Thinking of Growing Your Family? Consider Carrier Screening

When you’re thinking about having a baby, you want to give your child the healthiest start possible. Carrier screening is one tool that can help. Through your Genomic Life membership, you have access to this type of DNA screening.

While most babies are born healthy, with every pregnancy there is a small chance of having a baby with a genetic disorder. Carrier screening can uncover your risk of passing a genetic condition to your child, such as cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia.

If you are a carrier, it means that you have a change that increases your risk of your child having the disorder.

Carriers are usually healthy and don’t have symptoms. They also often don’t know any family members with the condition.

That’s because every child gets half of their DNA from their mother and half from their father. In most cases, both you and your partner must be carriers of the same disorder for your children to be at increased risk. If you are, it’s helpful to know ahead of time.

Things to Know About Carrier Screening

• This test helps identify the potential risk of having a child with a genetic condition. It is most helpful when testing is performed for both parents.
• If you are found to be a carrier of a condition, our expert navigation team can help you understand your results. They may recommend that your partner be tested to see if you both carry a DNA change in the same gene.
• If your results are negative, that’s reassuring—but not a guarantee. Routine prenatal care, newborn screenings, and healthy habits are still important.

If you’re ready to request carrier screening, simply log in to the Genomic Life member portal and take the Health Questionnaire. It takes just a few minutes. (If you don’t yet have a portal account, contact us to get your personal log-in code.)

You can also learn more about the potential results of carrier screening here.