What is Down syndrome screening test?

Pregnancy is the most important thing in a woman's life, and giving birth to a healthy baby is what every mother and family hopes for. Of course, you must pay attention to all aspects during pregnancy. Down syndrome screening is the most common prenatal examination item. Many people don’t understand it. Let’s take a look at what the following Down syndrome screening examination items are?

1. Down syndrome screening is the abbreviation of prenatal screening test for Down syndrome. It is one of the necessary items in prenatal examination. It is a detection method that extracts the serum of pregnant women, tests the levels of certain biochemical indicators in the maternal serum, screens out high-risk pregnant women with fetal aneuploidy 21-trisomy and 18-trisomy syndrome, and calculates the risk factor of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome.

2. Down syndrome is a chromosomal defect disease, with an extra chromosome on chromosome 21, so it is also called trisomy 21 syndrome. The main manifestations are severe intellectual disability, strange facial features, low-set ears, wide-set eyes, thick neck skin, and limb deformities. Children with Down syndrome have severe intellectual disabilities, congenital idiocy, tongue-protruding dementia, are completely unable to take care of themselves, and suffer from complex cardiovascular diseases that are incurable throughout their lives. Taking China as an example, a child with Down syndrome is born approximately every 20 minutes, which brings a heavy mental and financial burden to the family.

3. Down syndrome serum screening is a very effective method to check for Down syndrome children. Any pregnant woman may be pregnant with a fetus with Down syndrome. In the past, it was believed that people over 35 years old were a high-risk group, and the chance of having a baby with Down syndrome would increase with the age of the pregnant woman. It is now believed that 80% of Down syndrome cases occur in pregnant women under the age of 35.

4. Down syndrome screening can not only narrow the scope of amniotic fluid examination, but also ensure that pregnant women who may be pregnant with Down syndrome are not missed. It is recommended that every pregnant woman should undergo Down syndrome screening to prevent it before it happens. Checking serum AFP and HGG can also screen out high-risk pregnant women for neural tube defects, trisomy 18 and trisomy 13.

What is the Down syndrome screening test? The above introduces the Tangshan screening projects. These examinations must be done during pregnancy. Older women, in particular, are a high-risk group. They should also pay attention to maintenance during pregnancy and have regular prenatal check-ups to ensure the safety of pregnant women and babies.