How long does it take to get the results of Down syndrome screening?

We all say that mothers are outstanding, which includes the hardships of ten months of pregnancy. In the second half of pregnancy, pregnant mothers will undergo a key prenatal test - Down syndrome screening. So how long does it take to get the results of Down syndrome screening?

Down syndrome screening

Down syndrome screening is a test method that extracts blood cells from pregnant women, tests the concentration of alpha-fetoprotein and human gonadotropin in the mother's blood cells, and calculates the risk of having a child with Down syndrome based on the mother's due date, age, weight and weeks of pregnancy when the blood was drawn. Down syndrome screening is to screen out patients with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a sporadic disease, so every pregnant woman has the possibility of giving birth to a "Down syndrome child".

How long does it take to get the Down syndrome screening results?

The best time to carry out screening is the 15th to 20th week of pregnancy. Generally, pregnant women can get the screening results within one week after the blood test. However, the time it takes for each hospital to release the results of Down syndrome screening is different. Some hospitals may release the results in 5 days, some in ten days, and some in more than ten days. It varies. If the result is high risk, there is no need to panic, because further amniocentesis and fetal chromosome examination are required to confirm the diagnosis.

How long does it take to get the Down syndrome screening results? The time it takes for different hospitals to produce results is different, so it cannot be generalized. Pregnant mothers should ask their doctors how long it will take to get the results after Down syndrome screening. In addition, friends should note that the Down screening test can only help determine the chance of the fetus having Down syndrome, but it cannot confirm whether the fetus has Down syndrome, so there is no need to worry too much.

Solutions for Down syndrome screening results showing low risk

1. Don’t be complacent. A “low risk” result means that the possibility of the fetus being a Down syndrome baby is low. However, the results of Down syndrome screening are related to the menstrual cycle, weight, height, weeks of pregnancy, and gestational age. Deviations in any of these factors (such as inaccurate calculation of the menstrual cycle, incorrect calculation of gestational age, etc.) may lead to inaccurate results. Therefore, this situation needs to be confirmed by examination. Blood can be drawn to rule out genetic congenital diseases (venous blood or heel blood), and amniocentesis can be performed when necessary to further determine the physical condition of the fetus. However, amniocentesis has certain risk factors and may lead to miscarriage. Prospective parents with low-risk results can choose not to do it.

2. Adhere to prenatal checkups. Even if the result is low risk, you must insist on other prenatal checkups to accurately understand the growth and development of the fetus.

Solutions for high-risk Down syndrome screening results

1. Pregnant mothers whose Down syndrome screening results are "high risk" need further diagnosis to see if their fetus has Down syndrome. The most common technology for prenatal examination at present is amniocentesis, that is, under the guidance of B-ultrasound, a needle is inserted into the amniotic fluid of the pregnant woman through the abdomen to extract the amniotic fluid and perform sex chromosome analysis on the fetal cells. Amniocentesis is suitable for pregnant women between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation. Some pregnant women or their relatives may have concerns about the safety of amniocentesis, but according to surveys, the miscarriage rate caused by this technology is only 0.5%. In addition to amniocentesis, other prenatal examination techniques include chorionic villus sampling, fetal umbilical vein puncture, and fetoscopy.

2. What should I do after my baby is diagnosed with Down syndrome? There is currently no effective treatment for Down syndrome, and the best way is for the pregnant mother to terminate the pregnancy before giving birth.