You should undergo the “first trimester screening” or commonly referred to as FTS, between 11 weeks and 13 weeks – 6 days, when the baby’s length (denoted by CRL, crown rump length) is between 45mm and 84mm.
There are three broad aspects of FTS performed at The Fetal Clinic:

1. Firstly, after a thorough analysis of your medical, previous pregnancy, family and other relevant history, and your blood pressure measurements, we study what are the issues we should (your obstetrician and our team) be looking for during your entire pregnancy

2. Secondly, a detailed targeted ultrasound examination of the baby is done: at the end of this evaluation, we would have ruled out most of the lethal conditions, and about 60% of major malformations.

3. Thirdly, we will evaluate the baby for chance of Down syndrome: for this we measure the baby’s nuchal translucency (neck fluid thickness), see if the nasal bone is bright, measure the levels of two hormones produced by the baby’s placenta [hCG and PAPP-A]: together these measurements along with your age will be used to calculate the chance of baby having Down syndrome