Tests for pre-birth deformities are available from the 10th week of pregnancy. (Image:Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of older mothers is on the rise due to delayed marriage. The importance of various tests for healthy births is growing.
Tests for pre-birth deformities are available from the 10th week of pregnancy. They are tests that identify chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus accompanied by disorders or multiple deformities.
Among the available tests, the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) extracts the DNA of the fetus from the mother’s blood to identify chromosome aberrations such as Down’s syndrome, Edward’s syndrome, and Patau syndrome.
NIPT boasts far better accuracy than conventional blood tests and ultrasound tests. It is safe for both the fetus and the mother because only the mother’s blood is required.
In particular, NIPT is increasing at home and abroad based on its high accuracy and safety.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that high-risk mothers, including older mothers, receive NIPT.
With NIPT introduced in Korea in 2016, more than 10 NIPT brands both domestic and foreign have introduced to mothers since.
Even with the same inspection method, there is a difference in accuracy depending on brand type, so mothers need to carefully examine each brand’s differences.
In fact, a clinical study examined several brands of NIPT using the blood of women who were not pregnant, and discovered that some of the tests actually reported a normal pregnancy.
In addition, since different brands have different numbers and sizes of clinical studies conducted to check the accuracy of the inspection, it is necessary for mothers to contemplate each test.
In particular, if one is pregnant with twins or by in vitro fertilization, one should look for studies that have demonstrated accuracy in these cases of pregnancy by NIPT.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
