Health encyclopaedia

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Who can use it? of Antenatal screening

The type of screening test you are offered depends on where you live in the country. Different hospitals, GP surgeries and antenatal clinics offer different tests depending on their facilities and policy. 

All pregnant women should be offered screening tests, although you can choose not to have them. Women over 35 are particularly encouraged to have screening tests, because the risk conditions such as  Down’s syndrome increases with age.

Antenatal screening tests can only detect a small number of abnormalities that most commonly affect the baby. This means that even if screening doesn’t show up any possible problems, the baby could still be born with a rare genetic disorder or abnormality.  Examples of this include Fragile X, some viral infections such as cytomegalovirus, and problems with the baby’s metabolism because some of the cells have mutated (changed). These conditions are very rare, and therefore currently aren’t routinely screened for.

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