Variation in Women's Understanding of Prenatal Testing.

Objective: To investigate women's understanding of prenatal testing options and of their own experience with screening, diagnostic genetic testing, or both.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial of enhanced information and values clarification regarding prenatal genetic testing in the absence of financial barriers to testing. Women in the third trimester of pregnancy were asked whether they had discussed prenatal genetic testing with their health care providers, whether they understood this testing was optional, and whether they had undergone testing during their pregnancy.

Effect of enhanced information, values clarification, and removal of financial barriers on use of prenatal genetic testing: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Prenatal genetic testing guidelines recommend providing patients with detailed information to allow informed, preference-based screening and diagnostic testing decisions. The effect of implementing these guidelines is not well understood.

Objective: To analyze the effect of a decision-support guide and elimination of financial barriers to testing on use of prenatal genetic testing and decision making among pregnant women of varying literacy and numeracy levels.

Nitrous oxide for labor analgesia: expanding analgesic options for women in the United States.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a commonly used labor analgesic in many Western countries, but is used infrequently in the United States. The University of California at San Francisco has been offering N2O for labor analgesia for more than 30 years. Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently began offering N2O as an option for pain relief in laboring women.