Prenatal Diagnosis employs a variety of techniques to determine the health and condition of an unborn fetus. Without knowledge gained by prenatal diagnosis, there could be an untoward outcome for the fetus or the mother or both.
Congenital anomalies account for 20 to 25% of perinatal deaths. Specifically, prenatal diagnosis is helpful for:
Managing the remaining weeks of the pregnancy
Determining the outcome of the pregnancy
Planning for possible complications with the birth process
Planning for problems that may occur in the newborn infant
Deciding whether to continue the pregnancy
Finding conditions that may affect future pregnancies
There are a variety of non-invasive and invasive techniques available for
prenatal diagnosis. Each of them can be applied only during specific time
periods during the pregnancy for greatest utility. The techniques employed for
prenatal diagnosis include:
Ultrasonography,
Amniocentesis
Chorionic villus sampling,
Fetal blood cells in maternal blood,
Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein,
Maternal serum beta-HCG and
Maternal serum estriol.
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Ultrasound in PN Diagnosis
Amniocentesis
Chorionic Villus Sampling
Maternal blood sampling for fetal blood cells