Current status and future prospects of serological prenatal screening / 中华检验医学杂志

Prenatal screening has undergone from simple age screening, serological prenatal screening, multiple serological screening, to combined screening with cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood (non-invasive prenatal testing, NIPT). prenatal screening plays an important role in the detection and prevention of birth defects, such as chromosomal abnormalities and open neural tube defects(ONTD). With the emergence of NIPT technology, serological test result in prenatal screening has been outgrowth from the functional surrogate of the development status of fetus and placenta to the predictors of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth retardation(FGR). Therefore, large scale screening program will further improve maternal safety and reduce birth defects.