Your scan and blood test will be discussed and if you wish to proceed we will take your blood sample. This will ensure you are at the correct gestation (over 10 weeks). Both of these procedures carry around a one in 100 risk of causing a miscarriage.Īn ultrasound scan is always performed prior to your blood test. This reduction in the false positive rate reduces the number of women offered invasive testing, using chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. The Harmony test has a false positive rate of 0.1%. For this reason, an invasive procedure such amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) would be recommended following a high probability Harmony result.Ĭurrent screening tests (Nuchal Translucency scan) have a false positive rate (that is, the results suggest a problem when the baby is in fact healthy) of around 4%. If the test result shows a high probability result, then the probability that your baby has a chromosomal abnormality is greater than 99%.Ī high probability result does not mean your baby definitely has a chromosomal abnormality although it is highly likely. If the test result shows a low probability result for a chromosomal abnormality, then your baby will have a probability of less than 1 in 10,000. The Harmony test is now one of the most predictive and accurate non-invasive tests available to predict the chance of your baby having a chromosomal abnormality. cfDNA can be tested to identify more than 99% of babies with Down’s syndrome (Trisomy 21), 98% of babies with Edwards syndrome (Trisomy 18) and 80% of babies with Patau’s syndrome (Trisomy 13). cfDNA is the result of the natural breakdown of fetal cells and can be found in the mothers blood. The test is a simple blood test taken from the mother which is then analysed for fetal cell-free DNA (cfDNA). 10 weeks is a great milestone.The harmony test is a new non-invasive prenatal screening test (NIPT) which can be performed from 10 weeks gestation.

I only just found out I'm pregnant again so we have some time to think about it. What I'm struggling with a little is whether, if we're going to do Harmony anyway, we should take up the medical system's time with IPS.

Since my dating ultrasound was at 7 weeks the physical changes in the baby were enormous in those 6 weeks so that was really cool to see. One side benefit of the IPS is that you get an ultrasound at around 13 weeks or so. We're now mulling over whether we want to do the IPS and then Harmony if it suggests a problem or just go straight to Harmony. With my first I was 35 and we didn't do this test but did do the IPS screening, which is the genetic screening that involves 2 blood tests and an ultrasound and is separate from the 20 week scan that everyone gets. I'm 37 and pregnant with #2 and seriously considering the Harmony test. The purpose of that scan is in part to pick up markers for genetic abnormalities but also to check out the baby physically while he or she is big enough to be able to see things but not so big that the ultrasound can't capture a good image.

Regardless of what kind or whether you do any prenatal genetic testing, they will send you for an anatomy scan around 20 weeks.