Early and regular visits to your obstetrician are critically important during your pregnancy. The care you receive throughout your pregnancy is vital to your health and the health of your unborn baby. The ob-gyn doctors and staff at Northside/Northpoint OB-GYN of Atlanta and Alpharetta, GA make you and your unborn baby our number-one priority. We want to guide you through the most beautiful time of your life to that special day when your baby is born.

Our fetal testing includes:

Optional Genetic screening

*THESE TESTS ARE OPTIONAL*

Horizon 14 – Carrier Screening – a blood test for 12+ conditions that can be passed from parent to child even if neither parent has the clinical disease or any symptoms. Insurance coverage and preauthorization are addressed by Natera laboratory directly 844-611-2787

A self-pay rate is available through Natera for $249- Natera will contact you via text or email after the test is done – you MUST respond to them for the corrected price.

Panorama – Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) – a blood test that detects fragments of fetal DNA in maternal blood to screen for Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), Trisomy 18, Trisomy 13, and disorders of the X and Y chromosomes. This test is highly sensitive and can be done as early as 9 weeks of pregnancy. Insurance coverage and preauthorization are addressed by Natera laboratory directly 844-611-2787

A self-pay rate is available through Natera for $249 Natera will contact you via text or email after the test is done – you MUST respond to them for the corrected price.

First Screen – a blood test that is performed by NTD labs in conjunction with an ultrasound of the nuchal fold between 12 and 14 weeks or pregnancy. This test screens for Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13. The ultrasound also offers an early anatomical assessment of the baby and can detect some additional abnormalities. Benefits for the ultrasound can be checked by calling your insurance company (CPT 76813).

The blood test component will be billed $240 – price information can be obtained by calling NTD lab directly 888-683-5227.

Maternal Serum AFP- a blood test done between 15 and 18 weeks to screen for risk of neural tube defects. The test is billed to Labcorp and typically costs $80-100 (CPT 82105)

If a woman will be 35 years of age at the time of delivery, she can elect to have invasive genetic testing for Down syndrome with either chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis.

Amniocentesis is performed at approximately 16 weeks. Using ultrasound guidance, a thin needle is used to withdraw fluid from around the baby.

CVS is performed at approximately 10 to 12 weeks and involves sampling tissue from the placenta under ultrasound guidance. The accuracy of these tests is 100%; however, there is a small risk of miscarriage. Amniocentesis has a lower pregnancy loss risk but the test is performed later in pregnancy. Any patient can consider these invasive tests but the benefits probably do not outweigh the risks unless the mother is age 35 or older, there is a personal or family history of genetic disease, or any previous genetic testing resulted in abnormal findings.

To learn more, please follow this link: Antenatal screening

To learn more about our fetal testing and genetic screening or to schedule an appointment, please call our main office at (404) 255-3633. You can also use our online Request an Appointment form. Our fetal testing and genetic screening patients come to us from the area of Buckhead in Atlanta, Cumming, North Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Roswell and Forsyth in Fulton County, GA.

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