Prenatal Screening Ontario (PSO) - Program Update, Winter 2025

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Although significant effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this update, neither the authors nor BORN Ontario nor any other parties make any representation or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. Permission is granted for the reproduction of these materials solely for non‐commercial and educational purposes. Suggested citation: Prenatal Screening Ontario - Program Update, Fall 2024. Ottawa, Ontario, 2024.

Prenatal Screening Ontario (PSO) is funded by the Government of Ontario to coordinate the operations of prenatal screening services in Ontario, supporting a cohesive and high-quality screening system. We are Ontario's resource for pregnant individuals, families and health-care professionals looking for information and updates related to prenatal screening. Interested in learning more about PSO? Check out our About Us information.

• Prenatal screening is a way to determine the chance that a baby has or does not have trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome). 
• Prenatal screening is available to all pregnant individuals in Ontario who want to have screening and can be ordered through their health-care practitioner.
• There are two main categories of publicly-funded prenatal screening: Multiple Marker Screening (MMS) which is available to all pregnant individuals and Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) which is available to pregnant individuals meeting the NIPT funding criteria at the time of blood draw (those who do not meet the funding criteria can choose to self-pay).
• MMS in Ontario in fiscal years 2020-2023 was performed at Mount Sinai Hospital, North York General Hospital, and Trillium Health Partners.
• NIPT in Ontario in fiscal years 2020-2023 was performed at Dynacare® and LifeLabs®.
• Further information about prenatal screening can be found on our website.

• EDD - estimated date of delivery
• eFTS – enhanced first trimester screening            
• FMF UK – Fetal Medicine Foundation (UK)
• FY - fiscal year
• MMS – multiple marker screening
• MSS - maternal serum screening
• NIPT – non-invasive prenatal testing
• NT – nuchal translucency
• OHIP - Ontario Health Insurance Plan
• STS - second trimester screening
• T13 - trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)
• T18 - trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)
• T21 - trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

Check Your Pride at the Door and Put Patients First

So when Katie was approached by a team member from Prenatal Screening Ontario and told there were things she could do to improve her obstetrical scanning, she checked her pride at the door and embraced the opportunity to learn: “The moment a sonographer thinks ‘I don't have anything else to learn’ or ‘What's this person going to teach me?’, it’s time to hang up your probes, because that's a part of our careers. We’re always going to be learning”.

Katie participated in the Quality Assurance Program offered by Prenatal Screening Ontario. The program provided Katie the opportunity to refine her NT measurements through an imaging review protocol.

The team at Prenatal Screening Ontario collects NT measurement data in the BORN Information System and correlates it with sonographer ID numbers to create personalized performance reports. This is a critical piece of the quality assurance program - sonographers can log into the BORN Information system and compare their data with internationally accepted standards. Looking at their own NT performance report helps sonographers understand biases and habits in their ultrasound practice. Prenatal Screening Ontario also provides a variety of educational resources and point-of-care tools to support sonographers in their practice.

Katie says the fields of radiology and sonography are incredibly humbling and involve constant learning and evolving: “You have to guard against complacency”. But the rewards are worth it: “It’s a great feeling when I know I’ve captured all the things I need to in one tiny picture - that I've gotten the best data for a patient, which is what they deserve. That's why they're here”.