| CVS (chorionic villus sampling) | | | | syndrome baby still means that you are far more likely |
| Pros | | | | not to have an affected baby. |
| - carried out early in pregnancy. | | | | Amniocentesis |
| - a termination, if needed, is simple to perform and | | | | Pros |
| probably easier for the mother to cope with | | | | Gives you a definite result. |
| psychologically because it is done so early in | | | | Cons |
| pregnancy. | | | | - risk of miscarriage afterwards; ask your hospital |
| Cons | | | | what its rate is (probably 1-2%). |
| - risk of miscarriage - the likelihood of this will depend in | | | | - carried out fairly late in pregnancy (16-18 weeks). |
| part on the skill of the person carrying out the test. | | | | - you have to wait 3 or 4 weeks for the result. If you |
| Ask your hospital about its rate of miscarriage | | | | decide on a termination, you will be well on in |
| following CVS (probably about 2%). | | | | pregnancy and will have to go through labour. |
| - may not be available at your local hospital. | | | | Ultrasound scans |
| Alpha-Feto-Protein | | | | Pros |
| Pros | | | | - can give all sorts of information about the health of |
| - a simple blood test which carries no risk to the baby. | | | | the baby |
| Cons | | | | - you can see your baby on the screen |
| - fairly unreliable - for example, most of those women | | | | - can be carried out at any point in pregnancy |
| told they are at high risk -19 out of 20 - will not have a | | | | Cons |
| baby with spina bifida. | | | | The usefulness of the scan will depend on: |
| Double Test/Triple Test | | | | - how good the radiographer is at interpreting the scan |
| Pros | | | | - how good the scanning equipment is |
| -a simple blood test which carries no risk to the baby. | | | | - how long you are scanned for |
| Cons | | | | There is a shortage of long-term research into |
| - can be very hard to know whether to have more | | | | ultrasound; it may have effects on unborn babies |
| tests if your risk comes back as higher than average. | | | | which we don't yet know of. |
| After all, even a 1 in 5 risk of having a Down's | | | | |