Words matter: how to describe NIPT & Down syndrome

  This news report is far better than most I have seen in providing balance in the information shared about the new non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down syndrome (and it's the first I ever remember seeing where an amniocentesis is actually filmed as it is performed). That said, what words or phrases or the way the information is presented jump out at you as having room for improvement in being less biased against Down syndrome? I have suggested to the leadership of the Canadian Continue Reading

Breaking News: ACOG Issues New Guidelines on NIPT

Since the 1990's, when fragments of cell free fetal DNA (cffDNA) were found in the mother's blood stream, researchers have been on a quest for what is regularly termed "The Holy Grail" of prenatal testing: a diagnostic test from just a mother's blood sample. If the fetal DNA could be identified and tested, then the fetus' genetic code could be diagnosed. Mothers (and practitioners) would be able to receive a diagnosis without risking miscarriage, as must be done with current diagnostic tests, Continue Reading