Prenatal Testing

Routine prenatal tests for mothers commonly include:

1. Anemia/Iron deficiency

   Iron helps oxygen get to your organs and to your baby. Mild anemia isn’t unusual during pregnancy but should be treated. Severe anemia can cause low birth weight, premature birth and could endanger mother and baby.

2. Genetic evaluation

   This test is done on both parents to see if you carry genes for any genetic disorders. It helps you know what the chances are of passing that disorder to your baby. This test can be done before you get pregnant or while you are pregnant. Learn more

3. Hepatitis B

   Is a serious liver infection, this condition can be passed to a baby in womb and could cause life threatening issues. It is important to test pregnant mothers for Hepatitis B as certain medications, when taken by a mother during pregnancy, can improve outcomes for babies. If a mother is infected, vaccinating the baby right after birth, may also prevent the baby from becoming infected.

4. Hepatitis C

   Is a virus that can cause liver disease. There’s no vaccination for it, but it’s rare for a mother to pass it to her baby. If you’re infected, your baby will be tested at around 18 months. Currently, there’s no Hepatitis C treatment that’s safe during pregnancy.

5. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

   A mother with HIV can pass it to her unborn baby. Taking HIV medications during pregnancy, giving the baby HIV medications for four to six weeks after birth, C-section delivery and formula feeding instead of nursing can all reduce the baby’s risk of getting HIV.

6. Rh or Rhesus factor

   This is a protein some people have in their blood. If you don’t have it and your baby does, your body may react as if it were allergic to the baby. There is an important injection that can be taken to keep your baby from getting very sick.

7. Rubella/German Measles

   The MMR vaccine has mostly eliminated Rubella in the United States, but someone who isn’t vaccinated can still catch it, particularly when traveling outside the U.S. Although symptoms are generally mild, passing it on to a developing fetus can cause a range of severe birth defects, including deafness, heart defects and developmental disabilities. There is no treatment for Rubella.

8. Sexually transmitted infections

   If a pregnant woman has chlamydia, gonorrhea or herpes, it can be passed to the baby during birth. It’s important to test for and treat these diseases prior to delivery.

9. Tuberculosis (TB)

   This is a bacterial infection in the lungs that can become deadly without treatment. It can be passed onto an unborn baby and cause low birthweight. TB can be treated during pregnancy, so it is important to get tested.

10. Group B streptococci (GBS)

    Is a bacterium that can be passed to a baby during birth. It is fairly common and usually does not cause severe problems, but if detected, antibiotics can be given during labor to protect the baby.

11. Gestational diabetes

    Is a condition where pregnancy causes your body to have higher blood sugar. A glucose test is generally done between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy, although with certain risk factors it may be done earlier. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it is important to keep you sugars regulated throughout your pregnancy. This will be done by using specific meal plans, physical activity and potentially medication or insulin injections. If gestational diabetes is uncontrolled, your baby could have risk factors such as high birth weight, early delivery, breathing difficulty, low blood sugar and increased chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Most often gestational diabetes goes away when you are no longer pregnant.

12. Preeclampsia

    This generally develops later in pregnancy, after week 20. Symptoms may include high blood pressure, protein in the urine, swelling, sudden weigh gain, headaches and changes in vision. Preeclampsia can lead to dangerous seizures in the mother. And it can cause premature delivery or restriction of food and oxygen to the baby. The cure is delivery. But it can be treated with medications to help prolong the pregnancy safely.