Health Center - Fertility
Have you been having a hard time getting pregnant? Trouble conceiving can be stressful on both you and your relationship—and the options can be confusing. Learn more about coping with infertility and the many reproductive technologies and specialists available to help. Get the information and support you need to make educated decisions.
5 Ways to Prepare for Pregnancy
The procedure isn't 100 percent effective, however. University of Florida researchers find that about 1.5 percent of embryos may be implanted with undetected genetic disorders because of a rare condition called chromosomal mosaicism.
But for women who know they have a genetic risk for one of these devastating diseases, PGD can be a tremendous advantage.
Another advantage is a test given to women in the first trimester of pregnancy who have a risk of having a child born with Down syndrome. The disorder is the most common chromosomal abnormality, affecting about one in 800 babies born each year.
Previously, the only way to know if a woman was having a baby with Down's was with second-trimester blood tests and/or invasive amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) tests, all of which carry a slight risk of miscarriage. If a woman then decided to terminate the pregnancy, she faced a more complex and emotionally wrenching second-trimester abortion.
