Introducing antenatal tests
You’ll
be offered a range of prenatal tests to check that your baby is developing
normally; and there are also tests performed as part of your prenatal checks to
ensure that you don’t have any health problems that could affect your unborn
baby.
Tests
on you will check for conditions such as pre-eclampsia and gestational
diabetes. Tests that
check your baby can screen for and diagnose abnormalities such as Down syndrome and spina bifida, and include ultrasound scans and blood tests.
It’s
not compulsory to have these tests, especially if you wouldn’t terminate a
pregnancy under any circumstances. However, many parents who feel like this
view the tests as a way of finding out if there’s a problem so they can have
their baby in a hospital equipped with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and prepare themselves to care for a child with
disabilities. On the other hand, you may be sure that if you found out your
baby were to have a serious medical condition you would choose to have a
termination.
Decisions
like these aren’t easy to make. All parents have different circumstances and
backgrounds and the choices made can be affected by a number of factors. After
an initial chat with your OB-GYN or nurse-midwife it may be very useful to you
to see a genetic counselor, especially if your family medical history means
you’re high risk for having a baby with an abnormality. Alternately, there are
many helpful organizations that offer help and support and can put you in touch
with other women and couples who’ve had prenatal testing – ask your OB-GYN or
nurse-midwife for details.
Make
sure that you and your partner talk and share the responsibility for any tests
you do decide to have. You need to agree on how you’re going to move forward in
the event of a test coming back positive.
The information in this feature is intended for
educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the
health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a
doctor or other healthcare professional.