A popular choice for expectant parents seeking additional details regarding their unborn child’s health is the Prenetix test. This non-invasive test can help identify some genetic conditions early on so that families have enough time to make plans.
Prenetix is a popular choice among parents because it provides peace of mind without endangering the pregnancy. Only a tiny blood sample from the mother is needed for the straightforward and secure test.
There are a lot of test taker reviews available, and parents frequently share their experiences with the testing procedure and the test results. Having a thorough understanding of the pros and cons of Prenetix can aid in decision-making.
By checking for genetic disorders, the Prenetix test is administered during pregnancy to offer early insights into the health of the unborn child. A straightforward blood sample from the mother is used in this non-invasive test to look for any possible risks. Parent reviews emphasize how convenient and worry-free it is, since it provides accurate results without endangering the infant. Throughout their pregnancy, many find it useful in making informed decisions.
- What is it?
- How it is carried out?
- What it shows?
- Who needs it?
- Contraindications
- Pros and cons
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What is it?
All pregnant women in the first, second and third trimesters undergo screening – a study, the purpose of which is to establish how likely it is for a particular woman to give birth to a child with chromosomal pathologies, which include Down, Turner, Edwards, Patau syndromes and other anomalies caused by an extra or missing chromosome, as well as mutations of some genes. The accuracy of screening, as is known, leaves much to be desired. And it is not required from the examination, the purpose of which is only to establish the probability, and not to make a diagnosis. That is why all pregnant women are divided into two groups – those whose risks of giving birth to a sick baby are low, and those whose risks are high.
It should be immediately noted that a high risk does not guarantee the birth of a sick child, just as a woman who receives good screening is not guaranteed not to give birth to a child who has genetic abnormalities.
It is standard procedure to refer women who pose a high risk for consultation to a geneticist. In response, he evaluates the likelihood of pathology and refers the woman for an invasive examination. A chorionic villus biopsy is done at the start of the second trimester, followed by amniocentesis and cordocentesis a little later. All of these techniques entail entering the uterine cavity, the "holy of holies."
Under ultrasound supervision, a thin, long needle punctures the abdominal or vaginal wall. Samples of amniotic fluid containing bits of the baby’s epithelium, cord blood from the umbilical cord, or chorion cells are removed for examination. When fetal DNA is analyzed from the resultant material, it can be determined whether the child is healthy or not with 98–99% accuracy. These techniques put women into a state of stupor because they fear suffering and its possible outcomes. Additionally, they carry a significant risk of miscarriage or fetal membrane infection.
The woman is given full disclosure of all the risks and is free to determine whether or not to accept them. Even a high risk, as defined by screening data, such as 1: 50, only indicates that in women with comparable ultrasound results and blood tests for pregnancy-related hormones and proteins, a sick child will be born in one case out of every 50 births. When you consider it, the likelihood is not very high, and invasive procedures have the potential to kill or severely cripple a child who is perfectly healthy. Making the decision is difficult.
Women who had a negative result from their first screening were previously told to wait until their second screening, which takes place in the second trimester. Invasive techniques are now available.
Women are rarely informed about non-invasive DNA testing as a safe substitute. Among them is Prenetix. Russia has been using the test for the past five years.
How it is carried out?
There is no special preparation needed on the woman’s part for this easy test. You just need to show up at the medical genetic center on the scheduled day and provide a standard blood test via a vein. The lab technician will draw up to 20 milliliters of blood. This quantity will be sufficient to use centrifugation in the lab to separate the blood into layers. Next, two genomes—one maternal and the other child’s—will be separated from the sample.
About the eighth week of pregnancy is when the mother’s blood is penetrated by the baby’s red blood cells. Commencing with the tenth week of pregnancy, a non-invasive test can be conducted. Once the fetal blood cells have been isolated, experts use the test and its unique Genetico-NGS algorithm to determine the likelihood that the child will have pathologies. Between 12 and 14 days are spent on the analysis.
What it shows?
The analysis allows you to determine with an accuracy of up to 99% whether the child has the most common genetic abnormalities – such as trisomy 21 – Down syndrome, trisomy 18 – Edwards syndrome, as well as Turner, Klinefelter, Patau syndromes. The test allows you to find out whether the child has X-chromosomal abnormalities in girls or Y-chromosomal abnormalities in boys. The accuracy of the study in clinical conditions has already been tested more than 13 times, 22 thousand Russian women took part in the trials. The number of expectant mothers who have done this test around the world is already more than a million. The accuracy of the study was 98.9%. If the tests are performed on a woman pregnant with twins, only pathologies in the 21st, 18th and 13th pairs of chromosomes are determined. However, this method is acceptable for pregnant women who used assisted reproductive techniques to conceive, in particular, IVF using a donor egg.
Who needs it?
- Pregnant women over 35 years old;
- Women pregnant by men over 45 years old;
- Women who have previously given birth to a child with chromosomal abnormalities;
- Expectant mothers who have had several miscarriages in a row or several cases of frozen pregnancy in the early stages;
- Women who became pregnant as a result of incest or are in a consanguineous marriage;
- Women, regardless of age and medical history, if prenatal universal screening showed a high risk of giving birth to a sick child;
- Women who cannot undergo invasive diagnostics for various reasons (for example, if there is a threat of miscarriage).
Contraindications
The following situations do not involve the Prenetix test:
- the pregnancy period is less than 10 weeks;
- there are malignant tumors in the expectant mother;
- the woman has had organ transplants or blood transfusions;
- the woman has been diagnosed with mosaicism.
Pros and cons
The capacity to identify pathologies in the baby’s development as early as possible is without a doubt the test’s greatest advantage. By the time of the first screening, a woman will know for sure whether the baby is healthy even if she takes the test at 10 weeks along. Because of the study’s accuracy, you can be free from concerns regarding potential deviations from a less accurate "double" or "triple" test, which are used for screening diagnostics.
The primary benefit of the Prenetix test is that it is absolutely safe for both the mother and the child. Additionally, you can use it to determine the baby’s sex early on—an ultrasound won’t reveal it until the baby is between 10 and 11 weeks old.
Among the drawbacks are the relatively high expense of this type of analysis and the inability to perform the test at any clinic or consultation.
Only specialized medical genetic centers, which are regrettably not present in every Russian city, are capable of conducting these kinds of studies. In certain instances, you may need to travel to one of the major cities with such centers, like Moscow, Kazan, or Samara, in order to undergo the examination.
You will need to return later to pick up the study’s results because they are not given over the phone; instead, they are reported in person.
The Russian Ministry of Health continues to categorize Prenetix as a screening study, based on which diagnoses should not be made, even though the test’s probability of error tends toward zero. Therefore, in order to terminate a pregnancy for medical reasons at a time beyond 12 weeks, a woman will need to undergo invasive procedures, the outcome of which will serve as the basis for termination, if the disease is confirmed in the child.
In various Russian clinics, the average cost of an analysis is between 23,000 and 55,000 rubles.
Reason for Prenetix Test | Reviews |
The Prenetix test is used to assess the risk of chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, in a fetus. It is a non-invasive screening test that analyzes cell-free fetal DNA in the mother"s blood. | Reviews generally highlight the test"s accuracy and non-invasive nature. Many expectant parents appreciate that it provides early risk assessment without the need for invasive procedures like amniocentesis. However, some reviews mention that while the test is highly accurate, it is not 100% definitive and may still require follow-up testing. |
By identifying possible genetic problems early in pregnancy, the Prenetix test provides expectant parents with insightful information. Families can feel more at ease or better equipped to handle any obstacles with the help of this non-invasive screening.
Numerous parents have expressed gratitude for the test’s accuracy and convenience, sharing positive feedback about how it enabled them to make well-informed decisions throughout their pregnancies. Its increasing popularity can be attributed to the definite outcomes and expert assistance.
Parents are free to choose whether or not to take the test, but knowing the advantages and hearing about other people’s experiences can help them make the decision that feels right for them.