Amniocentesis in the context of infertility.

The encounter with amniocentesis compels infertile couples to experience again the mix of adversity, uncertainty, and hope characterizing both infertility and prenatal testing. Findings from open-ended interviews of 38 couples, 25 infertile and 13 fertile, participating in an ongoing longitudinal field study of infertile childbearing and adopting couples suggest that amniocentesis both reprises elements of the infertility experience and interrupts elements of the pregnancy experience.