Benefits of Genetic Counseling

Genetic counseling can assist women or couples who are:

• Planning a pregnancy
• Interested in prenatal diagnosis
• Concerned about first or second trimester screening results
• Known to be at risk for carrying genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, sickle cell disease or thalassemia
• Pregnant and will be 35 years or older at the time of delivery
• Of an ethnic group in which particular inherited diseases are more common, including African-American, French-Canadian, Jewish, Mediterranean or Asian backgrounds

Genetic counseling can help with the implications of:

• Previous miscarriages or pregnancy losses
• Either parent's diagnosis or family history of birth defect, genetic disorder or mental retardation
• Previously having a child with a birth defect, genetic disorder or mental retardation
• A laboratory test such as a maternal serum screening test indicating an increased risk for a genetic disorder
• A woman's exposure to certain medications or drugs, significant radiation, and/or particular infections during her pregnancy