DNA blood test as an option for prenatal screening

When your age is above 35, there is an increased chance of chromosomal disorders like Down syndrome. In this situation, you should go for the screening. But, it is very common that some women don’t do research on what type of DNA testing can be more effective. Now, many women don’t want an invasive procedure like amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling; the main reason is the miscarriage. In case of invasive prenatal testing, doctors put a needle into the womb to collect cells that contain fetal DNA, which can be the reason for the small risk of miscarriage.

The one test which is called cell-free fetal DNA testing is a great option for those women who don’t want to go through the invasive procedure. In this test, a simple blood sample from a pregnant woman is used to analyze bits of fetal DNA that have leaked into her bloodstream.

Surprisingly, this test is only been on the market since October 2011 and is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration; the FDA does not regulate this type of genetic testing service.

Several companies now offer this test, including Sequenom and Illumina. Additionally, insurance coverage varies. The doctor often only offers this type of testing to women who are at higher risk because of reasons like advanced maternal age.

According to some studies, new fetal DNA tests do a better job. These tests are less likely to indicate a normal pregnancy as high risk.

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There is also the main point to know that fetal DNA tests can’t give a definitive answer like an amniocentesis can because they just analyze the fragments of fetal DNA in the mother’s blood that are all combined with her own DNA.