Advancements in Prenatal Genetic Testing

    Embarking on the journey of parenthood very exciting and largely transformative experience for most people. Genetic testing provides an opportunity for expectant parents to gain a deeper understanding of their soon to be baby's genetic health. There is a few different genetic testing options available but they only skim the surface of the amount of potential genetic disorders. The testing that was previously available is said to be extremely invasive, inserting a needle into the uterus to retrieve fetal cells for analysis. Recently discovered though is a new and non-invasive technique (non-invasive prenatal testing NIPT) that just requires a small blood sample from the soon to be mother.

    This non-invasive procedure though not as advanced as it counterpart is more safe and a cheaper alternative to see if there may be any potential signs of genetic disorders before taking the next step of an invasive procedure. Especially being that invasive genetic testing has a chance of miscarriage. Though NIPT is still not as advanced as invasive because it can not identify full chromosomes there are new technologies and advancements being made in order to further the use of blood testing so we can fully terminate invasive testing as an option for seeking prenatal health.

    Genetic testing in my opinion is something very important that should be financially and readily available for all expecting mothers. This is because in the world we currently live in most parents are financially independent enough to be able to afford and take on the responsibility of a child with a genetic disorder. Therapies and interventions being so new also comes with a large price tag that parents should be informed and prepared for when planning for a newborn.     

Articles Cited:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38020177/

2. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/120623-new-method-prenatal-testing

Advancing Paternal Age

         Studies at the University of Indiana have shown that there may be a connection between the age of the father during conception and the risk of the child having autism, schizophrenia, and/or learning disabilities. Advancing Paternal Age, or APA, has been perceived as a risk to a child’s health because of the increased likelihood of ‘de novo’ mutations. ‘De novo’ mutations are mutations specifically introduced into a family by a parent for the first time in the hereditary line. The University did a study on several Swedish children over a 28 year period. The study involved many children with siblings from the same father, (one born in the fathers twenties, and the other in the forties) to conclude whether the age of the father had a large impact on the child’s risk of autism, schizophrenia, and intellectual problems. The study concluded that the children born to older fathers had a higher risk, but several variables were not taken into account such as if the children were raised in the same manner or with the same mother. Even with these variables, the University believes their results are reliable evidence. Read more about the consequences of late parenthood here. 

          This article proved to be scary to me personally. My four year old sister’s father, my step-father, was forty four when my sister was born. Although my sister is a perfectly healthy little girl, the risk was still terrifying. I believe parents should be very careful in planning when to have their children.