Get Peace of Mind About the Health of Your Baby Early in Pregnancy

The human body is made up of millions of cells, and in the middle of each cell is a nucleus that contains all of our genetic information. That genetic information gets packed into structures called chromosomes.

Chromosomes are important because they contain instructions for the human body to work properly, but sometimes in the fertilization process, the egg or sperm can be missing a chromosome, or can have an extra chromosome. These extra or missing chromosomes (called aneuploidy) can result in certain conditions that cause a wide range of physical and mental developmental delays in children.

Luckily, conditions can be screened as early as nine weeks of pregnancy. Panorama™, offered by LifeLabs, screens for common genetic conditions. The basic blood panel detects the likelihood of having a baby with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) with an accuracy of 99 percent, as well as Edwards syndrome (Trisomy 18) or Patau syndrome (Trisomy 13).

Unlike invasive procedures like chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis, Panorama™ carries no risk of miscarriage. The test can also tell you the sex of your baby (if you want). And if you’re having twins, it can tell you if your twins are identical or fraternal.

The best part is that you can get results in just 7 to 10 days from when you do the test, and LifeLabs’ genetic counsellors are available to help you with any questions or concerns.

To learn more or buy a test, please visit LifeLabsGenetics.com/Panorama.

This article was written by Melissa Vekil and was originally published in the Toronto Star on December 19, 2021.