Is it necessary to do the Down syndrome screening?

Patient's question:

Pregnancy 16 weeks and 2 days First-trimester checkup

Doctor's answer:

Analysis of the condition: Down syndrome screening is a method that involves drawing pregnant women's blood serum, detecting the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin in the maternal serum, and calculating the risk coefficient of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome by combining the pregnant woman's estimated due date, age, weight, and gestational age at the time of blood collection.
Advice: The best time to undergo screening is between the 15th and 20th weeks of pregnancy. Generally, pregnant women can receive the screening results within one week of blood collection. If the result is high-risk, there is no need to panic, as further tests such as amniocentesis and fetal chromosome analysis are required to confirm the diagnosis. Down syndrome screening is performed to identify children with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a sporadic condition, so every pregnant woman has the potential to give birth to a "Down syndrome child." The likelihood of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome increases with the mother's age. Children with Down syndrome have severe intellectual disabilities, inability to live independently, and are often accompanied by complex cardiovascular diseases, requiring long-term care from family members. This can impose significant emotional and financial burdens on the family. Therefore, undergoing Down syndrome screening is highly necessary.