Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-tn8tq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-23T18:54:56.806Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Reproductive patterns and thalassaemia major

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Judith Cowan
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
Charles Kerr
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia

Summary

A study of families affected by thalassaemia major demonstrated that before antenatal diagnosis became an option, premature curtailment of reproduction was the most common parental response to their understanding of the genetic implications of the diagnosis. Subsequently parents of younger patients used antenatal diagnosis to meet or almost meet their birth expectations. There was no evidence that antenatal diagnosis contributed to any process of ‘compensating’ for existing affected offspring.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aguzzi, S., Vullo, C. & Barrai, I. (1978) Reproductive compensation in families segregating for Cooley's anaemia in Ferrara. Ann. hum. Genet. 42, 153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bracher, M.D. (1981) Are Australian Families Getting Smaller? A Study of Patterns and Determinants of Fertility in Melbourne. Australian Family Formation Project Monograph No. 8. Australian National University Press, Canberra.Google Scholar
CotÉ, G.B. (1983) Reproductive drive and genetic counselling. Clin. Genet. 23, 359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowan, J.A. (1984) Beta Thalassaemia in New South Wales. Ph.D. thesis, University of Sydney.Google Scholar
Daniel, A. (1983) Power, Privilege and Prestige: Occupations in Australia. Longman, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Hollerbach, P.F. (1979) Reproductive attitudes and the genetic counselee. In: Counseling in Genetics, p. 155. Edited by Hsia, Y. E., Hirschhorn, K., Silverberg, R. L. and Godmilow, L.Liss, New York.Google Scholar
Laurence, K.M. & Morris, J. (1981) The effect of the introduction of prenatal diagnosis on the reproductive history of women at increased risk from neural tube defects. Prenat. Diagn 1, 51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lippman-Hand, A. & Fraser, F.C. (1979) Genetic counseling—the postcounseling period: I—Parents' perceptions of uncertainty. Am. J. med. Genet. 4, 51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Modell, B. & Berdoukas, V. (1984) The Clinical Approach to Thalassaemia. Grune and Stratton, London.Google Scholar
Modell, B., Ward, R.H.T. & Fairweather, D.V.I. (1980) Effect of introducing antenatal diagnosis on reproductive behaviour of families at risk for thalassaemia major. Br. med. J. 280, 1347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearn, J.H. (1979) Decision-making and reproductive choice. In: Counseling in Genetics, p. 223. Edited by Hsia, Y. E., Hirschhorn, K., Silverberg, R. L. and Godmilow, L.Liss, New York.Google Scholar
Siegal, S. (1956) Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences. McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Sissine, F.J., Steele, M.W., Garver, K.L., Rosser, L., Marchese, S. & Berman, N. (1981) Statistical analysis of genetic counselling impacts. A multi-method approach to retrospective data. Evaluation Rev. 5, 745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorenson, J.R., Swazey, J.P. & Scotch, N.A. (1981) Reproductive Pasts, Reproductive Futures: Genetic Counseling and its Effectiveness. Birth Defects. Original Article Series, Vol. 17, No. 4. Liss, New York.Google Scholar
Weatherall, D.J. & Clegg, J.B. (1981) The Thalassaemia Syndromes, 3rd edn.Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (1983) Community control of hereditary anaemias: memorandum from a WHO meeting. Bull. Wld Hlth Org. 60, 643.Google Scholar
Young, C.M. (1975) Planned Numbers of Children Versus Expected Numbers of Children. Working Papers in Demography 2. Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Young, C.M. (1977) Spacing of children and changing patterns of childbearing. J. biosoc. Sci. 9, 201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed