On account of an increase in the frequency of amniotic fluid samples (AFS), the need for further decentralisation of sampling developed. Viborg Amt (Viborg County) was able to offer this service to all pregnant women in the county after 01.VIII.1985 who fulfil the indication for prenatal diagnosis (PD). Among 902 registered AFS divided over a period of two years before and two years after the decentralisation there was no significant deterioration of the service measured by the number of spontaneous abortions and unsuccessful AFS. The indications for prenatal diagnosis altered in such a way that the unofficial indication of anxiety rose significantly while the indication of maternal age greater than or equal to 35 years decreased. Furthermore, a positive correlation was registered between a reduction of distance from the pregnant woman to the centre of sampling and the percentage of referrals made by the local practitioner. The paper also shows that more pregnant women, referred for AFS on account of advanced age, accepted PD than was registered in an earlier research, but this pattern declined in the research period.
