Nuchal Translucency Screening or the Nuchal Fold Test is performed in order to measure the risk of the baby acquiring the Down syndrome along with some chromosomal abnormalities or a serious heart disease. It is a prenatal screening test that is not helpful for diagnosis but assessment of the risk. After this you can take up tests to which will determine whether your baby is actually affected. Nuchal Fold Testing is a very complex procedure and is practiced only with proper equipments and training.
Why should you take up the test:
As already told the screen test is helpful in proving whether the baby is at a risk or not. Since this is not a diagnostic testing there is no very slight risk of any miscarriage during CVS or chronic villus sampling. This test is recommended by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as well. Though the decision is very personal your doctor may guide you and enlighten about the whole procedure. If there is a high risk detected then other procedures like the CVS will follow.
Accuracy of the test:
There is a possibility of the screening tests being imperfect. Often it might not detect the baby's Down syndrome and sometimes tell about the baby's risk though it is absolutely fine. For this problem, the detection rate is important to decide about the test's reliability. The detection rate varies from 79 to 90 percent. There is 5 percent of false positive rate which means it detects the baby with problem but in real it is not suffering. Scanning accuracy often depends on the mother being overweight, quality of the scanning machine, baby's position and the duration of the scan.
Availability of the tests:
This test is very common in the United States and United Kingdom.
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Due to the involvement of high quality instruments and trained personnel it is not done everywhere. This screening is really good to detect whether the twins are sharing the sac called the chronic membrane in which it lies. If it so then precautions can be taken to reduce the risk of miscarriage or any other complication which is common in such cases.
Weeks 11-14 is the period when this test can be carried out. Having a baby after the age of 40 can increase the baby's chances of getting the Down syndrome. On some more information on the Nuchal Fold Testing you can visit www.pregnancyxl.com
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