Background of couples undergoing non‐invasive prenatal testing in Japan

Abstract

Knowing the specific backgrounds of couples who have undergone NIPT may be important for improving the quality of genetic counseling for NIPT.

Performance and outcomes of noninvasive prenatal testing for twin pregnancies in Japan

“…If the results of NIPT are negative for a twin pregnancy, the pregnant woman and her family are likely to relieved. We previously reported that women who undergo NIPT tend to have high levels of mental distress, because of the higher proportions of women with an advanced maternal age and women using ART . Additional studies examining the use of NIPT for twin pregnancies should be conducted, because the risk of miscarriage as a result of prenatal testing is higher for twin pregnancies than for singleton pregnancies.…”

Pregnant women's preferences for prenatal genetic testing: A single‐center study in Japan

“…Third, the proportion of pregnant women with ART at our center (33.9%) was higher than the national average (5.5%) 12,13 . It was reported that pregnant women who received reproductive assistance preferred to undergo prenatal GT 14 …”

Psychological distress in post‐partum women after non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in Japan

“…Pregnant Japanese women reportedly have positive attitudes toward NIPT, and the demand for genetic counseling for pregnant women undergoing NIPT is expected to increase in the near future. Pregnant women in this study who underwent NIPT tended to have greater age differences from their spouse and had conceived via ART . It is important to identify pregnant women with a high risk of depression during pregnancy and genetic counseling for NIPT may assist women with depressive symptoms.…”

“…Pregnant women in this study who underwent NIPT tended to have greater age differences from their spouse and had conceived via ART. 22 It is important to identify pregnant women with a high risk of depression during pregnancy and genetic counseling for NIPT may assist women with depressive symptoms. Although women may not feel mental stress before undergoing NIPT, they may develop mental distress post-partum.…”

“…We previously reported that pregnant women with high pre-NIPT scores for depression tended to defer the decision to undergo NIPT by their partners; 13 however, no association between decision-makers wishing to undergo NIPT and an age difference between partners was observed. 22 Further investigation is needed to clarify the association between postpartum mental distress and marital relationships. All of the women in our study population had negative NIPT findings.…”