How Much Prenatal Genetic Information Do You Actually Want?

March 28, 2019

(Wired) – But what is available is something called noninvasive prenatal genetic screening (NIPT). Based on a blood sample from mom, they have been used for several years to tell expectant parents if their baby might have, say, a chromosomal abnormality. Then the parents might make the choice to terminate the pregnancy—or to prepare for a child with disabilities. Makers of those tests, though, are already pushing the technology beyond its recommended uses to flag a rapidly expanding list of the unborn’s potential genetic flaws. But these bigger and bigger menus of genetic testing also come with less and less information about how predictive the data they reveal actually is. And as these types of tests become routine, women like Hamann have to figure out what they want to know, and what they’ll do with the information they receive.