Patient's question:
Friend is pregnant recently, she said when she went for a thorough examination, the doctor said she needed to do a prenatal Down syndrome screening. Hello, is prenatal Down syndrome screening really important?Doctor's answer:
Prenatal screening for Down syndrome is conducted in two stages. The first is early prenatal screening, which involves an NT scan around the 12th week of pregnancy. The second is mid-pregnancy screening, which involves a blood test between the 16th and 20th weeks of pregnancy. Both are recommended screenings. Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders are sporadic conditions, meaning every pregnant woman has the possibility of giving birth to a child with a chromosomal disease. Further screening is necessary and relatively safe.