During pregnancy, a series of tests to check that everything is going well, rule out that there are chromosomal alterations such as Down syndrome or any malformation. Any anomaly that can be detected in time. This can cause anxiety in pregnant women, but knowing what the tests are and what they do can give you some peace of mind. Let's see what are the diagnostic tests during pregnancy.
Diagnostic tests during pregnancy
Ultrasound
It is the most used during pregnancy, especially 2D, which is used to capture the image of the baby. Thanks to her they can capture the levels of amniotic fluid, the number of fetuses, their size, confirm the gestational age, how the organs are formed ...
Also today there are 3D ultrasounds where you can obtain a three-dimensional image using traditional ultrasound and even 4D where you can see the baby in 3 dimensions in real time, that is, in movement.
La Doppler ultrasound is a color ultrasound that serves to see what the baby blood flow. It allows you to check problems with the umbilical cord and your blood and brain system.
Urine culture
It is a urine test to know if the pregnant woman has urine infection. Urinary tract infections during pregnancy are quite frequent and can occur without symptoms, so you have to be more vigilant if possible for the presence of bacteria as it can cause premature labor.
Amniocentesis
It is a invasive test to detect possible genetic alterations and detect health problems. It consists of extracting a small amount of amniotic fluid with a fine needle through the abdominal wall and the uterus. The amniotic fluid contains cells of the fetus and chemicals that are analyzed for this purpose.
As it is an invasive test that involves risks, it is not done for all women. Amniocentesis can cause abdominal pain, bleeding, or loss of amniotic fluid, and in 1% of cases it can cause miscarriage. It's recommended if there is a history of chromosomal abnormalities, by age or by high risk in results.
O'Sullivan's test
Better known as glucose test, it is used to measure the blood sugar of the pregnant woman and to know if there is gestational diabetes. It consists of drinking a glucose liquid and then doing two blood tests, one before and one after.
Fetal DNA study in maternal blood
It is a non-invasive and novel prenatal test which is performed from the 10th week of pregnancy. In this study you can study chromosomes without any risk through a blood sample. The downside is that it is not capable of detecting all chromosomal diseases as the other diagnostic tests would, but it allows detecting Down, Patau, Edwards syndrome and defects in the sex chromosomes with a high probability. They also allow to know exactly the sex of the baby.
triple screening
It is a test that is performed in the first trimester of pregnancy. It consists of a test that combines blood tests and ultrasound, to roughly determine the probabilities that the baby has some type of malformation or chromosomal alteration.
cordocentesis
It is a invasive test It is carried out from week 20, which consists of obtaining the baby's blood through the umbilical cord. Its function is to detect genetic abnormalities, fetal malformations, and incompatibilities with the mother's blood group. It is not a very frequent test, since it has a higher abortion rate than amniocentesis (2-6%). It will be the parents who will decide whether to do it or not, like all invasive tests.
Lung maturation test or quantusFLM test
It is a novel technique that is used to measure the degree of lung maturation of the baby, and thus know if it would be ready to be born before the scheduled date.
Chorionic biopsy
It consists of taking a sample of the placenta to detect possible genetic diseases and malformations in case there is a high risk of having them. It is performed between 11-13 weeks of pregnancy.
Because remember ... keeping track of the pregnancy is essential so that you are both under control.