Amniocentesis 1952 – Checking the Health of a Baby in the Womb

Author Frank N. Magill says: 

“For thousands of years, the inability to see or touch a fetus in the womb posed a major problem for prenatal care and diagnosis of the future mental and physical health of human offspring. A solution to this problem began on 23 February 1952, when The Lancet published a study entitled ‘The Antenatal Prediction of Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn’.” 

In this research, British obstetrician Douglas Bevis described using amniocentesis to determine whether a fetus had a potentially fatal blood disorder caused by a blood factor incompatible with its mother's.

A sample of the fluid surrounding a baby in the womb, called amniotic fluid, is taken during amniocentesis to diagnose conditions such as chromosomal abnormalities, genetic diseases or infections.

Amniocentesis is a medical test usually performed between the fourteenth and twentieth weeks of pregnancy. In this test:

• A small amount of amniotic fluid is taken from the sac surrounding the developing fetus. 
• Amniotic fluid contains fetal proteins and skin cells shed during fetal growth. 
• Fetal chromosomes and DNA are examined for genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome.
• During amniocentesis, ultrasound is used to help the doctor collect fluid by passing a needle through the mother's abdominal wall, uterus and amniotic sac. 
• Measuring the alpha-fetoprotein level can help assess possible neural tube defects, including spina bifida, which results from incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube.

Amniocentesis may be performed for women with a family history of genetic disease or who become pregnant over the age of 34. It can also be used to test for sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy or Tay-Sachs disease, or to determine whether a baby's lungs are sufficiently mature. 

Another fetal diagnostic method, chorionic villus sampling, involves taking a small piece of the placenta, the temporary organ connecting the mother and fetus.

Description of the article image: An ultrasound image of a human  

fetus surrounded by amniotic fluid.

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Douglas Charles Aitchison Bevis (1919 – 1994).

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