Patient's question:
I am 35 years old this year, and I have been pregnant for 3 months. It is my second child. I heard from others that not all pregnant women need to undergo the Down syndrome screening. According to me, I should be considered a high-risk pregnancy, and my friends all urge me to have the Down syndrome screening done. The doctor also advised me to do it.What help do I need: When should the Down syndrome screening be done?
Doctor's answer:
The earlier the screening, the better. The accuracy of screening in the early pregnancy period (11-13 weeks) is much higher than that in the 14-21 week period, resulting in fewer "high-risk" cases. And once a high-risk result appears, it truly requires thorough follow-up because this screening method is highly accurate.Early pregnancy screening for Down syndrome includes: blood tests for PAPP-A and ?HCG, measurement of the thickness of the nuchal translucency (NT) in the posterior neck skin, and inputting these two results into a computer to calculate the risk. This is the internationally accepted method, where both blood test results and ultrasound measurements must be conducted strictly according to internationally specified instruments and methods, undergo rigorous review, and then be input into standardized software to calculate the Down syndrome risk. This risk calculation is highly reliable.
Our hospital uses this method for Down syndrome screening. Among 1,000 pregnant women, only 12 cases were identified as high-risk, and among those 12 cases, 10 children actually had issues.