![]() ![]() Your health care provider will use your age and the results of the blood test and ultrasound exam to gauge your risk of carrying a baby with Down syndrome or trisomy 18. The ultrasound doesn't hurt, and you can return to your usual activities immediately. Your health care provider or the technician will use these images to measure the size of the clear space in the tissue at the back of your baby's neck. The reflected sound waves will be digitally converted into images on a monitor. Your health care provider or an ultrasound technician will place a transducer - a small plastic device that sends and receives sound waves - over your abdomen. You can return to your usual activities immediately.įor the ultrasound exam, you'll lie on your back on an exam table. The blood sample is sent to a lab for analysis. What you can expectįirst trimester screening includes a blood draw and an ultrasound exam.ĭuring the blood test, a member of your health care team takes a sample of blood by inserting a needle into a vein in your arm. You can eat and drink normally before both the blood test and the ultrasound exam. You don't need to do anything special to prepare for first trimester screening. The screening poses no risk of miscarriage or other pregnancy complications. You might also consider what level of risk would be enough for you to choose a more invasive follow-up test.įirst trimester screening is a routine prenatal screening test. Consider whether the screening will be worth any anxiety it might cause, or whether you'll manage your pregnancy differently depending on the results. Test results indicate only whether you have an increased risk of carrying a baby with Down syndrome or trisomy 18, not whether your baby actually has one of these conditions.īefore the screening, think about what the results will mean to you. This can improve the detection rate of Down syndrome.įirst trimester screening is optional. Some health care providers choose to combine the results of first trimester screening with the quad screen. The quad screen can evaluate your risk of carrying a baby with Down syndrome or trisomy 18, as well as neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. An example is the quad screen, a blood test that's typically done between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy. Other screening tests can be done later in pregnancy. If your baby has a higher risk of Down syndrome, you'll also have more time to prepare for the possibility of caring for a child who has special needs. This will give you more time to make decisions about further diagnostic tests, the course of the pregnancy, medical treatment and management during and after delivery. ![]() Trisomy 18 causes more severe delays and is often fatal by age 1.įirst trimester screening doesn't evaluate the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.īecause first trimester screening can be done earlier than most other prenatal screening tests, you'll have the results early in your pregnancy. ![]() The test also provides information about the risk of trisomy 18.ĭown syndrome causes lifelong impairments in mental and social development, as well as various physical concerns. First trimester screening is done to evaluate your risk of carrying a baby with Down syndrome. ![]()
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