Early Pregnancy Care

Early Pregnancy Care

The London Pregnancy care clinic at the Shard provides a comprehensive early pregnancy care and advice to women from conception to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
This includes urine and blood testing for pregnancy, ultrasound scan to check the viability of pregnancy, dating scan and advice regarding screening tests for chromosomal abnormalities in the first trimester.

Why early pregnancy care is important.

Majority of pregnancies will progress normally but sadly a small proportion of pregnancies can fail and end in a miscarriage. Sometimes pregnancy can implant and grow outside the uterus; most commonly in the fallopian tube and this is called an ectopic pregnancy. Both these conditions need to be diagnosed early and treated appropriately to prevent complications.  
Dr Kunde provides advice regarding medical and surgical management of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

Screening for Chromosomal Abnormality

All pregnant women are offered 2 screening tests for chromosomal abnormality in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. 

1. The Harmony test 
The above test involves an ultrasound scan to determine the duration of pregnancy and a blood test to analyse the DNA of the baby which can be detected in mother’s blood. Thus this test is non-invasive and detects the presence of Down’s syndrome(Trisomy 21) and other 2 less common chromosomal abnormalities called Edward’s Syndrome(Trisomy 18) and Patau’s Syndrome(Trisomy 13) with over 95% accuracy. The test can also provide the diagnosis of fetal sex.

2. The Combined test
This test involves an ultrasound scan to measure the thickness of fluid layer on the baby’s neck(nuchal translucency scan) and a blood test to measure chemicals called PAPP-A and Beta HCG.

This test is done between 12 and 14 weeks and provides information about the risk of chromosomal abnormalities. The scan also provides useful information about early structural development of the baby including presence of heart defects.

CVS and Amniocentesis

These are invasive tests that are done if the above screening tests show a high risk of baby being affected by chromosomal abnormality. The CVS test is done between 11 and 13 weeks and involves insertion of a needle into the uterus to take a biopsy from the placenta. The amniocentesis is done at 16 weeks and a sample of the fluid from around the baby is taken to analyse baby’s chromosomes. These tests carry 1% risk of a miscarriage.

Dr Kunde provides consultant led pregnancy care and delivery package for women who wish to continue their care with Dr Kunde and have the delivery privately at The Westminster Suite or The Portland Hospital in central London.