Essay On Prenatal Genetic Testing

Prenatal genetic testing has not been around for a long time. Prenatal diagnosis was first used in the 1930s in the form of amniocentesis. Amniocentesis is a test that entails a large needle being inserted into the abdomen of a pregnant woman and withdrawing a small amount of amniotic fluid. This sample is examined for genetic markers that would point towards a certain genetic disorder or disease, in the 1930s it would have been able to detect erythroblastosis fetalis, which is a blood disorder, or Down’s syndrome (which is what prenatal genetic testing was originally for). Amniocentesis, in the early years of its use, could only be used at 12 to 18 weeks into pregnancy and it carried a one percent chance of miscarriage. Therefore, is not used unless there is a definite possibility of genetic disorder/disease, such as in women who are of an older age (34 and older) or if there has been previous genetic issues seen in the family before. …show more content…
Back in the 20th century, there were plenty of physicians that knew about prenatal diagnosis and screening who would fail to inform women about the fact that they exist and what they involve, even to older women (aged 35 and above) whose children were at higher risks for these genetic disorders/diseases. However, there were a select few who did inform women that these procedures existed, nonetheless, the whole story was not given to them and multiple risks and limitations were forgotten. Due to not being fully informed, there were lots of people opposed to prenatal genetic testing; however, prenatal genetic testing is not taught throughout medical school, the physicians only know of it through experience in their corresponding fields, and therefore may not know everything there is to know about the different techniques, risks and