The goal of this study is to further develop a non-invasive prenatal blood test that can diagnose genetic disorders in the fetus by looking at fetal DNA (genetic material) found in the mother's bloodstream during pregnancy.
Women carrying a fetus diagnosed with microdeletions/microduplications (small missing or extra pieces of DNA that can cause problems), aneuploidy (trisomy 21, 18, or 13) or other genetic disorders will be asked to participate.
If this study is successful, it will reduce the need for invasive procedures during pregnancy such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) but still enable women to find out accurate information regarding their baby's health early in the pregnancy.
