Patient's question:
Last Wednesday, I had a Down syndrome screening at the Ili Maternal and Child Health Hospital. The results showed high risk for trisomy 21. I would like to ask if I still need to make an appointment for an amniocentesis at your hospital? What tests need to be done? Are the test items I previously did with my unit still valid? What can I do in the future?Doctor's answer:
Amniocentesis is a method of prenatal diagnosis. It is generally suitable for prenatal diagnosis during the second trimester of pregnancy. The optimal time for puncture to extract amniotic fluid for prenatal diagnosis is between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation. This is because the fetus is small at this stage, and there is relatively more amniotic fluid. The fetus floats in the amniotic fluid, surrounded by a wide band of amniotic fluid. When puncturing to extract amniotic fluid with a needle, it is less likely to injure the fetus.