# Cell-free DNA screening for fetal chromosome conditions

Technology · id `maternal:cell-free-dna-screening` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public)

> General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here.

The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations.

Browse, life stage: Pregnancy  
Browse, care area: The baby before birth  

## In plain language

A blood test in pregnancy that looks at small pieces of the baby's DNA in the mother's blood to check whether the baby is more likely to have conditions such as Down syndrome. It is a screening test: a positive result needs other tests to confirm. In one large study, it found trisomy 21 more reliably, with far fewer false alarms, than standard first-trimester screening.

## Technical summary

MedlinePlus (NLM public-domain text) describes prenatal cfDNA screening as a blood test given during pregnancy that can be done from the 10th week and that cannot say for sure whether the baby has a chromosome disorder. The NEXT study (2015; 15,841 analysed women) compared one commercial cfDNA test with standard screening at 10 to 14 weeks and found higher sensitivity, a lower false positive rate and a higher positive predictive value for trisomy 21; it was funded by the test maker. The professional society's Practice Bulletin 226 is a related guideline; its content is identity-only in this atlas and was not read.

## Connected pages

- Screening for chromosome conditions: Fetal development (`maternal:fetal-development`)
- Filed under this front: Screening and tests (`maternal:front-screening-and-tests`)
- Investigated in: NEXT study (cell-free DNA for trisomy screening) (`maternal:next-study`)

## Provenance

Content hash: ae1b9d538e49fba3a0685af6a94cc85916050f8ff0a2c7e281f6ebf16c6cc259
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14