Prenatal testing

Prenatal diagnosis and prenatal screening are aspects of prenatal care that focus on detecting anatomic and physiologic problems with the zygote, embryo, or fetus as early as possible, either before gestation even starts (as in preimplantation genetic diagnosis) or as early in gestation as practicable. They use medical tests to detect problems such as neural tube defects, chromosome abnormalities, and gene mutations that would lead to genetic disorders and birth defects, such as spina bifida, cleft palate, Tay–Sachs disease, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and fragile X syndrome. The screening focuses on finding problems among a large population with affordable and noninvasive methods, whereas the diagnosis focuses on pursuing additional detailed information once a particular problem has been found, and can sometimes be more invasive. Screening can also be used for prenatal sex discernment. Common testing procedures include amniocentesis, ultrasonography including nuchal translucency ultrasound, serum biomarker testing, or genetic screening. In some cases, the tests are administered to determine if the fetus will be aborted, though physicians and patients also find it useful to diagnose high-risk pregnancies early so that delivery can be scheduled in a tertiary care hospital where the baby can receive appropriate care.