MedlinePlus: Prenatal Testing

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Photograph of a pregnant woman receiving an ultrasound

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- Services and providers for Prenatal Testing in the U.S.
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National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Prenatal Testing is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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Prenatal Testing

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

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Prenatal Tests(Nemours Foundation)
Your First Tests(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
Also available in Spanish

Basics	Learn More	Multimedia & Cool Tools
Overviews Latest News	Specific Conditions Related Issues	Tutorials
Research	Reference Shelf	For You
Clinical Trials Genetics Journal Articles	Organizations	MedlinePlus Magazine

Overviews
- Prenatal Diagnosis(Genetics and Public Policy Center)
- Prenatal Testing: Should You Consider It?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Routine Tests in Pregnancy(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
  Also available in Spanish
Latest News
- Obesity May Hide Fetal Abnormalities on Ultrasounds(04/22/2009, HealthDay)
Specific Conditions
- Amniocentesis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Amniocentesis(Patient Education Institute)
  Also available in Spanish
- Chorionic Villus Sampling(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Fetal Ultrasound: What Can It Tell You?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Glucose Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Maternal Blood Screening for Birth Defects(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
  Also available in Spanish
- Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)(Genetics and Public Policy Center)
- Screening for Birth Defects(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
  Also available in Spanish
- Ultrasound - Obstetric(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)
  Also available in Spanish
- What Is Rh Incompatibility?(Nemours Foundation)
  Also available in Spanish
Related Issues
- How Reliable Is Laboratory Testing?(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Tutorials
- Amniocentesis(Patient Education Institute)
  Also available in Spanish
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Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Amniocentesis(National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Chorionic Villi Sampling(National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Ultrasonography, Prenatal(National Institutes of Health)
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Genetics
- Pregnancy: Genetic Testing for Inherited Diseases(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Organizations
- March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
  Also available in Spanish
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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MedlinePlus Magazine
- Understanding Prenatal Tests
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