Buying reassurance: uptake of non-invasive prenatal testing among pregnant women of advanced maternal age in China

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Health Risk & Society Pub Date : 2019-05-19 DOI:10.1080/13698575.2019.1639636

Jifang Qiu

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引用次数: 7

Abstract

Despite much ethical debate concerning non-invasive prenatal testing to abort or to detect genes, research on the experience of those who choose this new technology in China is limited, especially after the introduction of the Two-child Policy. In this article I analyse qualitative data from 25 interviews with pregnant women of advanced maternal age (pregnancy after 35) under the Two-child Policy, conducted in 2014 to 2016, as well as observational data from a 6-month, in-hospital participant observation in 2016. These data were collected with the aim to examine how non-invasive prenatal testing affects pregnant women’s risk perceptions and why this technology is widely accepted by pregnant women of advanced maternal age in China. I conclude that the women in my study accepted their ‘high-risk’ identity within prenatal care, and that non-invasive prenatal testing was integrated in this care. Women’s interactions with genetic counsellors, their husbands and close friends and community doctors produced anxieties, with women feeling responsible for the health of their foetuses. Consequently, the women in my study were willing to ‘buy’ this test for reassurance. The consumption of this new technology by pregnant women after the Two-child Policy lays a foundation for the market development of this technology in urban China.

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购买保证:中国高龄孕妇接受无创产前检查

尽管关于非侵入性产前检测流产或检测基因的伦理争论很多，但在中国，对那些选择这种新技术的人的经历的研究是有限的，特别是在引入二孩政策之后。在本文中，我分析了2014年至2016年对25名高龄产妇(35岁以后怀孕)进行的二孩政策访谈的定性数据，以及2016年为期6个月的住院参与观察的观察数据。收集这些数据的目的是研究无创产前检测如何影响孕妇的风险认知，以及为什么这项技术被中国高龄孕妇广泛接受。我的结论是，在我的研究中，女性在产前护理中接受了她们的“高风险”身份，并且非侵入性产前检查被整合到这种护理中。女性与遗传咨询师、她们的丈夫、亲密朋友和社区医生的互动产生了焦虑，女性觉得自己对胎儿的健康负有责任。因此，在我的研究中，女性愿意“购买”这个测试来获得安慰。二孩政策后孕妇对这项新技术的消费为这项技术在中国城市的市场发展奠定了基础。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Health Risk & Society Multiple-

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

14.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Health Risk & Society is an international scholarly journal devoted to a theoretical and empirical understanding of the social processes which influence the ways in which health risks are taken, communicated, assessed and managed. Public awareness of risk is associated with the development of high profile media debates about specific risks. Although risk issues arise in a variety of areas, such as technological usage and the environment, they are particularly evident in health. Not only is health a major issue of personal and collective concern, but failure to effectively assess and manage risk is likely to result in health problems.