Patient's question:
I am 16 weeks pregnant and will need to do the Down syndrome screening soon. Do you need a color ultrasound for the Down syndrome screening?Doctor's answer:
The Down syndrome screening is a detailed examination that pregnant women undergo during pregnancy, primarily involving blood tests, not ultrasound. The main purpose is to screen for the risk of the fetus developing Down syndrome. It also involves testing fasting blood glucose and blood glucose levels one and two hours after consuming glucose solution to screen for diabetes.Down syndrome screening mainly examines the levels of AFP, βHCG, and estriol in the blood. If the calculated risk is lower than 1/270, it is considered safe to continue early pregnancy. If the risk is higher than 1/270, further tests such as amniocentesis or non-invasive DNA testing are required.