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Book review: Guidelines and Standards for Maternal Serum Screening for Down’s Syndrome, Neural Tube Defects and other Obstetric Problems

Jeroen Pennings, PhD

[email protected]

Especially in developing countries like India, prenatal screening is complicated by factors such as lack of awareness, absence of a national policy, and costs that may not always be affordable. Whereas there are massive benefits to perinatal health care that can be achieved, the fact that prenatal screening was set up later in most developing countries than in Europe or North America means that clinicians and laboratories are not all equally familiar with some essentials details of a screening program. A more widespread knowledge of screening standards and guidelines, whether they apply to laboratory tests or to ultrasonography, can help to secure the reliable performance of prenatal screening. This, in turn, can help to further establish the role of prenatal screening in public health care.

To address the current shortcomings, Dr. Sharad Gogate wrote a reference book on prenatal screening with a focus on Down Syndrome and neural tube defects. The nine chapters (114 pages) of the book each cover separate forms of screening, such as first trimester screening, invasive procedures, or NIPT. Most chapters contain background information and recommendations in addition to guidelines and standards, to help the reader understand the material in its context. The overall detail level of the book is aimed at providing the information needed to improve understanding, rather than going into the finest details of each particular aspect. This results in a book that is both comprehensive and practical for the stakeholders involved, whether they are obstetricians, laboratory scientists, or genetic counselors.

Dr. Gogate’s book will be very useful for these stakeholders to become aware of the requirements for improving the quality of a screening program. Hopefully, this will help to improve prenatal health care in India as well as other countries.

Publisher: CBS, New Delhi, India. ISBN: 978-81-239-2626-1.