Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Counselling

Dr Adeléne Esterhuizen now offers new parents an opportunity to test the developing baby for risks of genetic conditions using blood taken from the mom from as early as nine weeks into the pregnancy. This is a non-invasive procedure that poses no risk to the developing baby as the blood is taken directly from the mother’s arm. 

This blood test can identify whether your baby has a higher risk of having certain chromosomal conditions such as Down Syndrome.

With this test, you can test for the following:

Trisomies

• Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
• Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)
• Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)

Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies

• Monosomy X (Turner syndrome)
• XXY Syndrome (Klinefelter Syndrome)
• Triple X syndrome
• XYY Syndrome (Jacob's Syndrome)

Microdeletions

• 22q11.2 deletion syndrome
• Prader-Willi syndrome†
• Angelman syndrome†
• 1p36 deletion syndrome
• Cri-du-chat syndrome

Triploidy

• Only NIPT that tests for triploidy

The NIPT can be performed on:

• Singleton pregnancies
• Twin pregnancies
• Donor pregnancies
• IVF pregnancies 
• Surrogate pregnancies

If you are interested in having NIPT done, you can contact DR ADELÉNE ESTERHUIZEN GYNAECOLOGIST AND OBSTETRICIAN’s rooms for guidance and counselling to make the right decision.

Sources: www.nextbio.co.za and www.mediclinic.co.za