| The triple marker screen test (also called the second trimester maternal screening test) is the blood test that is performed usually between the 14th and 22nd week of pregnancy. This screening test measures the levels of three hormones, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and unconjugated estriol (uE3) in the maternal blood. Each level is then divided by the median concentration of that substance for the given week of pregnancy to generate a multiple of the median value (MOM). These values, along with other maternal characteristics (ie maternal age,race,personal history ) by a software based program calculates the risk for Down’s Syndrome, Edward Syndrome and Neural Tube Defect.
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