Is combined screening the same at Nipt or Harmony?

[Hummingbird15]

I've just had my booking appointment and the midwife said the trust now do combined screening at 12 weeks to check for risk of Edwards and Pataus as well as Downs. She said it's a blood test and i'd get the results within 2 weeks.

Can anyone tell me, is this blood test the same as done in a Harmony test? My googling isn't helping me here!

I have a harmony test booked, but don't want to pay out if we'll get the same clarity for free on the nhs...

No it's isn't. They measure the nuchal fold, test the hormone levels in your blood then give you a risk factor. Harmony is much more accurate.

As above, the NHS one is much less reliable.

No they are not the same test.

On the NHS you typically will have a blood test which tests for levels of HcG and PAPP-A and a scan that will look at the measurements of the nuchal fold (NT measure). These two measures combined will give you a risk factor for the three main chromosonal abnormalities (Downs/Edwards and Patau's). However, this isn't as accurate as other tests, and there is a risk that they won't be able to take an accurate NT measurement. If for any reason they are unable to or can't schedule the scan in time etc, they will offer you a quad-screen (blood test) at a later stage to look for the same thing. All these tests are less reliable than the NIPT.

Harmony/Panorama/SAFE are all different brand names for the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) which is only a blood test. This test attempts to get some of the baby's DNA which is floating around amid your DNA in your blood, and from there will provide a risk factor for the same chromosonal abnormalities. They all have varying levels of accuracy for various conditions, but by and large are much more accurate than the combined test. In addition you can also find out the baby's sex if you'd like.

Some trusts on the NHS are offering NIPT nowadays, particularly in high-risk pregnancies but this is not universal. If cost is a factor, look into the SAFE test where the bloods are processed in the UK rather than being sent off to the US. At our clinic in London the SAFE was about £100 cheaper than the Panorama/Harmony.

Needless to say all these tests aren't diagnostic - they only give a probability that a condition exists. Any diagnosis will require a CVS or amnio. Hope that helps, and good luck with your pregnancy!

Thanks everyone, I just couldn't work out what the combined blood test was actually testing.

Think we'll keep the Harmony appointment then.

Worth double checking with the hospital. Mine does Harmony for free if your combined testing gives you a risk factor of 1:500 or higher