Patient's question:
Please let me know what period during pregnancy is the best time for newborn screening for congenital abnormalities! Can it still be done around 23 weeks?Doctor's answer:
The second and third trimesters of pregnancy (20 weeks to 28 weeks, or 5 months to 8 months) are the best times for a four-dimensional ultrasound to conduct a structural anomaly scan, primarily to check for any congenital abnormalities in the fetus.You are now at the right time to undergo the prenatal screening test. Prenatal screening is a test to screen for fetal intellectual development, with the optimal time frame being between 15 weeks and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Based on China's practical experience with newborn hearing screening during hospitalization and the pass rate of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE), it is recommended that the screening be conducted when the newborn is in a quiet or sleeping state, between 24 to 48 hours (or even 3 to 5 days) after birth. Generally, it is recommended to screen on the third day after birth:
- Natural delivery: 2 days
- Cesarean section: 3 days
- Preterm infants: 5 days after the mother's pregnancy reaches 34 weeks
- Small for gestational age (SGA) infants and large for gestational age (LGA) infants: 5 days
- Assisted delivery (forceps or vacuum extraction): 7 days