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Table 2 Costs and benefits of antenatal diagnosis typically noted by the medical profession

From: Antenatal screening and its possible meaning from unborn baby's perspective

Costs

Benefits

For hospital and health authorities

1) Costs in connection with diagnosis,

1) Scarce resources allocated to

2) Costs involved in performing termination.

children with good prognosis (rather

3) Costs in connection with counseling services.

than to severely handicapped

 

children).

For pregnant women and fathers-to-be

Availability of prenatal diagnosis

 

1) Increase in the number of healthy

 

children born to parents at risk who,

 

had prenatal diagnosis not been

 

available, would have avoided

 

becoming pregnant.

Diagnostic procedures

1) Risk of fetal loss or injury,

 

2) Maternal hazards,

 

3) Maternal anxiety.

 

Result:

true negative

 

2) Reassurance,

 

3) An increase in the number of

 

healthy children born to parents at

 

risk who, had the test result not been

 

negative, would have terminated

 

pregnancy on grounds of risk.

false negative

4) False reassurance.

 

false positive

5) Abortion of healthy fetus,

 

6) Grief and adverse psychological

 

consequences of termination of non-affected

 

pregnancy.

 

true positive

-followed by abortion-

7) Grief and adverse psychological

4) Averted parental distress and

consequences of termination of affected

burden of care for disabled child,

pregnancy.

5) Additional non-disabled children.

-not followed by abortion-

 

6) Time to prepare for the birth of the

 

disabled child.