Pregnant women's attitudes for accepting or declining a serum-alpha-fetoprotein test.

This study analyzes attitudes which influence women in their decisions to accept or decline a serum-Alpha-FetoProtein (se-AFP) test. The survey covers all women who have visited antenatal clinics offering the se-AFP test in a given area during a specified period. All in all, the pregnant women answered four questionnaires: three before and one after delivery. 19% of the women declined the se-AFP test. During pregnancy, the women who did not take the se-AFP test said that the reason was anxiety about the results of the test. Many of the women who took the test said that they wanted assurance that the child was healthy. This entails obvious ethical problems when the test is positive. The test-routine does not have a major influence in the decision-making process. A change in routines to shorten the waiting time, and a different cut-off line might influence some of the declining women to accept the test.