Being parents brings with it various responsibilities. The prime responsibility among those is ensuring the health of the little one from the moment the parents get to know about the approaching parenthood. Pregnancy can be complicated if the parents do not remain aware of the precautionary measures necessary to take before the baby is born. There are various prenatal tests available to check the health of the baby and the mommy. These tests are useful for identifying any probable birth defects and treat them as well. Here is a list of prenatal tests that are absolutely essential-
- Routine Tests:
These are the tests, which are recommended to almost every mommy out there. The doctor asks to test the blood and urine to check for HIV, STDs, Anemia, Diabetes, and Hepatitis etc. The doctor also asks the mommy to ensure about the presence of the Rh factor in the blood. Group B Strep screening is also one of the routine tests where the doctor looks for any bacterial presence in the vaginal area around the time of the delivery.
- Genetic Tests:
These tests get done in order to look for any genetic disorders the baby might face. These tests do not get recommended to everyone. Women with genetic problems running in the family get these tests to ensure the health of the baby-
- Ultrasound: Although it is done twice to almost all the pregnant women the number of tests gets increased in case of complicated pregnancy. Around 3 months of the pregnancy the doctor recommends the ultrasound to check for and folds or thick skin. This might indicate the child being born with Down syndrome later.
- Integrated Screening: These screenings get done in two phases. The first one around 3 months and second one around 16-18 weeks. Ultrasound is the method of testing here along with testing blood samples. These tests can tell about any mental disorder the child might have later.
- Triple or quadruple screening: The blood of the mommy gets examined to look for hormones and proteins from the placenta. The presence of various substances in these tests means the high chances of the baby being born with some genetic disorder.
- DNA test: In this method, the DNA of the baby gets collected from the blood of the mommy and gets tested for genetic conditions. The doctor can tell different genetic disorders the child might have starting from Down syndrome to trisomy 18 etc. This gets done typically around ten weeks of pregnancy. These are pretty rare tests and hard to get done everywhere. These are exclusive tests for really complicated pregnancies only.
- Other Tests:
Amniocentesis, CVS or Chorionic villus sampling are some other tests given to some pregnant women. These are done to ensure the genetic condition of the baby as well.
To sum up, it is always good to be aware of these prenatal tests as a precautionary measure to ensure the health of the baby being born. Although some problems cannot get avoided few could get treated if diagnosed at the right time.
