Table 2 Responses of women to ten knowledge questions and two preferences questions on non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) (n = 135)

1. NIPT can detect only half of the fetal chromosomal abnormalities that would be identified through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling

101 (74.8 %)^a

13 (9.6 %)

21 (15.6 %)

2. NIPT does not detect all cases of fetal Down syndrome

124 (91.9 %)^a

3 (2.2 %)

8 (5.9 %)

3. There are also occasional false-positive results and therefore women with positive NIPT results need to receive confirmatory testing through chorionic villus sampling or an amniocentesis

122 (90.4 %)^a

5 (3.7 %)

8 (5.9 %)

4. Women with positive NIPT results are at very high risk of Down syndrome and for some women the extended period awaiting confirmatory invasive testing results is likely to be highly stressful

129 (95.6 %)^a

1 (0.7 %)

5 (3.7 %)

5. For some women, a NIPT test result may not be informative because of inadequate amount of fetal DNA in maternal plasma or other reasons

97 (71.9 %)^a

3 (2.2 %)

35 (25.9 %)

6. NIPT is suitable for those women who have or with a family history of a chromosomal abnormality carrying an increased risk of inheritance to their child

65 (48.2 %)

6 (4.4 %)^a

64 (47.4 %)

7. NIPT is suitable for multiple pregnancies

73 (54.1 %)

7 (5.2 %)^a

55 (40.7 %)

8. NIPT is suitable for pregnancies conceived after donor in vitro fertilization

56 (41.5 %)

3 (2.2 %)^a

76 (56.3 %)

9. NIPT is suitable to detect fetal single gene disorder such as thalassemia

58 (43.0 %)

5 (3.7 %)^a

72 (53.3 %)

10. NIPT is suitable for those women who recently received blood transfusion, organ transplant or stem cell therapy

55 (40.7 %)

7 (5.2 %)^a

73 (54.1 %)

11. In your next pregnancy, you will opt for a conventional screening test for Down syndrome first and then, if screened high risk, will opt for a NIPT.

78 (57.8 %)

38 (28.1 %)

19 (14.1 %)

12. In your next pregnancy, you will opt for NIPT directly without undergoing a conventional screening test for Down syndrome.

41 (30.4 %)

73 (54.1 %)

21 (15.5 %)