Prenatal Diagnostic Tests and the Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications

Child is a gift from God. Every parent hopes for a healthy child. However, abnormalities in the fetus growth becoming common nowadays. These may be due to physical, radiation and chemical factors. These factors will cause deformities such as genetic mutation which causes mental retardation, abnormal body buildup and other conditions which bring a lot of troubles in the future to the child themselves and their parents. Modern technologies and innovations in the medical field had developed a method to detect the abnormality before delivery and prevent this future tragedy to happen. This method is known as prenatal screening. There are several advantages and disadvantages of prenatal screening.

Christine Le, an accountant living in Flushing, New York, gave birth to a healthy baby “Nathan” on January 29th, 2010. She found out that she was pregnant with her first child when her period was late. She had the routine prenatal care starting at 12 weeks and delivered at 40 weeks in a hospital with the present of her husband, Robert, and the in-laws. To insure her baby was healthy, Christine underwent several prenatal diagnostic methods like amniocentesis to examine for genetic defects. Another method was ultrasound; its purpose is to assess fetal age, multiple pregnancies, size and shape of the fetus. Christine underwent numerous lab tests to ensure that there are no complications (Berk, pg.43). Lab tests like a complete blood count that screens

United States genetic centers now offer DNA tests for over 30 or 40 of the more commonly inherited disorders. Those including cystic fibrosis, susceptibility to breast cancer, X syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and many other various disorders (Golden). Also, with recent developments, couples are able to have a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This procedure allows the testing of genetic disorders before germination. It consists of “petri-dish” testing of sperm and egg cells donated by the soon to be parents. This procedure prevents the idea of abortion, for if genetic problems occur, you are not destroying a fetus, but simple flushing away embryo cells.

This paper is about the information from AAR. AAR is 38 years old, living and working in the surrounding Danville, PA area. AAR works for finance with an associate’s degree. AAR and her husband, PAR, are expecting their fourth child. AAR is gravida four, term three, preterm zero, abortion zero, and has three living children. With a last menstrual period of June eighteenth, AAR is fourteen weeks and five days and her estimated

Modern day technology has taken the “surprise” out of pregnancy for a large number of parents if they choose to utilize it. An option parents might explore is having a prenatal assessment to determine if there are any identifiable genetic abnormalities in the unborn child. There are risks associated with certain procedures such as false positive results, procedure induced miscarriages or possible fetal limb abnormalities.

“Breakthroughs in Prenatal Screenings” delivers helpful evidence in the history of how far the science of prenatal testing has come by the statistics

Genetic screening in newborns isn’t uncommon in today’s time. New screenings are done daily to show if there are any lifelong disorders (New York State). If there is an early recognition treatment can be started early and help the child live a better life. The type of disorders and the heritance are different in every state (Starkweather, 2017). Monitoring newborns and disorders are important because it can sometimes be treated. Testing is done on all newborns in New York State.

by sampling the amniotic fluid, which contains cells and chemicals which are fetal in origin.”(4) This

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amniocentesis amniocentesis is a medical procedure which is used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections as described below. Amniocentesis carries a small risk for both mother and child and so the test may be offered to mothers who have a significant risk for genetic diseases. However, according to https://www.google.co.uk/#safe=strict&q=chorionic+villus+sampling&*&spf=115 Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) is a test done during the early stages of pregnancy to detect congenital abnormalities in the fetus. It allows the mother to be checked for any signs of Down’s syndrome, Edwards’

After the final stage is complete the embryo will then be analyzed for certain diseases.

When it comes to prenatal Diagnostic testing, I would recommend getting ultrasound to anyone pregnant. At least with the Ultrasound, soon to be parents are able to see the the growth of the fetus. The doctors would be able to tell if there is physical defect which will help doctors see if there are actions that need to be taken. I do not believe that anyone should jump to other testing methods due to the complications it can cause. Unless someone knows there is a history of defects and disorders, fetal medicine has a lot of consequences. Anyone getting prenatal diagnostic need to be aware of the risks they could be taking because these test "result in complications, the most common being premature labor and miscarriage"(Berk, 2012, p. 64).

If the results are positive for a genetic fetal anomaly, it will most likely be a devastating blow to the expecting parents so healthcare workers should take extra care to be empathetic. Parents will probably have many questions such as how did this happen? What are the chances of survival? Will the child live in pain? Are there any cures? Etc. The healthcare worker should attempt to answer these questions calmly and should provide the most accurate, unbiased, and comprehensive information that is possible about the anomaly. In addition, the healthcare worker should have already researched what support and services are available so the healthcare worker may provide the parents with as many resources as possible to assist them with future care,

Second Trimester Maternal Serum Screening is usually done as a part of an integrated screening as a subsequent of the first trimester.

Amniocentesis is a procedure that is usually performed in the second trimester between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy. This procedure allows the physician to detect problems with the babies health. Chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18 can be detected with amniocentesis. This procedure will also detect lung maturity in the third trimester which determines if the babies lungs are mature enough should early delivery become necessary. It is offered to women who are 35 and above or if the woman has had a previous child or pregnancy with a birth defect.

LABS to monitor. Before the birth an ultrasound is performed on the mother to determine the size of the baby. A lung maturity test if the baby is going to be delivered more than one weak early. After the birth the baby will be tested to show if the infant has low blood sugar and low blood calcium. An echocardiogram will show if the infant has an abnormally large heart, which can occur with heart failure. LAB testing will also be done to determine hypoglycemia and polycythemia. Glucose testing will be done.