We Support Down Syndrome Awareness Month
That may be a very close reality with the inception of a new blood test aimed to provide women with accurate results within the 8th to 12th week of pregnancy. For years doctors have been struggling to identify Down syndrome early enough in pregnancy to give expecting mothers the choice of abortion or enough time to prepare for the challenges of raising a child with Down syndrome.
Currently, women rely on an ultrasound in which certain findings (sometimes called soft markers) may suggest to physicians that a baby may have Down syndrome. Soft markers are findings that, in and of themselves, won`t cause the baby any problems but might indicate that the baby has an underlying chromosome abnormality. If these markers are found during the ultrasound a doctor will order a series of blood work known as Maternal Serum Screening, which puts both the mother and fetus under a tremendous amount of stress.
Until these new tests are proven to accurately determine Down syndrome, women will have to remain reliant on amniocentesis, which is a procedure using a needle to extract DNA from the fetus that cannot be done until well into the second trimester, and another method known as chorionic villus sampling which collects tissue sample from the placenta. Both of these procedures carry a small risk for miscarriage. Right now this newer exam is available to doctors in 20 cities across the U.S. showing greater promise than previous testing methods. This test seeks out fetal DNA in the mother`s blood and if it proves to be as remarkable as its initial findings it could eliminate more than 90% of the more invasive diagnostic tests. For more information on the risk of your child being born with Down syndrome speak to your OBGYN and visit:www.marchofdimes.com
