NON-INVASIVE METHOD

Mothers can feel both excited and nervous at the same time when they first learn that they are carrying a new life. During a pregnancy, women can be overwhelmed with new information, for example, about fetal development, health insurance, and prenatal examinations. Confusion is compounded when mothers are faced with tests that have complicated names such as NIPS, NIPT, or NIFTY.

In fact, NIPS, NIPT, and NIFTY all refer to the same test: Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening. This procedure is a good alternative to traditional amniocentesis, which involves a 20 cm long needle that penetrates the abdomen. Amniocentesis is associated with a long list of complications, such as miscarriage, hemorrhage, stillbirth, endometritis, chorioamnioitis, septicemia, early-stage water breakage, and early-stage uterine dysfunction. These risks cause many young mothers to skip amniocentesis, which means that they may not realize they are carrying a baby with Down syndrome.

Many people avoid the risks of amniocentesis by undergoing blood serum testing to screen for Down syndrome instead. However, blood serum testing can only determine the probability of Down syndrome; it cannot identify the actual condition of the baby. For anxious parents, this can seem like a gamble in which the stakes are too high.

Technological advances now allow parents to choose a safer alternative: Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS). Using NIPS, a doctor can learn a great deal about the health of the baby using only a small amount of maternal blood. Indeed, NIPS is a Non-Invasive procedure that can be conducted during the early stages of pregnancy. Currently, NIPS is the best way to screen for Down syndrome.