A quadruple screening test is also called a quad screening or a multiple marker test. The doctor may send you for a triple screening test instead of the quadruple screening. A quadruple screening is a little more sensitive and can detect better odds than a triple screening.
The quadruple screening test usually takes place between 15 and 20 weeks during your pregnancy. This is an OPTIONAL test. Some insurances will not cover the cost of the quadruple screening or triple screening test and you should check with your insurance before taking the test. The
quadruple screening and triple screening test consists of drawing blood, but you do not have to do anything special for the test. You can eat and drink as you normally would. The results usually take about a week.
The quadruple screening evaluates your risk of carrying a baby who has certain developmental or chromosomal conditions. These conditions include Spina Bifida, Anencephaly which will cause the baby to be stillborn or will shortly die, Edwards Syndrome that is also fatal and the baby often dies by one year old, and Down Syndrome.
The quadruple screening tests not whether the baby has the condition, but whether YOU have an increased risk of carrying a baby who has certain developmental or chromosomal conditions. This is important to remember if the doctor tells you the test came back positive. The doctor was testing you and not the baby. Other tests will test the baby.
It is important to note this test is only 80% accurate. It correctly identifies 80% of women carrying Down Syndrome. Five percent of women have false positives with this test. That means five percent of the women that took this test and got a positive result, will needlessly worry through their pregnancy.
If you get a positive result on the test the next step would be to go to a genetic counselor. Your doctor may try to talk you into an amniocentesis first, but go to the genetic counselor first. The genetic counselor can determine your odds of having a baby with a problem and will explain to you the disease that your baby is most likely to have.
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