Effects of framing on teratogenic risk perception in pregnant women

Summary We examined the effects of information presentation (framing) on women's perception of fetal risk, and their intention to use a safe drug during pregnancy. Half the women received negatively-framed information (1–3% chance of having a malformed child), the other half received positively-framed information (97–99% chance of having a normal child). Women in the negative group had a significantly higher perception of teratogenic risk (14·9%) than those in the positive group (8·3%), p=0·0484, and were less likely to want to take the drug. These findings suggest that health professionals and policy makers need to carefully consider how information is best presented.