Just 25% of Dutch women undergo early tests during pregnancy to find out if their baby is suffering from Down’s or other syndromes, the AD reports on Friday. In other EU countries some 50% to 80% of women take the tests.

Doctors told the paper this may be because Dutch women think only older mothers are likely to have a child with Down’s syndrome. This feeling may have been reinforced by the fact that mothers under the age of 35 have to pay for the tests themselves, the doctors said.