Prenatal Diagnosis -- Why Is 35 a Magic Number?

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Abstract
For the past two decades, routine amniocentesis has been recommended only for women who are at least 35 years old,1 because at that age the risk of miscarriage induced by the test is roughly equal to the risk of trisomy 21, the most prevalent nonfatal chromosomal abnormality causing mental retardation and morbidity. That rationale assumes that having a miscarriage and having a child with Down's syndrome are equivalent outcomes. But using 35 years as the threshold age ignores the other chromosomal abnormalities that might prompt some couples to terminate a pregnancy, the level of accuracy of the test, and the . . .