Medical care aspects of the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities

Abstract

9% of mothers aged 35–39 and 20% of mothers aged 40 and over who had a livebirth or stillbirth in Sheffield in 1974/75 were screened prenatally for a chromosomal anomaly. 33 and 41% of mothers aged 35–39 and 40+ respectively arrived for their first hospital antenatal check too late for an amniocentesis to be carried out for chromosomal analysis. Late hospital antenatal attendance was significantly related to high parity and a mother's country of origin being outside the British Isles. There was no significant association between early attendance and a history of a stillbirth or previous malformed child. It is concluded that if an efficient extension to the screening programme for Down's Syndrome (mongolism) in elderly mothers is to be achieved, attention to earlier hospital antenatal care in these high risk groups should be a priority.