The Pregnancy at Risk for a Genetic Disorder

Abstract

IN this week's issue of the Journal Nadler and Gerbie report the first large series of amniocenteses done around the sixteenth week of fetal gestation for prenatal genetic diagnosis — a new technic heralded in these columns a year ago.¹ These authors have performed 162 amniocenteses in 155 pregnancies, and have collected 132 more cases from three other centers. First of all, this combined experience is reassuring because no complications were apparent in any mother or fetus. Although unlikely long-range effects must be excluded, it appears that the risk of amniocentesis at 16 weeks will be very low, as has . . .