This second edition volume expands on the first edition with more detailed methodologies on prenatal testing and diagnosis, and also covers next-generation sequencing techniques. The chapters in this book are divided into three sections: preimplantation genetic testing, traditional prenatal testing, and non-invasive prenatal testing. This book covers topics such as molecular testing for preimplantation genetic diagnosis of single gene disorders; DNA extraction from various types of prenatal specimens; prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs disease; chromosomal SNP microarrays; and isolation of cell-free DNA from maternal plasma. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and thorough, Prenatal Diagnosis, Second Edition is a valuable resource for any researcher interested in reproducing these techniques in their clinical laboratories.

Since its introduction in 2012, cell-free (cf) DNA based Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) has been employed to test for fetal chromosome abnormalities, and gene mutations that lead to a variety of genetic conditions, by millions of pregnant women, in more than 90 countries worldwide. With Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): Applied Genomics in Prenatal Screening and Diagnosis, Dr Lieve Page-Christiaens and Dr Hanns-Georg Klein have compiled the first authoritative volume on cfDNA NIPT methods and their clinical implementation. - Provides a thorough, practical examination of the history of NIPT, NIPT laboratory techniques and bioinformatics, NIPT screening and diagnostics for a wide range of disorders and birth defects - Presents leading, international experts who discuss the application of NIPT in early screening for common aneuploidies, fetal chromosome anomalies, autosomal trisomies, fetal blood group typing, and maternal constitutional and acquired copy number variants - Includes full color imagery that enhances concept illustration, along with detailed descriptions of the benefits (and limitations) of NIPT - Offers clinicians, researchers, genetic counselors and reproductive specialists of all kinds the required background information, methodologies and essential patient counseling techniques

As prenatal tests proliferate, the medical and broader communities perceive that such testing is a logical extension of good prenatal care—it helps parents have healthy babies. But prenatal tests have been criticized by the disability rights community, which contends that advances in science should be directed at improving their lives, not preventing them. Used primarily to decide to abort a fetus that would have been born with mental or physical impairments, prenatal tests arguably reinforce discrimination against and misconceptions about people with disabilities. In these essays, people on both sides of the issue engage in an honest and occasionally painful debate about prenatal testing and selective abortion. The contributors include both people who live with and people who theorize about disabilities, scholars from the social sciences and humanities, medical geneticists, genetic counselors, physicians, and lawyers. Although the essayists don't arrive at a consensus over the disability community's objections to prenatal testing and its consequences, they do offer recommendations for ameliorating some of the problems associated with the practice.

Technological developments in the life sciences confront us with new facets of a Faustian seduction. Are we „playing God“ more and more, as claimed by critical authors of modernity? Achievements in genetic research produce ethical dilemmas which need to be the subject of reflection and debate in modern societies. Denial of ambivalences that ethical dilemmas arouse constitutes a threat to societies as well as to individuals. The book presents a compilation of some of the results of the interdisciplinary European study “Ethical Dilemmas Due to Prenatal and Genetic Diagnostics” (EDIG), which investigated some of these dilemmas in detail in a field which is particularly challenging: prenatal diagnosis. When results from prenatal diagnosis show fetal abnormalities, women and their partners are confronted with ethical dilemmas regarding: the right to know and the right not to know; decision-making about the remainder of the pregnancy and the desire for a healthy child; responsibility for the unborn child, for its well-being and possible suffering; life and death. This book provides answers from an ethical, psychoanalytical and medical viewpoint.

Initially known for its beautiful images of the faces of babies, 3D ultrasound has, however, become an important tool in prenatal diagnosis for its ability to image fetal organs in normal and abnormal conditions. This book is a state-of-the-art work conceived as a practical guide to the application of 3D ultrasound in obstetrics. The authors of this book have extensive expertise in 3D ultrasound that spans for more than 25 years. The book has three sections: one section on the technical principles of 3D ultrasound, a second section on various 3D rendering tools with a step-by-step explanation of its use. The third section is dedicated to the clinical use of 3D in the examination of the fetal organs. In this 2nd edition, the entire book has been revised and actualized.

Richly illustrated and comprehensive in scope, Obstetric Imaging, 2nd Edition, provides up-to-date, authoritative guidelines for more than 200 obstetric conditions and procedures, keeping you at the forefront of this fast-changing field. This highly regarded reference covers the extensive and ongoing advances in maternal and fetal imaging in a concise, newly streamlined format for quicker access to common and uncommon findings. Detailed, expert guidance, accompanied by superb, high-quality images, helps you make the most of new technologies and advances in obstetric imaging. - Features more than 1,350 high-quality images, including 400 in color. - Helps you select the best imaging approaches and effectively interpret your findings with a highly templated, bulleted, at-a-glance organization. - Reflects all the latest developments in the field, including genetics, open fetal surgery, fetal echocardiography, Zika virus, and 3D imaging, so you can provide the safest and most responsive care to both mother and fetus. - Includes new chapters on Limbs and Bones Overview; Open Fetal Surgery; Biophysical Profile; Ultrasound Physics; Elastography; Doppler; MRI; Echogenic Bowel; Pregnancy of Unknown Location (PUL), Failed Pregnancy and Ectopic Pregnancy, Cesarean Scar Pregnancy; Cytomegalovirus (CMG), Rubella, Toxoplasmosis, Herpes, Varicella; and Congenital Syphilis; plus a new chapter on Zika Virus written by imaging experts from the "hot zone." - Keeps you up to date with the latest developments in multimodality imaging and optimizing diagnostic accuracy from ultrasound, 3D ultrasound, Doppler, MRI, elastography, image-guided interventions, and much more. - Expert ConsultTM eBook version included with purchase. This enhanced eBook experience allows you to search all of the text, figures, Q&As, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

Technological advances continue to expand the number of genetic disorders that can be diagnosed in utero. Utilization of this new technology has de manded special expertise available in relatively few academic centers. As these new applications have become more widespread so have the realities of the medicolegal implications. Notwithstanding the laboratory challenges, most legal action, at least in the United States, has arisen from the physician's failure to inform a patient about the risks of a genetic disorder or the oppor tunities presented by prenatal diagnosis. Hence an extensive thorough reex amination of the subject seems appropriate and timely. The steady escalation in the number of prenatal genetic studies now being done in the western world makes it imperative for the physician to have a thorough comprehension of the subject in its entirety. I am, therefore, fortu nate in having colleagues who as acknowledged experts have shared their knowledge and experience in order to make this volume a major critical repository of facts and guidance about prenatal genetic diagnosis. The subject matter ranges from a consideration of required genetic counseling through the intricacies of establishing prenatal diagnoses. Special attention is focused on new advances using ultrasound, a-fetoprotein, fetoscopy, and first trimester diagnosis. Both ethical and legal implications are discussed in detail, as is the development of public policy.