Question

Sonja os 42 years old and pregnant with her first child. her doctor thinks she ought to have a procedure called amniocentesis to harvest fetal cells for genetic analysis. he tells Sonja that he will use a large needle inserted through her abdomen to obtain these cells from the amniotic fluid around the baby. he tells her that he will be able to visualize the needle so she needn't worry about sticking her baby. she decides that she still thinks its dangerous because of the radioactivity her baby will be exposed to. need she be concerned?

Answer 1

Amniocentesis is the test done for genetic counselling and to test certain conditions of the fetus. It is offered to the females over 36 years of age. In this test samll sample of amniotic fluis is taken for which a needle is inserted into the uterus. At the start of the procedure ultrasound is done. While doing ultrasound a transducer is moved across the skin of the abdomen to produce an image on to the screen which shows inside of the body. There are no ionising rations there. It is safe so she shouldn't worry.