Antenatal care panel Test
About antenatal care panel:
An antenatal panel is a group of blood tests performed during early pregnancy to ensure the safety of both the mother and the unborn child. These tests aid in the early detection of conditions and their treatment, which may prevent serious complications for the mother and her child.
Certain risks that are associated with pregnancies include life-threatening infections, chromosomal abnormalities or other conditions such as genetic disorders or certain hereditary conditions.
Symptoms to look before undergoing antenatal care panel:
These are routine tests advised to pregnant women to ensure safe pregnancy. Therefore, no specific symptoms are a prerequisite before going for this screening.
Tests included in antenatal panel:
The antenatal panel usually includes the following tests:
1.     Complete blood count (CBC) – This test determines different features of your blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelet count, etc. It helps in the diagnosis of various health conditions such as anemia, clotting disorders, and certain infections etc.
2.    Urine routine – This test helps detect germs (microorganisms like bacteria) in your urine and determine certain infections such as urinary tract infections.
3.    Blood type and Rh factor – This test helps to find the type of blood you have (A, B or O). Rh factor is a protein that is present on the red blood cells. The presence of this protein on your RBCs categorizes your blood as Rh positive whereas absence means Rh negative. If you are by any chance Rh negative and your baby Rh positive, then your body may start developing antibodies against your own baby’s blood. In such cases further measures are taken.
4.   Rubella – It is a viral infection also known as German measles. This test shows if you are immune to Rubella virus i.e., if you have been vaccinated to rubella virus. If you are not vaccinated and gets infected with the rubella virus during the pregnancy, your growing baby is at high risk and can develop serious birth defects.
5.    Hepatitis B and C – Pregnant women are tested for Hepatitis B virus as a routine test. However, hepatitis C is not widely recommended unless you have certain risk factors. Both these viruses infect your liver and can be passed from mother to the unborn child.
6.   Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) – Most pregnant women are screened for sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea etc. These may lead to either miscarriage or infect the baby during delivery. STD may cause problems such as blindness, breathing issues and other health conditions to the child.
7.    HIV – This infection attacks the immune system of the mother and may cause AIDS. There is a high chance that if you have HIV, there is a possibility that your child may also be HIV positive. Most of the pregnant women are screened for HIV to ensure safe pregnancy.
8.    Thyroid stimulating hormone – This test involves measuring thyroid hormone in mother’s blood. This will find out how well is your thyroid gland functioning. Having adequately functioning thyroid gland results in safe pregnancy and delivery.
9.   Glucose (Fasting) –This test measures the blood sugars of the pregnant women. Many pregnant women tend to develop a condition called gestational diabetes during pregnancy, which requires regular glucose monitoring.
Who should get tested?
Pregnant women
Test preparations:
No special preparations are required for this panel except for the fasting glucose and thyroid stimulating hormone. Fasting samples are collected after a minimum of 8-10 hours of fasting state. Nothing should be consumed before taking test except for the water.
Interpretation of the results:
The results of the tests may assist to detect any abnormalities in the mother and unborn child and receive treatment for those conditions.
Different tests provide different results.
A few examples of abnormal results may include:
1.     Rh compatibility results –
|
Rh factor |
Inference |
|
|
Mother |
Child |
Normal |
|
Negative |
Negative |
|
|
Negative |
Positive |
If the mother is negative and child is positive for Rh factor then the mother’s body is likely to develop antibodies against her own baby. |
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2.    Infections – If the results reveal you are positive to certain infections such as syphilis, chlamydia, Hepatitis B, etc it means that your baby is also at risk of developing those infections.
3.    Immunity to rubella
|
Immunization results |
Inference |
|
Positive |
Immune to rubella and cannot get infected |
|
Negative |
Not immune to rubella and likely to get infected. |
FAQs
Are there any potential risks to my baby due to antenatal care panel?
There are no risks to the unborn baby, and no potential risks to you except for a slight bruise at the site of the needle insertion. This will also pass in a few minutes to hours.
What is the Turn Around Time (TAT) for the results of the antenatal care panel?
Test results of antenatal care panel may usually be available within 7 days after you have given blood sample. Although it may take longer at times.
Why is there a need of undergoing any screening during pregnancy?
Prenatal/antenatal screening is an important way to check if you have any abnormal conditions that may likely get passed down to your child during pregnancy or delivery. These tests can help you:
·      To identifying medical problems in their early period so that they can be treated effectively
·      To identify any genetic abnormalities in your baby, so that you can decide what to do next
·      To ensure safe growth and development of your child.
My test results showed me as HBV positive. Is my child prone to this infection?
If your hepatitis B virus test results show positive reports it certainly means you are infected with HBV. It is more likely for a child to develop the HBV infection whose mother is infected. Children whose mothers are positive for HBV infection are vaccinated for the infection as soon as they are delivered from their mothers.
I am a Rh negative mother and my husband is Rh positive. Is there any chance that my child will not be harmed as a result of this?
If you are Rh negative and your child is Rh positive, your body may begin to develop antibodies against your own baby because it perceives it as foreign. Usually, the first pregnancy of a Rh negative mother is safe because the baby is delivered by the time the mother releases antibodies in her body. Later pregnancies, on the other hand, will have complications due to the already formed antibodies, which may harm future foetuses.
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