• Routine Prenatal Testing
• Special Prenatal Testing

Routine Prenatal Testing

• Blood Type : Blood test to determine your blood type A, B, AB, or O
• Rh Factor : Blood test to determine if you have a protein Rh on your blood cell. If you do not, then you are Rh negative (Rh-). Your body will react to your baby’s blood if he or she is Rh positive (Rh+). You will receive an injection called RhoGAM at 28 weeks or when you have an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion or amniocentesis. It can prevent you from developing antibodies to your baby’s blood cells which can attack the baby’s red blood cells and cause anemia or may cause problem in the subsequent pregnancy.
• Complete Blood Count (CBC): Blood test to measure the hemoglobin level or the oxygen carrying capacity of your red blood cells. If your level falls below 10 grams, you are considered to be anemic and will require treatment with Iron.
• Rubella (German measles and Varicella (Chickenpox): Blood test to determine whether or not you are immune to Rubella and Varicella. Babies exposed to Rubella or Varicella can have birth defects such as blindness, hearing loss, heart defects, mental retardation and movement disorders. If not immune, you can receive the vaccines for Rubella and Varicella after the baby is born.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD): Blood tests to screen syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV.
• Urine Tests: Urine to screen for sugars, proteins, ketones, and bacteria. They assess for bladder infection, diabetes, dehydration and preeclampsia.

Others blood tests that may be offered:

• Cystic fibrosis (CF). Blood test available to all pregnant women for the cystic fibrosis gene which causes Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that most commonly affects breathing and digestion. One in 31 Americans carries the CF gene. The risk is increased for Caucasians.
• Sickle-cell anemia. Blood test for Sickle cell disease, an inherited disease of red blood cells, mainly affecting African-Americans and Latinos. It is characterized by pain episodes, anemia (shortage of red blood cells), serious infections and damage to vital organs.
• Thalassemia. Blood test for Thalassemia, an inherited disease of the blood that includes different forms of anemia. It affects most frequently in people of Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Southern Asian and African ancestry.
• Tay-Sachs disease. Blood test to diagnose Tay-Sachs disease, a fatal inherited disease of the central nervous system. Affected babies lack an enzyme necessary for breaking down certain fatty substances in brain and nerve cells. These substances build up and gradually destroy the nervous system. Tay-Sachs mostly affects the descendants of Central and Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jews, some non-Jewish individuals of French-Canadian ancestry and the Cajun population in Louisiana.
• Ultrasound. Technique using high-frequency sound wave to image the baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, and blood flow using Doppler. First trimester ultrasound confirms pregnancy or abnormal findings such as ectopic or molar pregnancy. Second and trimester ultrasound can identify structural and amniotic fluid abnormalities, identity placental location and follow fetal growth.