Patient's question:
I am currently 18+5 weeks pregnant and need to have a thorough check-up at the maternity hospital. The doctor said I need to undergo a Down syndrome screening. I would like to understand first what exactly is Down syndrome screening?Doctor's answer:
The time for the early pregnancy screening test, which is performed during the first trimester, is 11 to 14 weeks, with the optimal time being 11 to 12 weeks. It is a test that extracts the mother's blood to examine the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin in the maternal serum, and combines the mother's estimated due date, age, weight, and gestational age at the time of blood collection to estimate the risk coefficient of having a child with Down syndrome. For many years, pregnant women over the age of 35 have been considered high-risk and have undergone prenatal diagnosis for Down syndrome. If the serum screening is positive, an amniocentesis is required to confirm the diagnosis and determine the course of action.