Genetic Testing Before Pregnancy Should be as Common as Folic Acid
To be clear, I am not of the opinion that everyone should "just get tested." With genetic testing becoming a more integral part of medicine, I do feel that carrier screening should be universally offered in the preconception period. Some patients will decline based on personal beliefs; that is very different than not being tested due to lack of awareness. When patients who are self-proclaimed "info seekers" look to the web for guidance (as many of them do), very few pre-pregnancy checklists include carrier screening as an important health item. Pregnancy websites usually recommend folic acid before conception, but the conversation about genetic testing is altogether missing.
