Being clear with yourself about why you are testing
Different reasons lead to different tests.
People test for genuinely different reasons, and the right test depends on which one is yours.
- To prepare. Then timing matters less, and a screening test followed by a scan may be enough.
- To decide about continuing the pregnancy. Then a definite answer matters, and a diagnostic test is what gives it. Timing also matters because options narrow with gestation.
- To be reassured. Worth knowing that a normal result does not rule out most conditions, and that some people find they worry more, not less, once numbers are involved.
- Because it was offered. This is the most common reason and the least examined one.
No answer here is the wrong oneDeclining screening entirely is a legitimate, informed choice, and the guideline says so. So is testing for everything available. What this tool argues against is only the fourth option: doing it because it appeared on a form.
Where this comes from:
145. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins-Obstetrics, Committee on Genetics, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Screening for fetal chromosomal abnormalities. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 226. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;136(4):e48-e69.
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More from Screening and testing
This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.