Prenatal
Prenatal is a word used to refer to a child before they are born, when they are still in their mothers womb. You might use the word prenatal to describe something which is occurring to an unborn foetus or to the baby’s mother while the child is still in her womb. Another word for prenatal, is antenatal. Embryology also sometimes used, too, which has a similar meaning.
Often DNA tests are carried out on unborn babies and these are called prenatal DNA tests. These are often undertaken to find out the biological father of the child is, or even forewarn the parents of any illnesses or complications regarding the baby’s health. For example, some issues such as lactose intolerance are already in the child’s DNA while they are developing in the womb and these can be detected before the baby is even born.
Another name for a prenatal DNA test is an amniocentesis test; it is called this because it involves taking a sample of amniotic fluid. Within the amniotic fluid is a small amount of foetal tissue and that tissue can be used to perform tests and find out information about the health and genetic normality of the growing baby.
There are a few genetic abnormalities which are often detected using prenatal, amniocentesis testing and the most common of these are Downs Syndrome, Edward Syndrome and Turner Syndrome. The safest time to perform an amniocentesis test is after the 15th week of pregnancy, as if one is performed before then there’s a chance it could harm the baby.
