Antenatal counselling for congenital anomaly tests: Pregnant Muslim Moroccan women׳s preferences

OBJECTIVE: to gain insight into pregnant Muslim Moroccan women's preferences regarding the content of and approach to antenatal counselling for anomaly screening. DESIGN: qualitative study using in-depth interviews. SETTING: participants were recruited from one midwifery practice in a medium-sized city near Amsterdam. PARTICIPANTS: 12 pregnant Muslim Moroccan women who live in an area with a high density of immigrants. DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSES: we conducted open interviews after the cut-off date for the 20 week fetal anomaly scan and used techniques from the thematic analysis approach described by Braun and Clarke (2006). FINDINGS: pregnant Muslim Moroccan women's preferences towards counselling could be summarised in three main findings. Firstly, pregnant Muslim Moroccan women underlined the importance of accurate and detailed information about the tests procedures and the anomalies that could be detected. Secondly, pregnant Muslim Moroccan women preferred counsellors to initiate discussions about moral topics and its relationship with the women's religious beliefs and values to facilitate an informed choice about whether or not to participate in the screening tests. Thirdly, pregnant Muslim Moroccan women preferred a counsellor who respects and treats them as an individual who has an Islamic background. The counsellor should have practical knowledge of Islamic rulings that are relevant to the anomaly tests. KEY CONCLUSIONS: pregnant Muslim Moroccan women preferred to be accurately informed about antenatal anomaly tests and to be asked about their individual views on life by a counsellor who has genuine interest in the individual client and applied knowledge of Islamic beliefs regarding the value of life. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: counsellors should explore clients' moral values about quality of life and termination and its relationship with religious beliefs. Counsellors should know about Islamic rulings related to antenatal anomaly screening.