Being pregnant can cause a lot of uncertainty for expectant parents. Prenatal testing can remove some of that uncertainty. Once you get on the prenatal test train, you can be faced with difficult choices, says Sanne van der Hout from Mesch.
Van der Hout is an ethicist in the field of preventive screening and works as an assistant professor at Maastricht University. She herself lost her unborn child at the age of 29 after an amniocentesis.
Unexpected
Van der Hout wrote the book Unexpected about this. In this, the ethicist argues for better medical supervision of pregnant women during the prenatal screening process. She also urges parents to think carefully before they start the process.
During a prenatal test, it is determined whether the unborn child has an increased risk of a congenital abnormality or condition. This includes looking for common chromosome abnormalities. Van der Hout herself went into such a test process during the pregnancy of her second child, after doctors indicated that there was a small chance of a disability.
amniocentesis
Although she and her partner wanted to keep the child anyway, they decided to do an amniocentesis. “Two days after the puncture, we received the redeeming message that no abnormalities had been found. Two days later I developed a fever. In the hospital it turned out that our baby had died in my stomach,” says Van der Hout.
It has never been established what caused the child to die. Van der Hout assumes that it is the result of the amniocentesis, which entails risks. A bacterial infection may have developed during the puncture.
Balanced choice
Van der Hout therefore decided not to undergo any more tests during the next two pregnancies. “Pregnant women and their partners should be given the opportunity to make an informed choice to participate in the screening, a choice that feels right for them,” says the ethicist. “I’m not for one or against the other: as long as it’s the choice that suits people.”