A client who is 15 weeks pregnant comes to the clinic for amniocentesis. Which of the following is a valid result of the test?

A client who is 15 weeks pregnant comes to the clinic for amniocentesis. Which of the following is a valid result of the test?

• A. Sex of the fetus
• B. Chromosomal analysis result
• C. Neural tube defects screening
• D. Maternal serum screening results

Answer: (A)

Amniocentesis provides fetal cells from the amniotic fluid that can be analyzed for genetic information. At about 15 weeks, those fetal cells allow determination of the fetal sex by looking at the sex chromosomes (XX or XY). This is a straightforward, routinely reported result of the procedure because the presence or absence of the Y chromosome clearly indicates male or female sex. While you can also obtain chromosomal analysis to identify trisomies or other chromosomal abnormalities from the same sample, the sex determination is the most immediate, definitive result you can report. Neural tube defects can be screened with amniotic fluid AFP and acetylcholinesterase, but that testing is more specific and not the primary takeaway of the procedure. Maternal serum screening, on the other hand, uses a maternal blood sample, not amniotic fluid, so it isn’t a result of amniocentesis.

Amniocentesis provides fetal cells from the amniotic fluid that can be analyzed for genetic information. At about 15 weeks, those fetal cells allow determination of the fetal sex by looking at the sex chromosomes (XX or XY). This is a straightforward, routinely reported result of the procedure because the presence or absence of the Y chromosome clearly indicates male or female sex.

While you can also obtain chromosomal analysis to identify trisomies or other chromosomal abnormalities from the same sample, the sex determination is the most immediate, definitive result you can report. Neural tube defects can be screened with amniotic fluid AFP and acetylcholinesterase, but that testing is more specific and not the primary takeaway of the procedure. Maternal serum screening, on the other hand, uses a maternal blood sample, not amniotic fluid, so it isn’t a result of amniocentesis.