{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:07:16Z","timestamp":1760238436783,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,17]],"date-time":"2022-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1658016000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most frequent genetic disorders in those with Northern European ancestry. Prenatal testing for cystic fibrosis may be used to plan and prepare for the birth of a child with the disease or to determine whether to terminate the pregnancy. The accessibility of prenatal detection for women with a high genetic risk of delivering a child with cystic fibrosis is determined by CF carriers and those affected by the disease. Moreover, prenatal testing for CF is mainly dependent on invasive diagnostic tests that can influence the mental health of the pregnant woman, and it is assumed that the birth of a CF child will have a serious influence on the couple\u2019s subsequent family planning and marital behavior. The purpose of this research was to examine the marital attitudes of women at risk for cystic fibrosis and the psychological effect of screening for CF among pregnant women. The study followed a cross-sectional design with five questionnaires comprising Prenatal Attachment Interview (PAI), Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS), Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ-R2), the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile (PPP), and the Marital Intimacy Questionnaire (MIQ). A total of 84 pregnant women were included in the \u201ccarriers\u201d group for CFTR and 91 in the \u201cnon-carrier\u201d group. CFTR-carrier mothers were likely to be more affectionate to the fetus, with better maternal\u2013fetal quality and intensity of attachment. The same group of pregnant women was less scared of giving birth or worried about bearing a physically or mentally handicapped child compared to women who were expecting the prenatal diagnosis test for being at risk of delivering a newborn with malformations. CFTR-carrier pregnant women did not score significantly different results in the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile regarding stress levels, social support, and self-esteem. It was also found that intimacy and consensus problems inside the marriage were significantly more often experienced by CFTR carriers. Based on the current findings, it is likely that CFTR-carrier mothers have a better perception of the possible pregnancy outcomes by knowing their abnormal gene carrier status. Therefore, the psychological impact of invasive diagnostic tests is lower in this category compared with those who are unaware of the possible pregnancy outcomes. However, we promote a future analysis for pregnant women with moderate risk of giving birth to a child with single-gene mutations such as cystic fibrosis or other congenital malformations that undergo noninvasive prenatal diagnosis tests, as they become more accurate and might cause lower pre-diagnosis stress levels.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19148698","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,17]],"date-time":"2022-07-17T22:57:06Z","timestamp":1658098626000},"page":"8698","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Cross-Sectional Study of the Marital Attitudes of Pregnant Women at Risk for Cystic Fibrosis and Psychological Impact of Prenatal Screening"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Zoran Laurentiu","family":"Popa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Centre for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2375-2793","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Madalin-Marius","family":"Margan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microscopic Morphology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Izabella","family":"Petre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1084-2714","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Bernad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lavinia","family":"Stelea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8076-8885","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veronica Daniela","family":"Chiriac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marius","family":"Craina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2879-8080","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioana Mihaela","family":"Ciuca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anca Mihaela","family":"Bina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Translational Research and Systems Medicine, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department III Functional Sciences, Discipline Pathophysiology, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.1007\/s10038-004-0147-2","article-title":"Reproductive attitudes of couples having a child with cystic fibrosis in Brittany (France)","volume":"49","author":"Rault","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. 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