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Peter A. Benn, PhD, DSc; Audrey R. Chapman, PhD

JAMA. 2009;301(20):2154-2156.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Chromosome abnormalities such as trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), other autosomal trisomies, sex chromosome abnormalities, and balanced and unbalanced translocations can be prenatally diagnosed. For many individuals, the availability of prenatal diagnosis removes the fear of having a child with a severe physical or mental disability. For chromosome abnormalities that are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, the public's acceptance of prenatal diagnosis has been well established during the past 4 decades during which testing has been available.

Current standards of care involve screening women to identify those at highest risk of having a fetus with a chromosome abnormality and then offering definitive diagnosis through the analysis of a chorionic villus sample or amniotic fluid cells. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all women be offered aneuploidy screening through various combinations of maternal serum tests and sonographic measurements.¹ However, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Author Affiliations: Division of Human Genetics, Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology (Dr Benn), and Department of Community Medicine and Health Care (Dr Chapman), University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington.

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