Chromosome Screening

Prenatal screening can tell you the chance for a baby to have trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) or trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome). There is no risk to the pregnancy because it is done by bloodwork and ultrasound. Some of the screening options below can screen for other chromosome differences, including trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) and sex chromosome differences.

What are Chromosome Differences?

Chromosome differences are caused by having extra or missing chromosomes. These differences can affect a baby’s development, learning, and health in different ways, and the impact can vary widely from person to person.

Screening for twins or more than two babies

Read about the screening options available to individuals expecting twins or more than two babies. 

Screening for vanishing twins

If your pregnancy started as a twin pregnancy and one twin miscarried, this is sometimes called a "vanishing" twin pregnancy. Read about screening options available.

For Health-Care Providers

Office Guide to Prenatal Screening Options for Chromosome Differences

For Health-Care Providers

How to Offer Prenatal Screening for Chromosome Differences

PSO Infoline

Our genetic counsellors and clinical content specialist in sonography are available Monday to Friday from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm EST to answer your questions about prenatal screening.

Please note that prenatal screening tests have to be ordered through a health-care provider, and we cannot organize this testing.

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Virtual educational sessions on prenatal screening and nuchal translucency quality assurance are available upon request for health‑care providers.