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Amniocentesis

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Amniotic fluid test (AFT)

Definition

Amniocentesis, also called as Amniotic Fluid Test (AFT), is an invasive prenatal medical procedure carried out primarily to diagnose chromosomal abnormalities and/or infections by using fetal DNA from the cells collected from the amniotic fluid.

Introduction

In 1956, American obstetrician Fritz Friedrich Fuchs and Danish gastroenterologist Polv Riis pioneered the technique of Amniocentesis by collecting samples to determine the fetal sex. Up until the 1970s amniotic fluid collection was done blind. In 1972, Jens Bang and Allen Northend reported that needle insertion for amniotic fluid collection could be done using ultrasound techniques.

Amniocentesis is usually reserved for those women considered at higher risk of carrying a fetus with a chromosomal or genetic abnormality. In most cases, the women are suggested to undergo amniocentesis only after genetic counseling to avoid miscarriage as a result of amniocentesis.

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References

  • Alfirevic, Z., Mujezinovic, F., & Sundberg, K. (2003). Amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling for prenatal diagnosis. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003252.

  • Bergman, K., Sarkar, P., O’connor, T. G., Modi, N., & Glover, V. (2007). Maternal stress during pregnancy predicts cognitive ability and fearfulness in infancy. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(11), 1454–1463.

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  • Bergman, K., Sarkar, P., Glover, V., & O’Connor, T. G. (2010). Maternal prenatal cortisol and infant cognitive development: Moderation by infant–mother attachment. Biological Psychiatry, 67(11), 1026–1032.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ogilvie, C., & Akolekar, R. (2014). Pregnancy loss following amniocentesis or CVS sampling – Time for a reassessment of risk. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 3(3), 741–746.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Research Laboratory, Biotechnology Unit, Department of Biosciences, Mangalore University, Mangalore, 574199, Karnataka, India

    Vidya Shukla

Authors
  1. Vidya Shukla
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Correspondence to Vidya Shukla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, 500046, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Akash Gautam

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Shukla, V. (2017). Amniocentesis. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_57-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_57-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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