Prenatal diagnosis is a rapidly growing field in which increasingly sophisticated
analytical tests are used to obtain vital information about a patient, the
fetus. The prenatal examination is, at best, a partial or indirect one, without
communication from the patient. The volume of prenatal diagnostic tests has
escalated dramatically over the past decade. Despite an increased use of antenatal
diagnosis and an enhanced public awareness of the availability of the procedures,
fewer than 20% of women for whom antenatal diagnosis might be indicated
utilize the test