“The risk here is lower than the national average and the reason
for that is because we do these tests every day… and of course
the consultants that do these tests do them all the time, so they are
experienced. So your risk of miscarriage as you enter the room is less”
(Midwife, England).
In England, practitioners also explain another risk, that of the culture
of amniotic cells not giving any meaningful result or ending in a
‘laboratory failure’, estimated at less than 1%.
Given the technical nature of the information, the medico-scientific
expertise frame is a demanding one as it requires the appropriation of
complex knowledge. Therefore, practitioners often employ sophisticated
strategies such as the lottery metaphor, frequently used in the
consultations observed in the Parisian centre: “Your risk is
1:197. It’s as if your uterus was the lottery chamber, there are 196
white balls and one red; but we don’t know which one is in your tummy ”
(Midwife, France).