Pregnant women support extra screening test for Down’s syndrome

A test that is 99% accurate in predicting the risk of Down’s syndrome and reduces the number of women who need invasive testing has the backing of pregnant women, early research has found.

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), which checks maternal blood for fetal DNA indicative of Down’s syndrome, has been available in private clinics in the United Kingdom for several years. The test also screens for the rarer genetic conditions Edward’s syndrome and Patau syndrome.

Early results from an acceptability trial among pregnant women in NHS maternity clinics have shown that most welcomed the opportunity to have another non-invasive test if they were found to be at high risk of carrying a fetus with Down’s syndrome on initial …