Patient's question:
The doctor is 32 years old this year. I am about five months pregnant, and my belly is not very noticeable. I would like to ask the doctor, at what gestational age is it appropriate to do the Down syndrome screening? What diseases can be carefully checked through the Down syndrome screening?Doctor's answer:
The best time for Down syndrome screening is between 16 and 18 weeks during the 15th to 20th weeks of pregnancy. If it is performed too early or incorrectly, the accuracy of the Down screening results will be affected. It is a method that involves extracting maternal blood to check the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin in maternal serum. The results of the Down syndrome screening indicate the risk of the fetus having Down syndrome. The screening can only help confirm the probability of the fetus suffering from Down's disease, but it is still unclear how the fetus develops Down's disease.