First Trimester Screening

First Trimester screening provides women with information and most often peace of mind about their baby as early as 11 weeks in pregnancy.

First Trimester Combined Screening (FTS) is the most advanced prenatal screen available in Southern Alberta. FTS is a screening test for chromosome conditions and birth defects. It is available to women between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days of pregnancy. With FTS, a nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound measurement and a blood test are combined with your age to estimate your chance of having a baby with Down syndrome, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13. It is also possible to detect certain major birth defects at the time of the NT ultrasound.

Maternal blood test in FTS measures two substances, PAPP-A and free Beta-hCG, normally found in the blood of all pregnant women. In pregnancies with Down syndrome, the levels of PAPP-A and free Beta-hCG tend to be out of the expected normal range.

FTS has an 85-90% detection rate. This means that 85-90% of pregnancies with Down syndrome, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13 will be identified by the FTS. The benefit of FTS is that you receive your screening results early in your pregnancy – this allows time for consideration and discussion of further testing if required.

Further information can be found here.