What does Down syndrome screening test include?

Pregnant women need to face many tests, and each test is very important for pregnant women, because only by doing a good job of the test can you know whether the child is healthy, especially Down syndrome screening. However, pregnant women are not very familiar with the items of Down syndrome screening. So, what items are checked in Down syndrome screening? Let the editor below give a detailed introduction.

What new items are included in Down syndrome screening?

1. Maternal blood cell test

The blood of pregnant mothers was extracted and tested to analyze two biochemical blood cell items, including maternal blood dispersed hepatitis B human villus sex hormone and pregnancy-related plasma protein-A.

2. Ultrasound examination

Accurately measure the thickness of the gap between the fetal neck tissue and the skin (called the nuchal translucency). Fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities will always have a thickened nuchal translucency. This inspection will take at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Types of Down syndrome screening

Early Down syndrome screening

Down syndrome screening in early pregnancy is a combination of nuchal translucency (NT) screening with B-ultrasound examination and blood cell biochemical examination results to conduct a risk assessment on the possibility of a fetus with sex chromosome genetic diseases in expectant mothers. Early Down syndrome screening can detect a very high proportion of Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities, but because the accuracy of the nuchal translucency scanner is determined by many factors, including the level of the ultrasound physician and the accuracy of the scanner used, early pregnancy Down syndrome screening still has certain defects. If Down syndrome screening fails in the early stage, you can do nothing or do related tests for diagnosis, such as amniocentesis, for a more detailed diagnosis.

Mid- to late-stage Down syndrome screening

The mid-pregnancy Down syndrome screening involves extracting blood cells from maternal and infant products to test the concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human gonadotropin (hCG) in the mother's blood cells, as well as free estriol (uE3) and inhibin A. The risk of having a child with Down syndrome is calculated based on the increase or decrease of these markers in the mother's blood cells and the mother's due date, age, weight and gestational age at the time of blood collection. When a high-risk condition is found in the middle or late stage of Down syndrome screening, a more detailed diagnosis can be made through fetal anomaly screening, amniocentesis, or fur cell counting or minimally invasive DNA testing.

The above is a brief introduction to what items are checked in Down syndrome screening. I believe pregnant mothers have already known that Down syndrome screening is a very important examination item, so every pregnant woman needs to be checked. Pregnant mothers can be fully prepared as long as they understand the examination items. Pregnant women should also supplement their nutrition on a regular basis and get more rest in the early stages of pregnancy.