Antenatal screen

Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound

Amniocentesis or CVS

Ultrasound

A detailed ultrasound examination of the pregnancy is recommended at around 19 weeks gestation. The main purpose of this examination is to ensure as far as possible that your baby is developing normally. It is not possible to identify all abnormalities on ultrasound, but more than 50% of significant abnormalities will be identified.

Further ultrasound examinations

The above two ultrasound examinations are the only ones that are routinely offered. Sometimes indications arise to perform additional ultrasounds; this will be fully explained if required.

Glucose Test

It is recommended that all pregnant women be checked for pregnancy (Gestational) Diabetes. This usually does not have any symptoms. A blood test is performed between 24 and 28 weeks gestation. Fasting is required for this test. A blood test will be performed after fasting. The pathology staff will give you a drink which contains a standardized amount of glucose (it is sweet!). Your blood test is then performed at 1 hour and 2 hours after this drink. You will be contacted if this test is elevated, and referred to a doctor who specialises in diabetes (An endocrinologist). Your haemoglobin will be checked at the same time to ensure you are not becoming anaemic.

Group B Strep (GBS)

This is a bacteria, which commonly occurs in the vagina. It occasionally causes serious infection in the newborn. One of the recommended approaches to prevent this is to identify pregnancies that are at risk and to treat the mother with antibiotics during labour. There are a number of factors, which identify at risk pregnancies. Some practitioners perform a swab on all pregnant women in late pregnancy. This is an alternative approach. Both approaches are considered acceptable strategies in the prevention of GBS infection in newborns.

Pap Smear

If your Pap smear is due it will usually be performed at the time of the 6-week postnatal check up. It is sometimes performed during the first half of pregnancy if there is a specific reason to do so.

Urine Testing

Urine testing used to be performed on all pregnant women at each checkup. Recent studies have demonstrated this to be unnecessary for the majority of women. The purpose of testing urine is to check for changes, which may occur in association with a pregnancy disorder called pre-eclampsia. Under some circumstances, testing of urine is necessary; you will be advised if this applies to your pregnancy.

Induction of Labour

It is generally preferable for labour to begin spontaneously rather than by artificial induction. However, circumstances may arise whereby induction is a better option than continuing the pregnancy. The commonest reason for this is being overdue. In an otherwise normal and healthy pregnancy, induction will usually be considered at some time close to 41 weeks gestation. Individual circumstances, of course, need to be considered in making this decision.

Non-Invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)

NIPT is an optional test, which is offered to all pregnant women. NIPT detects a small amount of the baby’s DNA in the mother’s bloodstream. It checks for the risk of Down’s syndrome and some other major chromosome problems. It can be performed from 10 weeks gestation. In Australia, this test has many brand names and may be known as Harmony, Verifi, Genesyte or Panorama. As for Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound above, you will have received written information about this test at the time of your first visit. The decision to have this test or not is a personal one. NIPT is a very good test for Downs Syndrome but it is important to be aware that there are many other significant abnormalities which are not related to chromosome changes and therefore will not be detected by this test. Hence if you decide to do the NIPT test you should consider having a detailed ultrasound also.