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Pregnancy: Should I Have Screening Tests for Birth Defects?

You may want to have a say in this decision, or you may simply want to follow your doctor's recommendation. Either way, this information will help you understand what your choices are so that you can talk to your doctor about them.

Pregnancy: Should I Have Screening Tests for Birth Defects?

Here's a record of your answers. You can use it to talk with your doctor or loved ones about your decision.

Get the facts

Your options

  • Have a screening test to find out the chance that your baby has a birth defect.
  • Don't have a screening test. You may decide not to have any tests. Or, you may want to have a diagnostic test which shows for sure if there is a birth defect.

If you know that you want a diagnostic test, then you can skip screening tests and decide whether to have chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or to choose amniocentesis.

Key points to remember

  • Testing for birth defects means that you may find out that your baby has a serious problem. So it's important to think about what that would mean to you and your partner. Would the news that your baby has a birth defect change your parenting plans? If, for example, you know that you would continue your pregnancy even with a birth defect, you might decide not to have any tests for birth defects.
  • Screening tests can't be used to diagnose a birth defect. They only estimate the chance that your baby has a birth defect. If one of these tests shows a higher-than-normal chance of a birth defect, you would then decide whether to have a diagnostic test such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) in the first trimester or amniocentesis in the second trimester—to find out for sure if there is a problem.
  • Screening tests correctly find most—but not all—cases of Down syndrome. But they sometimes show a chance of a problem when there isn't one (false-positive result).
  • If you plan to have a diagnostic test such as CVS or amniocentesis, you can skip screening tests.
  • Screening tests have less risk than diagnostic tests.
  • Screening tests for birth defects can't find every problem a baby could have.
  • A birth defects test can cost a lot. Check to see if your insurance plan will cover it.

FAQs

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