnosis (PND) and termination of pregnancy (TOP). A cross-sectional study was conducted, and the participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. Approximately 82% of participants showed a consistent trend of accepting PND when appropriate, and 47.5% of the respondents were in favor of TOP if the fetus had a severe disease. Compared with men (69.3%), a significantly greater number of women (88%) accepted to have PND. The most acceptable prenatal diagnostic tests in the study were invasive techniques as most of the participants thought that noninvasive tests were nonspecific.

Keywords: invasive procedures; noninvasive procedures; prenatal diagnosis; termination of pregnancy.