Prenatal testing, decision making, and preconception education

Midwifery, Maternal Nursing, Department of Genetics

In recent years, the number of unlicensed facilities performing NIPT, a new type of prenatal testing, has increased, raising concerns about an increase in pregnant women who are suffering without receiving appropriate support from medical professionals. NIPT is a test that can accurately detect chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus using only maternal blood samples, and since it can also lead to the choice of induced abortion, the support of medical professionals is essential for the decision to take the test. However, it has been reported that Japanese women have a lack of knowledge about Department of Genetics and have difficulty making decisions, and it is currently difficult for them to fully understand NIPT and make an autonomous decision about taking the test without the support of medical professionals. Therefore, in this study, we developed a preconception education program to help women make autonomous decisions after pregnancy.
This program incorporates Department of Genetics games and consists of five components based on the ARCS model, a learning theory proposed by Keller (1983) to increase motivation to learn. The program aims to enable women who are not good at Department of Genetics to acquire correct knowledge about Department of Genetics and NIPT before pregnancy and effectively improve their ability to think about their own values, thereby improving their decision-making ability after pregnancy.

In the current clinical setting, explanations regarding NIPT, which is currently performed after pregnancy, should be provided before pregnancy, and educational programs should be developed for this purpose.

• By incorporating Department of Genetics games, you can acquire correct knowledge while having fun.
• It consists of five components based on the ARCS model, a learning theory proposed by Keller (1983) that improves motivation to learn, allowing students to effectively acquire correct knowledge.

Women who are not good at Department of Genetics can improve their decision-making ability after pregnancy by acquiring correct knowledge about Department of Genetics and NIPT before pregnancy and effectively improving their ability to think about their own values.

By incorporating this into sex and ethics education for junior and senior high school students and university students, it can also lead to life planning education.

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1. Katada C, Ohashi K, Okada K, Sawai H. Factors related to indecisive attitudes toward non-invasive prenatal testing among women of reproductive age in Japan. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2023, 49, 794-802.
2. Chihiro Katada, Kazutomo Ohashi, Kimie Okada, Hideaki Sawai. Preconception education program for non-invasive prenatal testing focused on interest in genetics among female university students in Japan: a quasi-experimental study comparing pre-intervention, post-intervention, and three-month follow-up results, Archives of Public Health, 81(1):138, 2023.