Weighing the risks and the benefits: a call for the empirical assessment of perceived teratogenic risk.

Pregnant women are often faced with complex decisions about whether to undergo medical treatment or continue working in an occupational setting that is permeated with hazardous chemicals. The task for these women is to weigh the benefits of these activities against the potential risks that they may have on the developing embryo. Scientific uncertainty with respect to the teratogenicity of drugs and chemicals in humans leaves health care professionals and their pregnant patients with little predictive information. Cognitive research has shown that it is difficult for people to make complex decisions, particularly when the risks are uncertain. Although the problems inherent in counseling pregnant women regarding teratogenic risk are not new, little time has been devoted to the empiric assessment of how people perceive teratogenic risk and how teratogenic risk information can be best communicated. This article explores the variables that have been found, through psychometric research, to influence people's perception of risk and how cognitive models derived from these studies may be applicable to teratogen information counseling. Understanding the variables that shape the perception of teratogenic risk can help health care professionals improve how they communicate these risks to their patients. Improved teratogenic risk communication will result in better management of pregnancies and reduction of costly litigation that ensues when risks are not properly communicated and understood.