The era of prenatal screening for serious birth defects began in the 1970s with the
discovery that amniotic fluid and maternal serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)
were increased in pregnancies affected by fetal open neural tube defects [
[1]
]. Since then, prenatal screening has become a part of routine obstetric care. In this
article, the use of AFP in prenatal screening for open neural tube defects is discussed
in the context of the laboratory and the laboratory's interactions with the practicing
obstetrician.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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- Prenatal screening for open neural tube defectsClinics in Laboratory MedicineVol. 23Issue 4
