Shana Riethof is pleased to invite you to the public defense of her doctoral dissertation entitled “Reproduction in the Genomic Era: A Socio-Anthropological Study of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) in Belgium .” The dissertation was completed under the joint supervision of Professor François Thoreau (University of Liège) andProfessor Florence Caeymaex (University of Liège). The examination committee will consist of Professor Nolwenn Bühler (University of Lausanne), Professor Pierre Delvenne (University of Liège), Professor Cathy Herbrand (De Montfort University), and Professor Carine Vassy (Sorbonne Paris Nord University).

The defense will take placeon September 24, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Karl Marx Auditorium (Building B31, Sart-Tilman).

Thesis abstract

In 2017, Belgium became the first country in the world to offer non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) as a first-line screening option to all pregnant women. This screening, initially focused on trisomies 21, 18, and 13, has been expanded to include all fetal and maternal chromosomes. Now adopted by 90% of pregnant women, NIPT represents a key milestone in most low-risk pregnancies. Based on a qualitative study involving interviews with women and healthcare professionals, this dissertation examines the effects of this genomic shift on the management and experience of pregnancy.

The dissertation first analyzes the professional rationales underlying the availability of NIPT and their effects on the organization of prenatal care. It shows that NIPT is both a continuation of previous screening methods and part of an evolution in obstetric care toward personalized genomic medicine. The dissertation then highlights how these services translate into the everyday experience of pregnancy. The analysis situates NIPT within the broader prenatal care continuum to understand the conditions under which decisions are made. It examines the role of NIPT in the temporal organization of pregnancy, in women’s relationship to risk, and in expectations related to parenthood. Finally, the dissertation examines the trajectories that follow a positive result. The analysis highlights the tension between the normative frameworks of the care pathway and the forms of negotiation, adjustment, or resistance through which women seek to define the most desirable conditions for giving birth.

The dissertation thus demonstrates that decisions related to NIPT are part of relational processes, are embedded in care trajectories, and are structured by a set of norms. It proposes rethinking prenatal screening beyond the paradigm of autonomous and individual choice, by highlighting the technical, social, and moral dimensions that make these choices possible.