News in Brief Health & Medicine

A more accurate prenatal test to predict Down syndrome

Screening looks at baby’s DNA in mother’s blood

Prenatal Test

PUT TO THE TEST  Prenatal blood tests that analyze fetal DNA are more reliable than standard screening methods for detecting whether babies carry certain extra chromosomes that can cause birth defects.

Zholobov Vadim/Shutterstock

By Tina Hesman Saey

- More than 2 years ago

A prenatal test that examines a baby’s DNA in a sample of the mother’s blood is much more accurate for detecting Down syndrome for most women than standard screening methods are.