Claims for errors in antenatal screening and scanning
Antenatal screening is intended to assist in predicting how likely a fetus is to develop severe mental or physical abnormalities.
If screening shows that there is a relatively high risk of abnormality the mother is usually offered a diagnostic test to confirm the position.
The screening available on the NHS can vary from hospital to hospital. Examples of early types of antenatal screening currently in use include:
- ultrasound scans for dating (offered at eight weeks)
- nuchal translucency scan (sometimes offered as part of the dating scan)
- blood test for Down's syndrome (offered at 10-14 weeks)
- combined screening test for Down's syndrome (sometimes offered)
Fetal abnormality screening must be offered to mothers but mothers can decide whether or not they wish to undergo this screening. The types of fetal abnormality for which early screening is offered include Down's syndrome and neural tube defects (such as spina bifida). The screening tests are not, however, diagnostic. They usually give a figure for the risk of the baby being born with the relevant abnormality, for example 1 in 7000 or 1 in 40.
If the risk of abnormality is high the mother will be offered a diagnostic test such as chronic villius sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. Diagnostic tests are invasive and carry a small risk of miscarriage. Again, mothers have the option of whether to go through with diagnostic testing. If diagnostic testing confirms a fetal abnormality then some mothers may opt for termination of the pregnancy and others will opt to proceed with the pregnancy. Advice is available from medical staff throughout the screening process.
Further screening is offered later in the pregnancy which can detect a wider range of abnormalities:
- ultrasound scan for fetal abnormality (offered at 18-20 weeks)
This scan can detect spina bifida, abdominal wall defects, missing bones or limbs, renal abnormalities (missing kidneys), hydrocephalus (excess fluid on the brain) and structural brain or heart defects.
Typically, legal cases on antenatal screening can arise from failure to offer screening or failure, at the fetal abnormality scan, to identify certain defects.
Fetal abnormality screening claims
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