2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Social and Cultural Factors of Making Decisions regarding Prenatal Testing
| Project/Area Number |
14594023
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
ジェンダー
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Meiji Gakuin University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
KATO Shuichi Meiji Gakuin University, Department of Sociology, Professor, 社会学部, 教授 (00247149)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TSUGE Azumi Meiji Gakuin University, Department of Sociology, Professor, 社会学部, 教授 (90179987)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2004
|
| Keywords | Pregnancy / Prenatal Testing / Ultrasound Test / Maternal-serum Screening Test / Amniocentesis / New Reproductive Technologies / Questionnaire / Semi-structured Interview |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
We conducted a questionnaire survey and interviews to exam the reality of prenatal testing and women's decision-making process regarding testing. Nine hundred questionnaires were distributed in Tokyo, of which 382 were retrieved and 375 valid responses were analyzed. We then interviewed 26 women to understand each questionnaire response in detail, particularly the decision-making process regarding prenatal testing and how their relationships with partners, physicians and others influenced those decisions. The results were as follows :
1)All of the women underwent ultrasound testing more than once. They saw the test as a chance to "meet" their fetuses, so the tests relieved their pregnancy-related worries. It also made not only the women but also their male partners conscious of being parents. But, in the case of receiving bad news, such as a tentative breech presentation or slightly delayed development, the women worried more. 2)Concerning the maternal serum screening and amniocentesis, women who underwent these tests sufficiently understood the purposes, risks, and meaning of the results and said they made the decision by themselves. Women who did not undergo these tests and who lacked information about the testing said that they did not choose the testing because of their good health and younger age. Some said they could rear a disabled child and/or they did not want to have an abortion even in such a case. But many explained that they didn't want to be faced with a hard choice so they didn't undergo testing. Furthermore, these women tended to answer that since their doctors did not provide them with the information, they assumed they did not need to be tested.
|
