The current standard for prenatal screening is mostly based on biochemical marker tests and the use of ultrasonography. There is no secure stand-alone screening marker for congenital heart defects (CHDs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that are associated with cardiogenesis enter the maternal peripheral bloodstream during pregnancy and allow non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). The present study investiga...

Aim. To explore whether first-trimester levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPPA) and serum free ß-human chorionic gonadotrophin (free ß-hCG) vary with maternal blood group and rhesus status and to determine their implications for Down syndrome. Methods. Blood samples were collected from all 539 singleton pregnancies undergoing first-trimester screening. Values of maternal serum P...

BACKGROUND Iron deficiency anaemia is a common problem in pregnancy despite national recommendations and guidelines for treatment. The aim of this study was to appraise the evidence against the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) criteria as to whether a national screening programme could reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and/or iron deficiency in pregnancy and improve matern...

Objective: The purpose of this study is to show distribution of risk in pregnancies which underwent first trimester combined tests, and investigate general demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, underwent invasive diagnostic tests after screening tests. Methods: Combined test data of first trimester screening in 20082011 were evaluated retrospectively and cross-sectional. After t...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the difference between levels of the two biochemical markers pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and maternal serum free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (free β-hCG) in twin pregnancies relative to singleton pregnancies and establish an improved screening procedure for chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomy 21 in twin pregnancies. METHODS 4843 unaffected and...

Physiological changes during gestation are important to be aware of in measurement and interpretation of thyroid function tests in women with autoimmune thyroid diseases. Thyroid autoimmune activity is decreasing in pregnancy. Measurement of serum TSH is the first-line screening variable for thyroid dysfunction also in pregnancy. However, using serum TSH for control of treatment of maternal thy...

Maternal cigarette smoking is associated with alterations in maternal serum analytes used in screening for trisomy 21 during the second trimester of pregnancy. Thus, serum free b-hCG levels in women who smoke are reduced by 11±14% in unaffected pregnancies (Spencer, 1998; Ferriman et al., 1999) and by 16% in pregnancies affected by trisomy 21 (Spencer, 1998). The consequence of this reduction i...

background : aneuploidy is one of the main causes of congenital anomalies, mental and physical disabilities, in new-borns. the aim of this study was to determine various chromosomal aneuploidies in the first and second trimester screening of pregnant women, in iran. methods : a descriptive retrospective study was conducted on 125,170 pregnant women referred to a major referral medical diagnosti...

INTRODUCTION To assess anxiety levels in mothers with low-risk pregnancies before and after offering routine serum screening. METHODS A prospective study was carried out at the Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital in Singapore from February 2000 to August 2000. We used standard statistical analysis and Spielberger's state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) which consists of 40 items to ...