With all of the concerns about how various activities and foods will impact the baby, pregnant women have a lot to worry about. While every pregnant woman wishes to have a perfect pregnancy, this is not always possible. And if something does go wrong, it’s best to know as soon as possible. “As soon as possible” has just become a lot sooner thanks to a revolutionary new test called Panorama.

This new prenatal test and can now find abnormalities as early as nine weeks into the pregnancy. Taking this test will take some of the weight off of the shoulders of expecting mothers if there are no abnormalities. If there are some abnormalities, the family will have time to prepare.

So how exactly does it work? Blood is drawn from expectant moms in order to get genetic material from the baby’s placenta. This test can spot defects that can result in Down’s syndrome or other trisomies. It can also find defects that lead to sex chromosome abnormalities and microdeletions, which are the cause of conditions like Angelman and Prader-Willi.

If the results of the test show that there is a high risk for some abnormalities in your baby, there is more that needs to be done. The next step is more testing, such as amniocentesis or the CVS, chorionic villus sampling. If the results show a low risk, the expectant mother may be able to void amniocentesis or other invasive tests.

While it will, of course, be unsettling for an expectant mother to learn that she is high risk, it is ultimately crucial that she find out early, so she can better prepare. If an expectant mother gets back a high-risk result, the mother and her doctor should monitor the pregnancy differently. They will also want to ensure that that the mother is at the best possible location to deliver her baby. This means that she should be near the best specialist and the best NICU possible. This way, her delivery can go as smoothly as possible and the baby can be as healthy as possible.

While the most important aspect of Panorama is, of course, the ability to detect risk factors, it also has a number of other interesting features. For example, parents can detect their baby’s gender early on. It is astounding that a non-invasive surgery that is done with a simple blood test can show this.

One of several cell-free DNA tests on the market, Panorama may give a false positive result. However, out of all prenatal screening tests available, Panorama has the lowest false positive rate for the commonly screened chromosomal abnormalities, trisomies 13, 18 and 21.

Panorama is typically used alongside other routine screening tests such as ultrasounds, and it is typically covered by insurance. With Panorama, expectant mothers who do not have high-risk factors can instead focus on other matters. And those who are at high risk can adjust so that their babies can be as healthy as possible. Panorama is bound to make an incredible difference in the lives of many expectant families.

Speak with your doctor about Panorama and allow your doctor to communicate if this prenatal screening is right for you.