Prenatal testing provides information about your baby's health before he or she is born. Testing is available to pregnant women
- Who are aged 35 or older, because they are at higher risk for having a child with a chromosomal abnormality
- Who have a family history of an inherited condition such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- When their ancestry or ethnic background means that they might have a higher chance of an inherited disorder such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia or Tay-Sachs disease
- To screen for common genetic disorders such as spina bifida and Down syndrome
Two diagnostic procedures are common in prenatal testing. Amniocentesis involves testing a sample of amniotic fluid from the womb. CVS (or chorionic villus sampling) involves taking a tiny tissue sample from outside the sac where the fetus grows.
National Human Genome Research Institute
- Prenatal Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/prenatal_tests.html
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Your First Tests(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/159_519.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/centro/9246_9640.asp
- Prenatal Diagnosis(Genetics and Public Policy Center) - http://www.dnapolicy.org/policy.issue.php?action=detail&issuebrief_id=39
- Prenatal Testing: Who Should Consider It?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/prenatal-testing/PR00014/METHOD=print
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Routine Tests in Pregnancy(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp133.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://acog.org/publications/patient_education/sp133.cfm
- Chorionic Villus Sampling Seen Safe(10/01/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69915.html
- Amniocentesis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/amniocentesis/MY00155/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
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Amniocentesis
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/amniocentesis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/amniocentesisspanish/htm/index.htm - Biophysical Profile(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/biophysicalprofile.html
- Chorionic Villus Sampling(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/chorionic-villus-sampling/MY00154/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Cordocentesis: Percutaneous Umbilical Blood Sampling (PUBS)(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/cordocentesis.html
- Fetal Non-Stress Test (NST)(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/non-stresstest.html
- Fetal Ultrasound: What Can It Tell You?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/fetal-ultrasound/PR00054/METHOD=print
- Glucose Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/glucose/test.html
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Maternal Blood Screening for Down Syndrome and Neural Tube Defects(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1166.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/centro/9388_9931.asp
- Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)(Genetics and Public Policy Center) - http://www.dnapolicy.org/policy.issue.php?action=detail&issuebrief_id=7
- Quad Screen(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/quadscreen.html
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Screening for Birth Defects(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp165.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://acog.org/publications/patient_education/sp165.cfm
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Triple Screening in Pregnancy(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/fetal/761.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/pregnancy/fetal/761.printerview.html
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Ultrasound - Obstetric(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=obstetricus
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=obstetricus
- Urine Test: Urinalysis(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/urinetest.html
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What Is Rh Incompatibility?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/rh.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/embarazo/rh_esp.html
- How Reliable Is Laboratory Testing?(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/reliability-2.html
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Amniocentesis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/amniocentesis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/amniocentesisspanish/htm/index.htm
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Amniocentesis
(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=amniocentesis
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Ultrasonography, Prenatal(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=ultrasound+%5BTREATMENT%5D+AND+prenatal+%5BALL-FIELDS%5D
- Pregnancy: Genetic Testing for Inherited Diseases(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/pre_genetic.html
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: First-trimester and second-trimester screening at a community hospital: experience from... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18669714&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Comparison of fetal biometric values with sonographic and 3D reconstruction... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18647899&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Evaluation of the use of monoclonal antibodies and nested PCR... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18628088&tool=MedlinePlus
- Prenatal Testing -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=prenatal+diagnosis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
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March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation - http://www.marchofdimes.com/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
- Prenatal Care - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/prenatalcare.html
- Diagnostic Tests - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diagnostictests.html
- Female Reproductive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/femalereproductivesystem.html
- Genetics/Birth Defects - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/geneticsbirthdefects.html
- Pregnancy and Reproduction - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancyandreproduction.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Prenatal Testing is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
Prenatal Testing - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/prenataltesting.html