LIMERICK’S maternity hospital is to make a simple blood test, that can detect abnormalities as early as ten weeks into pregnancy, more widely available to expectant mothers.
A hospital spokesperson said that the test on the mother’s blood can detect many of the chromosomal abnormalities that would previously only be detected by a scan.
“Some of the chromosomal conditions that previously relied heavily on a mid-trimester scan for diagnosis are now detected on a simple maternal blood test as early as 10-11 weeks. We are working on making this test more widely available to patients whose first scan has raised suspicion of a chromosomal abnormality”.
“The first of the two scans is carried out in the first trimester of the pregnancy to date the pregnancy. The second scan is carried out in the final trimester to identify several common problems such as growth restriction, malformations and placental problems. Recent scientific evidence supports the use of a third trimester scan to identify poor foetal growth.
“We also provide an additional 20-22 week scan for patients who have particular risk factors, such as a family history of spina bifida or congenital heart disease,” the spokesperson said.
“Many patients will have multiple ultrasounds in addition to these two or more scans. For example, mothers expecting twins will have scans every two weeks”.
The National Maternity Strategy specifies that all women must have equal access to standardised ultrasound services and in some hospitals, such as Waterford, all patients are scanned mid-pregnancy.
“UMHL looks forward to working with the HSE’s National Women and Infants Health Programme towards providing this as required,” the spokesperson said.
“For the past decade, UMHL has been a major contributor to the award-winning research involving obstetric ultrasound carried out by the Perinatal Ireland research consortium.
“The Ultrasound service at UMHL is provided by a team of experienced ultrasonographers and is backed up by a team of foetal medicine specialists who have specific training in Ultrasound scanning for high risk pregnancies,” the spokesperson added.
