What is the non-invasive examination for pregnant women?

Maybe many pregnant women have heard of Down screening, which is a fetal abnormality screening test. In addition to Down screening, there is also non-invasive DNA testing. Although minimally invasive DNA testing is more expensive, the accuracy of fetal abnormality screening will be higher. Pregnant women can do minimally invasive DNA testing after Down syndrome screening, or they can do minimally invasive DNA testing immediately. If minimally invasive DNA testing also indicates high risk, then amniocentesis testing is necessary.

During the entire pregnancy stage, women need to do many kinds of tests. Only in this way can we understand the specific situation of the baby and the pregnant woman. Among all the examination items, fetal abnormality examination is actually very important. If we do not do this kind of test in time, then there is a high possibility of misfortune. One of the tests is called minimally invasive DNA. Some pregnant women may find that they have not done this test at all, while some pregnant women are strongly recommended by doctors to do this test. So what exactly does minimally invasive DNA test?

What are the key non-invasive DNA tests for the fetus?

Minimally invasive DNA testing during pregnancy is mainly used to test for Down syndrome. In addition, there is also a test for trisomy 13, also known as Patau syndrome.

Not all pregnant women need to undergo minimally invasive DNA testing during pregnancy. Only some pregnant women need to do it. If they are over 35 years old and do not want to choose invasive prenatal diagnosis, or if they have done Down syndrome screening and the data show that they are high-risk pregnant women, they all need to do this test. Some pregnant women also underwent NT tests in the early stages of pregnancy. Pregnant women with higher risks in NT tests actually also need to undergo minimally invasive DNA tests.

Compared with minimally invasive DNA and Down syndrome screening, the test results are more precise, with an accuracy of more than 90%, which greatly reduces the risk of subsequent trauma caused by a positive Down syndrome screening test. In addition, it can detect a large number of sex chromosomes and provide reminders of other chromosomal abnormalities. In the early stages of pregnancy, Down syndrome screening is suitable for pregnant women between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy, while minimally invasive prenatal genetic testing is suitable for pregnant women up to 22 weeks and 6 days.

Now you should know what the minimally invasive DNA test during pregnancy is. Compared with the Down syndrome screening, the minimally invasive DNA test is more expensive, so many pregnant women would do the Down syndrome screening first in the past. However, relatively speaking, the results of the minimally invasive DNA test are more accurate and can diagnose the probability of fetal malformations. Many people actually need to do the minimally invasive DNA test again after the Down syndrome screening.