Patient's question:
I'd like to ask, if the prenatal screening shows high risk for Down syndrome, how should it be treated? I went to the hospital for early Down syndrome screening a few days ago. I just received the results yesterday, and it says high risk. The doctor recommended amniocentesis. But I'm afraid that amniocentesis might affect the fetus. How should it be treated?Doctor's answer:
Perform a thorough Down syndrome screening, which is a method for carefully examining whether the fetus has congenital developmental malformations in the early stages of pregnancy. The inpatient screening includes checking whether the fetus has neural tube defects, also known as Down syndrome. If the result is high-risk, it means the child has a higher likelihood of having this malformation, but it does not necessarily mean they will definitely have it. Therefore, it is necessary to undergo amniocentesis or non-invasive DNA testing. If the amniocentesis or non-invasive DNA testing results are also high-risk, then it can be reassuring.