Many fetuses with these conditions are naturally miscarried. Readers should treat these data with some caution, however. The United States maintains no national statistics on birth defects. Only about half the states have some sort of birth defects monitoring, and their criteria and methods vary widely. The authors believe that rates of termination have not changed in recent years, even though prenatal tests are now being offered to a much wider range of women, some of whom reject abortion as a personal option.
Figures are different at other hospitals.
Rates of termination varied widely between north and south shores of Boston, although both groups received counseling from the same people. Apparently women's deeply-held values about abortion are the deciding factor, although improvements in services and societal outlook for children with Down syndrome may also have had some effect. We need to remember that prenatal diagnosis has other uses besides selective termination. Women who have been prepared, during pregnancy, for their child's condition may have less trauma and easier parent-child bonding at birth than women to whom the child's condition comes as a complete shock. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol.