Floating-Harbor Syndrome

Rationale A recent advisory report by the 'Health Council' has recommended that all prospective parents should have the opportunity to undergo preconception carrier screening. Consequently,there will no longer be any prerequisites for referring a couple. It is expected that there will be an increase in the number of prospective parents seeking counseling for preconception carrier screening. This is anticipated to result in an increase in the number of referrals, leading to several points of attention.
Objective(s) The aim of the research is to gather insights, perspectives, and experiences from healthcare professionals and prospective parents in order to design a care pathway for offering preconception carrier screening at Erasmus MC and the Rotterdam region. This will also include examining the role that nurse practitioners can play in this offering.

Fetal cells are not easily obtained from pregnant patients; this curtails testing to assess the health of the fetus and the mother. Currently, the only way of diagnosing fetal genetic or chromosomal abnormalities is by invasive techniques, such as chorionic villous sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis performed at 10 to 13 weeks and after 15 weeks of gestation, respectively. Although small, there is a risk for fetal loss with these procedures. Transcervical cell sampling (TCS), similar to a Pap smear, is a platform that meets the requirements for prenatal genetic testing (genetic testing with fetal cells obtained before birth), as well as diagnosis of maternal pregnancy complication, at a very early stage of pregnancy (as early as 5 weeks) and carries low risk for the mother and the developing fetus.
This study will examine cervical fluid collected using various noninvasive methods for TCS in pregnant women. The number of placental cells will be assessed against similarly obtained samples from nonpregnant women of reproductive age who lack cells derived from a placenta. Participating volunteers will provide written informed consent. Only standard medical procedures and approved devices will be used for collection of cervical fluid, minimizing risk to the participants and their fetuses. No test results or other benefits will be available to the participants.