{"id":2017,"date":"2025-08-07T17:50:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/?p=2017"},"modified":"2025-10-17T10:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T07:04:09","slug":"prenatal-screening-when-performed-importance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/prenatal-screening-when-performed-importance\/","title":{"rendered":"Prenatal Screening: When It Is Performed and Its Importance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Prenatal screening is a fundamental part of pregnancy monitoring, aiming for the timely detection of possible abnormalities or complications, as well as safeguarding the health of both the mother and the foetus. It includes a combination of ultrasound, blood and virological tests, which are carried out at different stages of pregnancy, according to international guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stages and Types of Prenatal Screening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. First trimester (11th\u201313th week)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT):<\/strong> Assesses the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nuchal translucency scan:<\/strong> Ultrasound examination for the estimation of chromosomal abnormality risk (e.g., Down syndrome).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Blood tests:<\/strong> Measurement of specific hormones and proteins related to fetal development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Second trimester (18th\u201322nd week)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Anomaly scan (Level II ultrasound):<\/strong> Detailed assessment of the foetus\u2019s anatomy and development, detection of possible congenital abnormalities and evaluation of the placenta.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Third trimester (after the 28th week)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Growth scan:<\/strong> Assessment of fetal weight and development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Doppler study:<\/strong> Evaluation of blood flow in the foetal and placental vessels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Amniotic fluid assessment:<\/strong> Ensuring adequate amount and quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complementary Examinations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At all stages of pregnancy, additional laboratory tests are performed, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Complete blood count, iron, and ferritin \u2013 Prevention and diagnosis of iron-deficiency anemia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blood type and Rhesus factor \u2013 Prevention of complications due to incompatibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Screening for thalassemia and sickle-cell anemia \u2013 Detection of carriers of genetic blood disorders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rubella antibodies \u2013 Immunity check against viral infection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV screening \u2013 Protection of mother and newborn.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Toxoplasmosis \u2013 Determination of immunity against <em>Toxoplasma gondii<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cytomegalovirus (CMV) screening.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance test \u2013 Diagnosis of gestational diabetes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Safety of the Tests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most examinations are non-invasive and pose no risk to the mother or foetus. Invasive procedures, such as amniocentesis, are performed only when medically necessary and always after informed consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Importance of Prenatal Screening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The timely diagnosis of potential complications or abnormalities allows for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Appropriate medical intervention before or after birth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Informed decision-making by parents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optimization of pregnancy outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Prenatal screening is an integral part of modern obstetric care. The medical team of <strong>SFS<\/strong> applies the latest international guidelines, ensuring comprehensive, individualized and safe monitoring of pregnancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prenatal screening is a fundamental part of pregnancy monitoring, aiming for the timely detection of possible abnormalities or complications, as well as safeguarding the health &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Prenatal Screening: When It Is Performed and Its Importance\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/prenatal-screening-when-performed-importance\/#more-2017\" aria-label=\"Read more about Prenatal Screening: When It Is Performed and Its Importance\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2017"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2140,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions\/2140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfsivf.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}