Patient's question:
When is it best to do the Down syndrome screening? What kind of test can detect fetal development abnormalities?Doctor's answer:
Disease Analysis: Down syndrome screening is a method that involves drawing pregnant women's serum to detect the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin in the maternal serum. It also combines the pregnant woman's due date, age, weight, and gestational age at the time of blood collection to calculate the risk coefficient of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome. The optimal time for Down syndrome screening is between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy. If a high-risk result is indicated, further amniocentesis and fetal chromosome testing are necessary to determine whether the child has Down syndrome.Recommendation: It is recommended to undergo a 3D color Doppler ultrasound examination between weeks 21 and 27 of pregnancy, which can help rule out major fetal organ abnormalities.