A simple Pap smear may one day offer a way to screen for birth defects a little earlier in pregnancy than today’s prenatal tests.
Women typically get a Pap during early pregnancy, and Wayne State University researchers report Wednesday that they can capture enough fetal DNA from the cells that test extracts to check for genetic abnormalities.
The new study is very small, and much more research is needed. But if the approach eventually pans out, researchers say it might be possible to use as early as five weeks into pregnancy and to detect more disorders noninvasively.
