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Prenatal Screening Tests

Article

First-Trimester Screening for Birth Defects

What is a prenatal screening test?

A screening test will tell you the likelihood or "odds" that your baby has a certain birth defect or disorder. It does not have the ability to rule out or diagnose a condition. The advantage of a screening test is that it usually poses no risk for harm to you or your unborn baby.

With a screening test, the "detection rate" refers to the percentage of cases of the condition that is detected. A screening test will have a certain "false positive" rate, which is the percentage of results that falsely show increased risk.

Test options include nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound, FirstScreen®, Sequential Screen, fetal anatomy ultrasound, and fetal echocardiogram.

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Articles & Resources

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  • Article

    Pregnancy: Should I Have Screening Tests for Birth Defects?

  • Article

    Pregnancy: Should I Have an Early Fetal Ultrasound?