What is the Impact of Genetic Counseling and Prenatal Diagnosis in Genetic Diseases Prevention in an Arab Muslim Population?

Genetic counseling remains the best and the most efficient action for genetic diseases prevention. Based on families’ education, and sometimes followed by prenatal or preimplantation diagnosis, genetic counseling is relevant by reducing the incidence of hereditary and congenital disorders. The development of medical care, the accumulation of laboratory techniques and the legality of pregnancy termination will help largely to decrease the severity and the frequency of inherited diseases. In daily practice, we are sometimes surprised by parents’ attitude. After genetic counseling, why do parents decide to stop reproduction despite the availability of prenatal testing or the absence of recurrence risk? While, some other parents at very high risk continue to have children. To reply to such questions, we surveyed during three years, couples who were referred to the genetic centre for genetic counseling. We considered only couples at risk of affected children. We evaluated the impact of genetic counseling on parents’ attitude by analyzing two parameters, the occurrence of pregnancies and the acceptance of prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis. These parameters were correlated to parents’ characteristics: age, socioeconomic situation, education level; to the number and children health status and to the kind and severity of the disease. We analyzed simultaneously the same parameters in the group of couples who were referred for prenatal diagnosis during this period. The aim of the presentation is to evaluate the real impact of genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis on genetic diseases prevention in an Arab Muslim country and to determine how to increase the acceptability of the role of genetic counseling in the welfare of the family. Legislation for genetic counseling: In areas with high risk of genetic diseases for example where consanguinity rate is increased, it would be necessary to establish genetic counseling facility as obligatory. In premarital stage each partner has to be informed about risk for his progeniture. Each couple will of course be responsible for his decision making. Legislation for pregnancy termination in countries where it is accepted have to be established taking account of the community culture. What is the Impact of Genetic Counseling and Prenatal Diagnosis in Genetic Diseases Prevention in an Arab Muslim Population?