Pregnancy: Screening

(asked on 21st July 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on antenatal screening in the last year.


Answered by
Dan Poulter Portrait
Dan Poulter
This question was answered on 3rd September 2014

The UK National Screening Committee provides advice to Ministers on screening issues. It will continue to keep all antenatal screening programmes under review and will advise further when appropriate.

All pregnant women are offered screening for thalassaemia, hepatitis B, HIV, rubella susceptibility and syphilis. A test for sickle cell is offered if the fetus is identified of being at higher risk of this condition.

All pregnant women are also offered ultrasound scans during their pregnancy. This screening identifies Down’s syndrome, and major structural anomalies such as anencephaly, open spina bifida, cleft lip, diaphragmatic hernia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, serious cardiac abnormalities, bilateral renal agenesis, lethal skeletal dyslasia, Edwards’ syndrome (Trisomy 18) and Patau’s syndrome (Trisomy 13).

To obtain how much the National Health Service has spent on antenatal screening in the last year would be at a disproportionate cost.

Reticulating Splines