EmonNazari

3/4/15

PrenatalScreening

Thecostsandbenefitsofprenatalscreeningcanhaveatremendousimpactonfamilies
andthescienceindustryinhowembryosareproduced.Thebenefitsincludethenew
technologiesthatareinvolvedingeneticengineeringandhowembryoscanbecreatedtoprevent
diseasesonthechildrenofthefamilies.Thecostsincludeanxietyinpregnantwomenthatare
beingtested,possiblegeneticdefectsinchildrenandbeingmorallywrongwithhowtheyare
geneticallycreatedtopreventdiseases.

AccordingtoMayoClinic,PrenatalScreeninghelpsdetermineifyourbabyshealthwill
bebeneficialinthefutureornot.Therearetwotypesoftests,ScreeningtestsandDiagnostic
Tests.Screeningtestsdetermineifyourbabywillhavediseasesandotherconditions.Diagnostic
testthatshowsyourfamilyhistoryandifyourbabywillhaveanygeneticproblemsbasedon
yourfamilyhistoryandthemedicalproblemsthatareinyourfamilyhistory.Itsalsoimportant
foryoutomakeadecisiontoprenataltestingduetovarietiesofteststhatarenotcompletely
accurate.Althoughifyourchildhasacertaingeneticdisease,prenatalscreeningcantreatcertain
diseasesduringpregnancy.Othergeneticdiseasescanalsobetreatedafterthebirthofachild(
MayoClinic).

PrenatalScreeningsgoalistotestachildtodeterminewhetherithascertaingenetic
conditionsornot.Thiscanbenefitafamilyinmakingadecisioninwhethertheycankeepthe
childtocontinuethemotherspregnancyprogressandtheycanlearntheoddsoftheirchild

havinganygeneticdiseasesthatmayoccurinthemothersfamilyhistory.Thepeoplethatalso
benefitfromprenatalscreeningareindividualsincertainpopulationsatanincreasedriskofa
geneticdisease.(UniversityofMichigan).Forexample,thisincludesSickleCellAnemiain
African,Turkish,IndoPakistani,ArabandMediterraneanpopulations,(Universityof
Michigan).Individualswhoarediagnosedwithdiabetesandphenylketonuriabenefitfromthis
prenatalscreeningalongwithwomenwhohaveteratogen,whichisachangeintheuterothat
causesbirthdefects,isalsointhewomanspregnancyprocess.Afewprenatalscreening
techniquesincludeMaternalSerumScreeningTests,VisualizationoftheFetus,andBiochemical
studiesoffetalcells(UniversityofMichigan).

AccordingtoUniversityOfMichigan,prenatalscreeningdoesnotnecessarilymeanthat
itgeneratesaperfectbaby.PrenatalScreeningalsodoesnotfullyguaranteeifthetestingis
accurateeveniftheresultsarenormal(UniversityofMichigan).Theresultsthatdeterminesthe
geneticdiseaseonlyanalyzesthediseasesriskratherthandiagnosetheproblem.(Suzanne
Robin,Livestrong.com)Makingadecisionbasedonprenatalscreeningsisneveraneasy
decision.Alsowomenenteringthehospitalsexcitedlybelievethattherewontbeaproblem
duringthepregnancyprocessbutthethetruthisthatscreeningformajorabnormalitieshavea
potentialrisksuchasfacialdeformitiesandneuraltubedefects.Alsowomenwillbehavinga
difficultperiodoftimemakingadecisionaboutpregnancy.Thisscreeningisjustpriortothe
otherteststhatdetermineaprobleminthefetus.Thetriplescreentesting,anothernamefor
MaternalSerumScreeningTests,isestimatedtohavea5percentpositiverate.Mostofthe
babiesthatgettesteddonothavegeneticdisorders.Prenataltestsdonotlocatetheissuewhile

youarebeingtested,evenifyoucompletetheultrasoundscreening.Amniocentesistestsamples
revealthatthereisanincreasedriskofpregnancyloss.ChorionicVillusSampling,aprenatal
testingforchromosomaldisordersincludingDownSyndrome,hasaboutaonepercentof
pregnancylossafterthetest.WomenwhoarebeingtestedforCVScanmostlikelyreceivefetal
damageanditalsocausesthefetustohavelimbshortening(Robin,Suzanne,Livestrong.com).
PrenatalScreeninghasitsrisksandbenefitsforfamiliesthatareseekingforasolutionto
whetheriftheyshouldkeeptheirbabyorputitintoabortion.AccordingtothestudybyJohnA.
HaugenAssociates,Allcoupleshavea34%chanceofhavingababywithabirthdefect.The
risksmayvaryonfactorssuchasage,familyhistory,andthemedicalrecord(JohnA.Haugen
AssociatesP.A.).Althoughalltheprenataltestingsaredifferentformanytypesofdisorders
ratherthanhavingonespecificprenatalscreeningforallofthegeneticdisorders.Noneofthe
testsgiveyouthefullaccurateresultsoftheconditionsthatyourfetusmayhave,andtheydont
fullyguaranteeyouthatyouwillhaveahealthybaby.Manytypesofprenataltestingsdescribe
theconditionsinabriefsummary(JohnA.HaugenAssociatesP.A.).Alsotherearetwotesting
categories:ScreeningandDiagnosis.ScreeningtestsincludeFirstTrimesterScreening,Quad
Screen,andAnatomyUltrasound.DiagnostictestsincludeChorionicVillusSamplingand
Amniocentesis.Eachofthetestshaveitsduration,benefitsandcoststotheirtestingprocedure.
Forexample,TheFirstTrimesterScreeningtakesabout1013weekstofinishandtheresults
comeinbetween710daysafterthescreening.ThebenefitistoAssessriskforDown
SyndromeandTrisomy18.Detectsabout8590%ofbabieswithDownSyndrome(JohnA.
HaugenAssociatesP.A.).Thecostsincludea5%falsepositiverateoverall.Morefalsepositives
withincreasingmaternalage.Ifabnormalultrasoundmeasurementbutnormaloverallresults,

increasedriskforfetalheartdefects(40%risk)(JohnA.HaugenAssociatesP.A.)Prenatal
Screeningsarealsoveryexpensivepertesting.AccordingtoDownSyndromePrenatalTesting,
TheWSJarticlereportedthatin2012,Sequenomperformed61,000ofitsMaterniT21test,its
brandofNIPS.Ina
previouspost
IsharedatablethatreportedSequenomwascharging$2,762
pertest(Leach,Mark,DownSyndromePrenatalTesting).

PrenatalScreeningisariskytesttotakebecauseitmakesyouhaveanxietypriorto
makingthedecisionofprenatalscreening,thesedecisionsmaypossiblyincludeabortionifthis
babyhasahighchanceofreceivingacertaingeneticdisorder,financialcostsofscreening,and
notreceivingtheresultsthatyoumaydesire.Thefinancialcostsforthosefamilieswhodonot
havehealthinsurancecanbeexpensivealso.Alsothefetusduringpregnancycanreceive
varioustypesofabnormalitiesaftertheygettested.Prenatalscreeningdoesnotfullyguarantee
thatyourbabywillpreventeverydiseasepossible.Therearemisconceptionsinprenatal
screenings:Thisisguaranteeingtoyourfamilythatyourbabywillbehealthy,andhaveno
abnormalitiesordisorders.Insteadoffullyguaranteedresults,theygiveyouacertainpercentage
ofwhatthedoctorsdetect.Inaddition,thereisrisksthatincludefalsepositiveratesofdiagnostic
andscreeningtestsgiven.Insteadofpreventingthedisease,thescreeningsonlygiveyou
feedbackontheanalyzationofthediseasethatyourfetusmayhavereceived.Sooverall,Since
technologyhasrapidlyadvancedinthepastdecade,PrenatalScreeningshaveimproved
tremendouslybutnottoclearallofthegeneticdisordersorconditionsthatthefetusmay
possiblyhavewhilethefetusisbeingtestduringpregnancy.Noteverybodycanbeperfectfrom
ageneticscreening,itifwasthateasy,theneverybodyinthisworldwouldbedisorderfreefrom

anytypeofcondition.,allhumanshaveflawsandthereisnosuchthingasgeneratingaperfect
baby.

WorkCited

"PregnancyWeekbyWeek."
PrenatalTesting:IsItRightforYou?
MayoClinic,14
Aug.2012.Web.7Mar.2015

"PrenatalDiagnosisObjectives."UniversityofMichigan.Web.7Mar.2015.

"TheFactsonPrenatalTesting."
TheFactsonPrenatalTesting
.JohnA.Haugen
AssociatesP.A.Web.7Mar.2015.

Robin,Suzanne."TheDisadvantagesofPrenatalTesting."
LIVESTRONG.COM
.
LIVESTRONG.COM,28Jan.2015.Web.7Mar.2015.

Leach,Mark."WhatPricetoDoPrenatalTestingRight?"
DownSyndrome
PrenatalTesting
.29Apr.2013.Web.7Mar.2015.