My Screening Test Was Positive, Does It Mean My Baby Has Down Syndrome?
My Screening Test Was Positive, Does It Mean My Baby Has Down Syndrome?Answer: In a word – no. A screening test — whether it is a blood test or an ultrasound — cannot diagnose your baby with Down syndrome. A screening test result only gives you an estimate of your risk. Screening tests are designed to separate people into two groups – those women that are low risk, and women who have higher than average risk. Those women with a higher risk are said to be “screen positive” and are given an estimate of their chance to have a baby with Down syndrome. This risk estimate is usually stated as a fraction, for example, 1/120. This number means that if there were 120 women with exactly the same screening test results as you, only one would have a baby with Down syndrome. The other 119 women would have babies without Down
