Sugar screening process

Sugar screening is very important. If a female friend does not do this examination in the early stages of pregnancy, the fetus in her belly may be at risk of suffering from this disease, which is very dangerous. Therefore, she should go to the hospital for a check-up in the early stages and conduct a comprehensive examination according to the doctor's instructions. This requires checking various indicators in her body to make a diagnosis.

Down syndrome screening is mainly for screening Down syndrome, that is, to check whether the baby will be a congenitally stupid Down syndrome baby, mainly checking alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin, and free estriol.

Fetuses with Down syndrome are not exclusive to older pregnant women. Although older pregnant women over 35 years old are closely related to Down syndrome, the older the age, the greater the chance of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome. However, young women may also give birth to children with Down syndrome, and only 20% of Down syndrome occurs in older pregnant women, while the other 80% of Down syndrome fetuses are born to young pregnant women under 35 years old. Therefore, if only older pregnant women are examined, it will not be a good way to prevent Down syndrome.

On the other hand, if all pregnant women undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, not only will the cost be higher, but it will also increase the chance of miscarriage, so it is not necessary for all women to undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. Currently, the best way to prevent Down syndrome is that all young pregnant women undergo Down syndrome screening tests, and those who are shown to be at high risk undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. Through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, it can be determined whether the fetal chromosomes are normal and whether the fetus has Down syndrome.

Down syndrome screening requires drawing a tube of venous blood from the pregnant mother. The risk factor of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome is calculated by testing the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the maternal serum and combining the pregnant woman's due date, age, weight and gestational age at the time of blood collection. Pregnant mothers can usually get the test results one week after the blood is drawn.

Down syndrome screening can detect 60-70% of children with Down syndrome. It should be made clear that the Down syndrome screening test can only help determine the chance that the fetus has Down syndrome, but it cannot determine whether the fetus has Down syndrome. That is to say, when the blood test index is high, the chance of having a Down syndrome baby is higher, but it does not mean that there must be something wrong with the fetus. Just as older pregnant women over 35 years old have a higher chance of having Down syndrome babies, it does not mean that their fetuses will definitely have problems. On the other hand, even if the test index is normal, it cannot guarantee that the fetus will not be sick.