BACKGROUND: The decision to undergo prenatal testing may be influenced by ethnic or religious factors. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate factors that might influence the decision of pregnant women to choose chorionic villous sampling for prenatal testing. METHODS: The study group comprised 239 women referred for prenatal diagnosis who elected to undergo CVS. The data were analyzed according to indication, ethnic group and religion. RESULTS: Among women undergoing CVS because of advanced maternal age and anxiety, we noted a significantly high proportion of unbalanced families, i.e., with three or more children of the same gender and deviated gender ratio. We found a significant excess of males among the Jewish families and a significant excess of females among the non-Jewish families. Jews were over-represented in the monogenic group while Christian Arabs were over-represented in the maternal age/anxiety group. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of women who chose CVS for prenatal diagnosis varied according to indication, ethnic group and religion. The data in this study indicate that CVS may have been utilized for balancing families with > or = 3 or more children of the same sex. Christian Arabs chose CVS more often than the other groups. Jewish women may have utilized CVS for family balancing of both sexes, while non-Jews may have utilized CVS for balancing families with > or = 3 daughters.
BACKGROUND: The decision to undergo prenatal testing may be influenced by ethnic or religious factors. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate factors that might influence the decision of pregnant women to choose chorionic villous sampling for prenatal testing. METHODS: The study group comprised 239 women referred for prenatal diagnosis who elected to undergo CVS. The data were analyzed according to indication, ethnic group and religion. RESULTS: Among women undergoing CVS because of advanced maternal age and anxiety, we noted a significantly high proportion of unbalanced families, i.e., with three or more children of the same gender and deviated gender ratio. We found a significant excess of males among the Jewish families and a significant excess of females among the non-Jewish families. Jews were over-represented in the monogenic group while Christian Arabs were over-represented in the maternal age/anxiety group. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of women who chose CVS for prenatal diagnosis varied according to indication, ethnic group and religion. The data in this study indicate that CVS may have been utilized for balancing families with > or = 3 or more children of the same sex. Christian Arabs chose CVS more often than the other groups. Jewish women may have utilized CVS for family balancing of both sexes, while non-Jews may have utilized CVS for balancing families with > or = 3 daughters.