A 35-Year-Old Pregnant Woman Considering Maternal Serum Screening and Amniocentesis
- Michael Mennuti, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
Dr Daley : Mrs J, a 35-year-old married attorney and mother of 2 preschool-aged children, is in her first trimester of pregnancy. She is considering maternal serum screening and/or amniocentesis for the detection of neural tube defects and chromosomal abnormalities. She is insured with a managed care organization through her husband's medical insurance.
Mrs J is healthy and has had 3 previous pregnancies. Her first pregnancy was uncomplicated during gestation, with a 40-hour labor, ending in a cesarean delivery of a healthy boy at term. Her second pregnancy ended in a spontaneous miscarriage during the first trimester. In the first trimester of her third pregnancy, Mrs J's obstetrician, Dr O, offered her serum screening and/or amniocentesis. She and her husband declined both, feeling that the risks of neural tube defects and chromosomal abnormalities were low and that they would not be willing to terminate a pregnancy in the second trimester if
Footnotes
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Dr Mennuti is professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
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This conference took place at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Rounds of the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Mass, on January 24, 1996.
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Reprint requests to Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Ave, LY339, Boston, MA 02215 (Ms Walzer).
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Clinical Crossroads at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital is produced and edited by Thomas L. Delbanco, MD, and Jennifer Daley, MD; Janet Walzer, MEd, is managing editor. Clinical Crossroads section editor: Margaret A. Winker, MD, Senior Editor, JAMA.
