Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a revolutionary screening method used to detect certain genetic abnormalities in a developing fetus. The NIPT test is also called cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening as the screening is done using the blood of pregnant mother, which also contains fragments of DNA from the fetus. Unlike traditional prenatal screenings, NIPT is a noninvasive procedure that doesn’t pose any risk to the fetus or the mother.

NIPT test can detect baby’s conditions like Down Syndrome, Edward Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Turner Syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome with upto 99% accuracy. This test is specially recommended worldwide for mothers above 35 years, since the risk of getting these syndromes is increased with increasing maternal age. However, it can be performed for anyone including IVF, surrogate, egg-donor and twin pregnancies. The test can also determine the sex of the fetus.

NIPT testing can be done as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy through delivery as there’s typically not enough fetal DNA in a pregnant person’s blood before 10 weeks of pregnancy.