Towards DNA: Issues and Implications of Non-invasive Prenatal Genetic Testing
ABSTRACT
Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) will soon become the standard of care for prenatal genetic testing. NIPD uses DNA and has the potential to sequence the entire fetal genome and detect many diverse traits. Although both the public and midwives support the implementation of NIPD, concerns arise owing to the lack of agreement about what constitutes severe disabling traits. Further, there is limited understanding of the implications of such testing at both the individual and population levels. Midwives and other maternity care providers need to be better educated on all aspects of prenatal genetic testing - the limitations and implications of NIPD, as well as disability traits and living with them - in order to help their clients make truly informed choices.
KEYWORDS
prenatal diagnosis, genetic testing, best practices, future
This student article has been peer reviewed.