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UK Wedding News

19/01/2016

New Screening Recommendations Published

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has published its recommendations for existing screening programmes.

A total of 11 recommendations were made by the independent committee, and include improvements to existing screening programmes for Down's syndrome and other related conditions.

One of the recommendations was that a non-invasive prenatal testing should be introduced as an additional test in to the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP) as part of an evaluation.

FASP offers screening to pregnant women to find out how likely it is that their baby has Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome, or Patau's syndrome.

According to reports, it is thought the new test will take a blood sample to analyse the DNA and offers 99% accuracy. In turn, this means that fewer women will face unnecessary diagnostic tests, which can potentially pose a small risk of them losing their baby.

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Commenting on the recommendation, Mervi Jokinen, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) practice and standards professional advisor, said: "The RCM welcomes this new screening technology, which provides non-invasive testing in pregnancy. It will support and improve the already established screening tests, which women are familiar with anyway, such as scans and blood tests provided in early pregnancy.

"What is different is that the new blood test provides choice and reduces the need for diagnostic testing of fetal DNA through obtaining fetal cells in amniotic fluid for abnormalities – a procedure that carries a risk of miscarriage.

"Screening during pregnancy can be an anxious time for the parents when they decide on screening tests offered. The RCM works with the UK NSC to ensure that quality and availability of screening in pregnancy and postnatally is of the highest standard with clear information and choice.

"Screening is always an individual choice for women and their partners and midwives will discuss what information can or cannot be obtained from screening tests to support their decision-making."

(JP)

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"The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has published its recommendations for existing screening programmes."