Awareness and acceptability of screening for down syndrome in women attending the antenatal clinic at kle’s dr. Prabhakar kore hospital & mrc, belgaum

Abstract

Down syndrome is the leading genetic cause of intellectual disability. Prenatal screening is now an established part of routine antenatal care in developed countries. It not only gives the parents the chance to prepare psychologically, socially, financially and medically for a baby with a disability but also gives the couple the chance to abort a foetus with the diagnosed condition. In India, unlike the western world, prenatal diagnosis had not yet gained the level of awareness and acceptance that it should have and this study was designed to evaluate the awareness in women regarding prenatal screening for Down Syndrome and to promote its acceptance in them. METHODOLOGY This one year prospective descriptional study was conducted in the Antenatal Clinic at KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Belgaum during the period of September 2014 to August 2015. A total of 502 pregnant women under 23 weeks period of gestation were recruited for the study and data was obtained through a questionnaire regarding their knowledge about the screening techniques for Down Syndrome. The women were then extensively counselled regarding the different methods and timings of screening for Down syndrome, and were offered a screening test according to their period of gestation. The acceptance and attitude of the women towards the offered test was analyzed. RESULTS Majority of the study population (93%) had no prior knowledge about the screening methods for down syndrome. Acceptance was maximum for NT scan (99%), and lesser for biochemical markers (94% for dual markers and 63% for quadruple markers). Over all acceptance was 76% and the acceptability rate was 76.09%. Majority of the study population (43%) cited non affordability as the reason for declining the offered test. Majority of the pregnant women (88%) had a positive attitude towards prenatal screening. CONCLUSION There is a lack of awareness regarding Down syndrome screening among women especially regarding various tests and their availability. There is a need for a systematic informing, counseling and guiding pregnant women about the availability, implications and limitations of the screening tests. Implementation of a standardized and comprehensive policy which makes prenatal screening a routine part of antenatal care can play a key role in easing the substantial economic burden incurred by families as a result of caring for a child with disabilities.