Abstract
Non-invasive prenatal testing (Nipt) using cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) is an exciting area of development in prenatal diagnosis. CffDNA is found in maternal plasma from 4–5 weeks' gestation, enabling fetal genetic testing from a maternal blood sample, and thus avoiding the miscarriage risk associated with current invasive tests. Nipt is already established in the UK for predicting the rhesus D (RHD) type of the fetus in sensitised RhD-women and fetal sex determination for women who are carriers of sex-linked conditions. applications of Nipt likely to be available in the near future include testing for single gene disorders and chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome, as well as routine fetal RHD typing for all RhD negative women. Midwives will play a key role in providing information to women and ensuring new tests are implemented effectively into practice. this article will provide an overview of the current developments in Nipt and discuss some of the ethical and social implications.
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