Reproductive decisions and newborn screening: the perspective of female caregivers of children with sickle cell diseaseOne of the goals of the Brazilian Newborn Screening Program created in 2001 was to inform couples with the possibility of having children with sickle cell diseases regarding reproductive decision-making. This article presents the reproductive choices and analyzes the notion of biomedical reproductive risk of female caregivers of children with sickle cell disease participating in a newborn screening program. Qualitative data collected between 2006 and 2008 was based on interviews with 50 female caregivers of children with sickle cell disease participating on the Federal District Newborn Screening Program. The research revealed the following perceptions underlying reproductive decisions: women who want to have other children even with the risk of recurrence of the disease; women who do not want to have any more children; and women whose reproductive plans are still being considered on the basis of the information provided by the newborn screening program. The study revealed that women's reproductive choices are based on the experience of child care and self care. The notion of reproductive risk is built in order to strengthen women's decisions together with their family and other social groups to which they belong.
Newborn screening; Reproductive decisions; Sickle cell disease; Genetics