Antenatal screening

Abstract

Antenatal screening should be offered to all pregnant patients in the UK. Patients require information to understand and make decisions about antenatal screening tests. Women are choosing to have children later in their lives, which can lead to a greater risk of antenatal complications. Effective screening tests (such as non-invasive prenatal testing) have been developed with a reduced risk of miscarriage compared with invasive tests (chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis) for genetic conditions. Information about the purpose of testing should be given to patients in a manner that can be easily understood and allows the advantages and disadvantages of tests to be considered. GPs take a holistic approach that considers patients’ medical, psychological and social backgrounds. This is invaluable when working collaboratively with other health professionals and has become an essential part of antenatal care. This article gives an overview of antenatal screening for GPs and considers relevant haematological conditions, chromosomal disorders, structural anomalies, maternal clinical conditions and infections.

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