Prenatal Test Geared Toward Younger Women

There is a new test for women concerned about the health of their unborn children.

Doctors usually recommend amniocentesis for pregnant women over age 35.

Amniocentesis is a common prenatal test in which a small sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus is removed and examined to help detect or rule out birth defects.

But for younger women, the test is often too risky.

Like most mothers-to-be, Malissa Milton worries about her unborn child. One of her biggest concern is the possibility of Down syndrome. Since she is only 28, Milton is not a candidate for amniocentesis.

Then her doctor told her about a new test called Ultra-Screen First Trimester Prenatal Screening.

"When he mentioned these tests to detect the possibility of Down syndrome, I was very relieved to hear about that," she said.

Ultra-Screen involves an ultrasound and a blood test. Both are done during the first trimester.

"What this combines is risk factors, such as maternal age, with an ultrasound finding -- looking at, measuring the neck thickness of the baby, combined with two other biochemical markers," said Dr. Andrei Rebarber, an obstetrician.

Although the test is still being studied in the United States, researchers are already seeing good results. But they warn that all tests have limitations.

"These are just screening tests -- they are not diagnostic tests," Rebarber said.

For Milton, her negative test results have made her more positive about the health of her baby, who is due in September.

More research on the Ultra-Screen is due out later this year.