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Group B strep screening is a test where a swab is taken from the rectum and the vagina and cultured in a laboratory.

The Centers for Disease Control, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend Group B strep screening for all pregnant women.

This test is performed between weeks 35 and 37.

Group B strep is an infection that is found in the genitals, rectum, and urinary tract of between 10 and 35 percent of all pregnant women, and is usually harmless to adults.

Generally, Group B strep causes no symptoms in adults, but can cause serious and life threatening infections in newborns.

If you test positive to Group B strep, you will be given IV antibiotics during labor in order to prevent transmitting the infection to your baby.

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This is a culture or blood test which checks to see if you have a Gonorrhea infection. It is generally performed during the first prenatal visit. A normal test is negative. If you test positive, you will be treated with an antibiotic and your partner will also be tested and treated.

Gonorrhea can cause eye infection, blindness and serious infection in a baby delivered through the birth canal of a woman with an infection.

As a precaution, if you have tested positive for gonorrhea your health care provider may put antibiotic ointment in your baby’s eyes when it is born.

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The glucose tolerance test is a diagnostic test for gestational diabetes. You will be asked to fast overnight. When you arrive at your health care provider for testing you will be given a very strong glucose solution with 100 grams of glucose to drink.

Your blood will be drawn 4 times. The first time is before you drink the glucose solution, and then at 1, 2, and 3 hour intervals after you drink the glucose solution.

For each blood draw there is a cutoff level that indicates a high glucose level. If you have two ore more high values on your blood draws then you will be diagnosed as having gestational diabetes.

About 15 percent of women receiving the glucose challenge test will have an abnormal result. Of these women, 15 percent will be found to have gestational diabetes.

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The electronic fetal non-stress and stress tests help give you and your health provider a view at your baby’s well-being by evaluating fetal heart rate.

These tests are generally done during the third trimester of pregnancy, often if you have a high risk pregnancy or if you are past your due date.

Nonstress test

During the nonstress test, a belt will be placed on your abdomen. The special belt will measure your baby’s heart rate with the use of sound waves. You or a practitioner may push a button when your baby moves.

Each time your baby moves, its heart rate measurement will show up on a graph. A baby is thought to be in good health if its heart rate increases after moving. This is what the nonstress test evaluates.

The nonstress test takes about 20 to 40 minutes to complete.

Stress test

The stress test is a lot like the nonstress test. A special belt is placed on your abdomen to measure your baby’s heart rate with the use of sound waves.

The difference between this and the nonstress test is that your baby’s heart rate will be measured while your practitioner induces mild contractions.

Your healthcare provider may give you the medication oxytocin to induce the contractions. The test requires 3 contractions in a 10 minute time frame.

The stress test can take an hour or two to complete.

How accurate is this test?

Both the nonstress test and the stress test have a high rate of false positives. This means that the test could show a problem when one does not exist.

For this reason, if your test shows there is a possible problem, it is likely that your test will be repeated the following day.

A contraction stress test is usually done following an abnormal nonstress test.

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The glucose challenge test is generally performed during weeks 26-28 of pregnancy, sometimes earlier if you are considered at risk for diabetes. This test is for gestational diabetes.

When this screening is done, you will be asked to drink a glass of a sweet glucose solution containing 50 grams of glucose. One hour later you will have a blood sample drawn so that your blood glucose level can be checked. A normal test result is below 135 or 140.

If your test result is abnormal, you will be asked to return for a second test called an oral glucose tolerance test. For this test you will need to fast overnight.

Just because you are asked to complete this second test does not mean that you have gestational diabetes. Of those women with an abnormal glucose challenge test, only about 15 percent will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes following the oral glucose tolerance test.

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Cystic fibrosis tests checks to see if you are a carrier for the gene which causes cystic fibrosis. It is generally offered during the first prenatal visit. A normal test is negative. If you test positive then your partner will be tested and you may be referred for genetic counseling.

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What is a Percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS)?

Percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS) or cordocentesis is a procedure which involves inserting a long needle into the umbilical vein in order to take a small sample of blood from the fetus.

When is it Performed?

PUBS is generally performed after 18 weeks of pregnancy. Prior to this point the umbilical vein is too fragile.

PUBS is performed only at specialized centers.

What Can the Results Tell You?

PUBS can tell you if your baby has chromosomal abnormalities or genetic disorders.

It can tell if the baby has anemia or Rh disease.

It can also indicate if the baby has developed an infection such as toxoplasmosis, rubella, chicken pox, and others. It can also be used to asses the condition of the fetus when there is intrauterine growth retardation or restriction.

What Are the Risks?

PUBS has a 2 percent risk of fetal death, more than twice the risk of CVS or amniocentesis.

Other risks are infection, cramping, bleeding, fluid leakage, and temporary slowing of the baby’s heart rate.

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What is a Chorionic villus sampling?

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is a procedure that is similar to amniocentesis. Instead of taking a sample of amniotic fluid, CVS takes a sample of tissue from the placenta.

The placenta has a layer of membrane called the chorion. The chorion has tiny little projections like hair that are on the membrane. These are called villi. The chorionic villi have fetal cells in them. Your doctor will take a sample of these by inserting a thin tube through your cervix or a needle through your abdomen.

When is it performed?

CVS is generally done between the 9th and 14th weeks of gestation.

CVS is generally performed in a hospital.

What Can the Results Tell You?

CVS can tell you if there are any chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome or genetic disorders such as Tay Sachs and cystic fibrosis. The benefit that CVS has over an amniocentesis is that it can be done earlier in pregnancy. It can detect certain very rare genetic problems that cannot be detected with an amniocentesis.

CVS cannot detect neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

What are the Risks?

CVS is considered to be a safe procedure. CVS requires more skill than an amniocentesis, and has a slightly greater risk than amniocentesis, but this is primarily associated with inexperience of the technician.

CVS has a risk of miscarriage of 1 in 100, or 1 percent.

Vaginal bleeding occurs in 7-10 percent of patients who receive transcervical CVS. Cramping frequently occurs.

In rare cases, and infection may develop.

If you are Rh negative, it is possible for Rh sensitization to occur. To prevent this, your health care provider may give you an injection of RhIg following the procedure.

It was thought in the past that CVS could increase the chance of limb defects. Based on current research, it has been concluded that there is not an association between limb defects and CVS procedures done after 10 weeks of gestation.

How Accurate is CVS?

CVS yields a false positive in less than 1 percent of cases. A false positive indicates an abnormality when there isn’t one present.

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This is a vaginal culture or blood test which is often performed during the first prenatal visit. It is a test for Chlamydia, which is the most common sexually transmitted disease. A normal test is negative.

Sexually active women under the age of 25 are the most susceptible to Chlamydia. The infection can be passed from the mother to her baby. About half of all women with Chlamydial infection have no symptoms.

If your test is positive you will likely be treated with an antibiotic and your partner will be tested and possibly treated as well.

Antibiotic ointment can be used at birth to protect the newborn from a Chlamydial eye infection.

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This is a blood test which tests for any possible incompatibility between the mother’s blood and the baby’s blood. It is normally ordered during the first prenatal visit.

Any result is normal. If the mother is Rh negative, it is possible that there is an incompatibility between the mother and baby.

Rh incompatibility occurs when the pregnant mother and her fetus have a different Rh blood type. If left unmonitored, Rh incompatibility can lead to fetal anemia, a condition which causes red blood cells to be destroyed in your baby.

If you test Rh-negative early in your pregnancy, your health care provider will test you for Rh antibodies approximately 28 to 29 weeks into your pregnancy. If your test results show that you are not producing antibodies, your health care provider can give you an injection of Rh immunoglobulin (RhIg), which will destroy any Rh-positive cells in your bloodstream and possibly prevent Rh Disease.

Because the RhIg injection is now commonly used, fetal Rh disease has become very rare.

If the level of antibodies in your blood becomes too high, there are things that can be done to prevent harm to the baby, including blood transfusions or early delivery.

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