During pregnancy, small fragments of your baby’s DNA — called cell-free fetal DNA — naturally pass from the placenta into the mother’s bloodstream. From around 10 weeks of pregnancy, there is usually enough of this DNA in the mother’s blood to be analysed.

By taking a simple blood sample, the Harmony® Test can analyse this DNA to look for certain chromosomal conditions.

It’s important to remember that while Harmony is highly accurate, it is still a screening test. This means that rare false positive or false negative results can occur, and follow-up diagnostic testing may sometimes be recommended.

Published studies show that Harmony achieves:

• 99.3% detection rate for trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

• 97.4% detection rate for trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)

• 93.8% detection rate for trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)

Harmony has a false positive rate of only 0.04% for trisomy 21, and just 0.02% for trisomy 18 and 13.

This is around 125 times lower than traditional first-trimester screening, which typically has a false positive rate of about 5%.

Harmony is supported by highly qualified specialists in genetics, laboratory medicine, obstetrics, and gynaecology, ensuring that results are both accurate and clinically meaningful.

The Harmony® Test can be used in both singleton and twin pregnancies, regardless of how the pregnancy was conceived or the origin of the egg.

A few important notes:

• If your pregnancy involves an egg donation, this must be communicated when ordering the test, as results cannot be guaranteed otherwise.

• Harmony cannot be performed in cases of triplets (or more), or when there is a vanishing twin.

For most expectant parents, Harmony offers a safe and reliable way to gain early insight into their baby’s health.