Reassurance through prenatal diagnosis and willingness to bear children after age 35.

This study reports on a survey of 2,209 women age 25-45; most were married. Respondents were asked about their reproductive plans and whether prenatal reassurance might influence their reproductive intentions. For almost two-thirds of the age 35-45 respondents, either the woman or her husband had already chosen sterilization; of those able to bear children, but with uncertain plans, 25 per cent of 35-39 year olds and 12.8 per cent of 40-45 year olds indicated an increased willingness to have children if they were reassured that their baby had none of the birth defects detectable by amniocentesis.