What is prenatal screening?

During pregnancy, the mother is very easily affected by external influences that affect her health. Moreover, during pregnancy there are mutations that the mother cannot control. To know the development status of the fetus, pregnant women should perform prenatal screening as soon as possible to understand the development status of the baby.

Video content is professionally consulted by Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Nguyen Viet Nhan - An expert of the Ministry of Health on prenatal and neonatal screening, Department of Fetal Medicine - International General Hospital Vinmec Times City

Specialist doctors recommend that regular and periodic antenatal check-up combined with prenatal screening are important measures to understand the fetal development status, assess risks, and detect complications in pregnancy, as well as early and complete diagnosis of birth defects of the fetus, in order to have a safe birth plan and timely neonatal treatment for congenital defects with a chance to correct. cure.
Prenatal screening to diagnose fetuses at risk of some common diseases during pregnancy. During 40 weeks of pregnancy there are 2 times to perform prenatal screening.
I: (From week 11 to 13 weeks 6 days): Focus on screening for Down syndrome, edward syndrome, Patau syndrome related to some common chromosomal abnormalities, thalassemia. or pre-eclampsia screening. Second trimester: Week 18-week 22: Golden time for screening by ultrasound to help detect morphological abnormalities of the fetus. In the case of the first-trimester prenatal screening, in addition to taking maternal blood to detect abnormal indicators, today there is also an ultrasound, the doctor will base on the results of both to get the main screening results. corpse. Particularly for the second trimester, doctors will use the Triple test to assess the risk of Down syndrome, trisomy 18 and the risk of neurological defects. Some current new tests such as NIPT can help analyze fetal DNA in maternal blood, thereby detecting abnormalities of 3 chromosomes 21, 18, 13. However, each test has certain limitations and limitations. It's also just a screening, so if there is a high-risk result, pregnant women should also stay calm.
Based on the reference threshold, the results of prenatal screening will show high-risk and low-risk groups. Low-risk group does not mean that the baby absolutely does not have the disease, however, if high risk does not mean certain, mothers should calm down and follow the doctor's instructions to conduct tests. The next step is to find a sure result.
All pregnant women are on the list of needing prenatal screening consultation, especially the following pregnant women:
Pregnant mother Pregnant mother is a person with weak health who has faced pregnancy stillbirth and miscarriage of unknown cause; Having a stressful mood often due to working in a toxic chemical environment, using many stimulants such as alcohol, beer, tobacco; In the first 3 months of pregnancy, flu, measles, chickenpox, mumps and rubella; Family, relatives who have deformities, Agent Orange or have genetic diseases; Using antibiotics is contraindicated for pregnant women. Pregnant mothers have chronic medical conditions such as: diabetes, high blood pressure ... Currently, there are many medical facilities and large hospitals that can afford it. perform prenatal screening counseling and prenatal screening. However, for safe prenatal screening and the most accurate screening results, it is necessary to go to reputable medical facilities with modern testing equipment.