Mumsnet Talk

Hi all,

My name is Gareth and I’m a PhD student at Cardiff University. I am looking for volunteers to take part in a study into peoples’ experiences during screening and testing for Down's syndrome in pregnancy. The study is funded by the 'Economic and Social Research Council' (ESRC) and has received support from the 'Down's Syndrome Association' and 'Antenatal Results and Choices'.

I am very happy to speak to anyone in the UK who has had prenatal screening for Down’s syndrome and received a ‘lower chance’ or ‘higher chance’ result - via nuchal translucency scans, quad tests, triple blood tests, etc. But I am particularly interested in hearing from those who received a ‘higher chance’ result and had to decide whether to accept or reject further testing (a CVS or amniocentesis).

Participation would involve taking part in a one-off interview which is around 30-40 minutes long. The interviews are very informal, you can withdraw at any time, and every effort will be made to ensure you remain anonymous in the final write-up. Interviews can be conducted in person, over the phone, or online (via Facebook, MSN, Skype, etc.). The issues covered will include why people chose to have certain prenatal screening/tests, how people were treated by healthcare professionals, and how those who undertook testing view their overall experience. I also encourage members to post comments on this thread about any related experiences.

If you would like more information on the study, please contact me at thomasg23@cf.ac.uk or on 07525170462. You can also reach me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/gareththomasresearch.

I would also be very grateful if you could pass this on to anybody you know who might be interested in participating too. Thank you very much for your time – I hope to hear from you soon!

Many thanks,
Gareth