Chorionic villous sampling, as beneficial as it is, as a screening test also has major risk involved and one begins to think if the benefit outweighs the risk. Chorionic villous sampling is a test carried out during pregnancy to detect abnormalities in an unborn baby. Sample of cells are taken from the placenta through the abdomen or cervix and tested for genetic defects.
It is a screening test for high risk pregnancies i.e. pregnancy in older women to check for downs syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities; it also helps in screening those who have a family history of an inherited condition. Chorionic villous sampling is carried out between 10 and 13 weeks of pregnancy is not recommended earlier than this. This screening test however has some risk involved. There’s the risk of miscarriage in 2% of cases, maternal infection can also occur, the procedure may be a failure in 5% of cases, the mother may be sensitized if she has a different rhesus blood type from her baby, limb abnormalities such as missing or short fingers have also been named as a complication.
Besides the risk involved in the procedure, being told that a needle would be inserted into your tummy itself carries its own risk psychologically, the anxiety when waiting for the result to find out if your baby will be abnormal can only be imagined as this is a risk to the mother as well but is it right to deny pregnant women a chance of finding out if their baby would be abnormal because of risk? Or for pregnant women to go through the pain of a risky procedure for their own benefit?
Source: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chorionic-Villus-sampling/Pages/Risks.aspx
