Patient's question:
I am pregnant. The doctor recommended that I have a Down syndrome screening. I would like to ask if I need to hold my urine when I have the Down syndrome screening?Doctor's answer:
If you are undergoing early prenatal screening, you can proceed with the test even if you have a slight urge to urinate, without the need to hold it in as strictly as during the early stages of pregnancy. The current prenatal screening involves a thorough examination by testing the levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) in the pregnant woman's blood, combined with the woman's age, and using computer algorithms to precisely calculate the risk of the pregnant woman carrying a fetus with Down syndrome. In our hospital, prenatal screening for Down syndrome involves blood tests, so there is no need to hold urine, but you should not eat anything beforehand. If you are undergoing mid-pregnancy screening, there is no need to hold urine at all. However, early screening is relatively more accurate. It is recommended to undergo early prenatal screening between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy, along with NT testing, to comprehensively evaluate and predict the probability of the fetus having Down syndrome.