What should I do if the risk is high during early Down syndrome screening?

Down syndrome has a huge impact in modern life. It is a deformity problem in the process of fetal development, which can have a very adverse effect on the development of the fetus. Therefore, paying attention to the development of Down syndrome is a matter of great concern to many pregnant women. What should some women do if they have a high risk of early Down syndrome screening during regular Down syndrome screening? Let’s take a look at the explanation below.

The first step: high risk of Down syndrome screening does not mean that the child is Down syndrome

Down syndrome screening mainly involves measuring the AFP value, HCG value and other non-specific biochemical indicators in the pregnant woman's blood, and then comparing them with those of normal pregnant women. After probability analysis, the possibility of the fetus having Down syndrome is determined. Therefore, a high risk of Down syndrome screening is just a possibility, not a real disease.

According to current industry standards, approximately 5 out of every 100 pregnancies will receive high-risk screening results. Therefore, if a pregnant mother sees that she is at high risk of Down syndrome, she should not be anxious or sad, and should not have the urge to not have the child, because this is not the final result and other methods are needed to confirm the diagnosis.

The second method: The accuracy rate of Down syndrome screening is actually very low, only 60%

For pregnant mothers, every pregnancy has the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo, including Down syndrome, and the incidence of this disease is relatively high, with the neonatal incidence rate being about 1/700.

Therefore, pregnant mothers must undergo Down syndrome screening, but according to industry standards, the accuracy of Down syndrome screening is actually not high, with an accuracy rate of only about 60%. Therefore, although the results of Down syndrome screening should be taken seriously, you must not think that this is the final result.

The third method: cooperate with other examinations to finally determine whether it is Down syndrome

The obstetrician and gynecologist of our hospital pointed out that since you have chosen to do Down syndrome screening, you must trust the hospital and the professional ability of the doctor. Because no one wants inaccurate screening, and everyone hopes that the fetus can be healthy.

Therefore, for such high-risk situations, other examinations can be performed to ultimately rule out or confirm whether the child is a Down syndrome child. Generally speaking, hospitals recommend that pregnant mothers undergo non-invasive DNA testing or amniocentesis.