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The Prenatal Diagnosis Center at UCSF Children's Hospital provides pregnant women with comprehensive counseling, screening and diagnostic testing for fetal disorders. While most women give birth to healthy babies, about 3 percent of babies born have a major birth defect. When an abnormality is diagnosed, this information combined with expert genetic counseling can help women and their partners make important decisions about their current and future pregnancies.

Certain guidelines help women determine if they would benefit from genetic counseling or prenatal testing. Women who meet one of the following criteria may want to consider prenatal testing:

• Pregnant women who will be 35 or older on their due date.
• Couples who have a child or other close relative with a birth defect.
• Pregnant women with abnormal results from the expanded alpha fetoprotein (AFP) test - a blood test that estimates the risk of chromosomal disorders.
• Pregnant women who have other concerns about the health of the fetus.
• Couples with whom one or both partners carry an inherited disease such as Tay-Sachs, sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis.
• Pregnant women who have been exposed to agents, such as medications, that may harm the fetus.
• Women who have had an ultrasound that detected abnormalities in the fetus.

Most insurance plans cover prenatal testing, especially for women over 35 years of age. You may need a referral from your primary care physician or health plan to ensure coverage. Our office staff is available to assist you with insurance questions.

In addition to our main San Francisco center, we have three satellite Northern California offices in Salinas, San Mateo and Santa Rosa.

To request an appointment, please call the Prenatal Diagnosis Center at (415) 476-4080. For additional assistance, please contact our Physician Referral Service at (415) 689-UCSF or send us an email at referral.center@ucsfmedctr.org.