Prenatal Screening
Our 3 nurse sonographers are all credentialed with the Fetal Medicine Foundation for 1st trimeter screening ultrasounds.
Early Screen
Early Screen is a blood test combined with an 11-13 week ultrasound which estimates the chance of having a baby with Down syndrome, Trisomy-18 or Trisomy-13. Women less than 35 years of age with no family history of chromosome abnormalities or women less than 33 years of age carrying twins should be offered Early Screen. Women who will be over 35 years of age at delivery, who will be 33 years old carrying twins or who have a family history of a chromosome condition, are routinely offered diagnostic testing by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis for prenatal chromosome diagnosis. Early screen is not a substitute for a diagnostic test and does not provide a diagnosis.The test is performed by taking a blood sample to measure levels of freeBeta hCG and PAPP-A proteins. The ultrasound measures a fluid filled space at the back of the baby’s neck (nuchal translucency) and may examine the nasal bone. An increased risk on the screening test does not mean a chromosomal condition has been diagnosed and further testing will be offered. A normal risk result reduces the risk, but does not rule out Down syndrome, Trisomy-18 or Trisomy-13.