Objective: To compare the effects of one by one counseling vs video watching and brief counseling on knowledge of Down syndrome screening among pregnant women.

Material and Method: Ninety-two pregnant women, gestational age between 11-13+6 weeks who had attended antenatal care and requested Down syndrome screening at Songklanagarind Hospital were divided into 2 groups. The control group consisted of 46 pregnant women who received one by one counseling and the experimental group consisted of another 46 pregnant women who watched the video and attended a brief counseling. The contents in video that provided knowledge of Down syndrome screening and the questionnaires were checked for validity by a panel of experts. The questionnaire had a reliability shown by a Cronbach alpha of 0.92. Data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation, and Mann-Whitney U test.

Results: The pretest knowledge about Down syndrome of both groups was at a medium level. The posttest knowledge about Down syndrome of the experimental group was at a high level (= 9.56, S.D.=1.42) while the control group was at a medium level (=8.67, S.D.=1.42). The pretest knowledge of Down syndrome screening of both groups was low. The posttest knowledge of Down syndrome screening of the experimental groups was at a high level (=10.02, S.D.=1.92) while that of the control group was at a medium level (=8.35, S.D.=2.29). After counseling, the experimental group had a posttest knowledge of Down syndrome and screening tests significantly higher than the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The video watching and brief counseling had improved knowledge of Down syndrome and screening in pregnant women significantly higher than the one by one technique.