Q&A: Cell Free DNA & NIPT (Non Invasive Prenatal Test)

You have several options during your pregnancy when it comes to testing for chromosome abnormalities in your baby. The most common non-invasive screening tests are the first trimester screen and quad screen and these have been offered to all pregnant women for many years. With better technology comes more options for testing, especially when it comes to examining DNA. The cfDNA (cell free DNA) test, which became available in 2011, is named for the fragments of your baby’s DNA that are freely floating in your blood stream. This simple blood test from you can test for many more chromosome abnormalities than the traditional screen tests, plus the sex of your baby and their Rh factor. This episode breaks down everything you need to know about the cfDNA or NIPT test compared to other options so you can decide whether to opt in to this test and how to understand the results.

Show Notes: http://pregnancypodcast.com/nipt/

Thank you to Zahler for their support of this episode. Zahler makes a high quality prenatal vitamin that has the active form of folate, that I prefer after all of the research I have read on folic acid, plus it has omega 3s and DHA. This is the prenatal vitamin I take and the one I recommend. Zahler is offering an exclusive discount to listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. To check out the vitamin and find out how you can save 25% when you buy a one month supply on Amazon go to http://pregnancypodcast.com/vitamin/