Enjoying Your Pregnancy Guide to Understanding - Brigham and ...

Your Prenatal Guide 7
• GENETIC AND FAMILY HISTORY •
There are certain family medical conditions that are important to the health of your baby. The following
questionnaire will help us determine if you are a candidate for special genetic counseling or testing.
You should make note of any questions that you answer “yes,” and discuss these with us at your earliest
appointment. Check the appropriate answer.
1. Will you be 35 or older by the due date? Yes ____ No ____
2. Have you, the baby’s father or anyone in either of your families had:
a. Down syndrome Yes ____ No ____
b. Spina Bifida or Myelomenigocoele (open spine)? Yes ____ No ____
c. Hemophilia? Yes ____ No ____
d. Muscular Dystrophy? Yes ____ No ____
e. Mental Retardation? Yes ____ No ____
f. Sickle Cell Disease? Yes ____ No ____
g. Tay-Sachs Disease? Yes ____ No ____
3. Have you or the baby’s father had a child born with a condition not listed in question two or that was stillborn?
Yes______ No______
4. Do you, the baby’s father or a close relative in either family have any inherited genetic or chromosomal
disorder not listed? Yes______ No ____
5. Are you, the baby’s father or a close relative:
a. Of Jewish ancestry or a descendant from Eastern
European people?
Yes______ No______
b. Of Mediterranean ancestry? Yes______ No______
c. Of Thalassemia ancestry? Yes______ No______
6. Have you or a previous spouse of the baby’s father had
three or more miscarriages?
Yes______ No______
Thank you for taking the time to complete this very important questionnaire. Remember to discuss with us
any item that is answered “yes.”
KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR BABY’S HEALTH
Throughout your entire pregnancy, both the health of you and your baby are our concern. Thanks to recent
breakthroughs in medical technology, we have new and innovative tools to carefully monitor your health and progress.
Today, many fetal problems can be detected and treated while the baby is still in the womb. So, expectant mothers with
complicating factors like advanced age can rest easier knowing that these tools are available. Listed below are the most
common fetal testing or evaluating techniques.
ULTRASOUND
Ultrasound can be used to detect a problem or monitor a condition in the fetus in
the mother’s uterus. During the first few months of pregnancy, this test can tell us
if the baby is developing properly. Should abnormal vaginal bleeding occur, it
might help us learn why. An ultrasound in early pregnancy can verify your due
date and determine whether or not you are carrying multiple babies.
Unlike x-rays, ultrasound uses sound waves to produce a video “picture” of the
fetus moving inside your uterus. This picture is generated from an instrument
that is placed either on your abdomen or in your vagina. You, too, can actually see the baby
on a special screen while we’re performing the test. If you are six or more months pregnant and