You’ll most likely have a safe, uncomplicated pregnancy, but your unborn baby could be harmed by chlamydia, chickenpox, Group B streptococcus, diabetes, toxoplasmosis and slapped cheek disease.We look at how to know if you're at risk, what tests you

Booking-in testsThese are the tests that are usually carried out at your first ‘booking in’ appointment with your midwife. Your midwife will take blood for the following tests:•    Blood group: If you need a blood transfusion during pregnancy

Researchers have developed a new test to recognise when the signs of premature labour are a false alarm. Of the mums-to-be who show symptoms of early delivery, less than half actually go on to have a premature birth. This can lead to unnecessary

A DNA test to show women how many childbearing years they have left is being developed by scientists.The test can monitor the speed of a woman's biological clock to reveal how many eggs she has left and provide an early warning of declining

A pregnancy test kit has gone on sale for just 99p – making it one-tenth of the cost of the average test on the high street.The controversial bargain-priced pregnancy test is being sold in the Fabulous 99s store in Crawley – which also happens

Could a simple blood test at birth reveal whether your newborn is at risk of cot death? It’s the hope of many scientists and parents, and came a step closer after French scientists at the University of Strasbourg announced they’d discovered a link

The tests would identify those with an inherited cholesterol disorder, which increases the risk of heart disease. One in 500 children is affected by the genetic disorder, 'familial hypercholesterolaemia', which means that fat in the body does

The research will look at around 200 infants with autistic older siblings, to seek patterns of early brain development that predict whether they will also develop the condition.At present, autism is usually diagnosed in the third year of life, but it is thought that much of the a...

We shouldn't rely on high street fertility tests to judge how many childbearing years we have left, according to new research.The tests, which predict how many eggs we have left, don't take other factors in to account, such as the quality of our

A Stanford University test of DNA evidence in 18 pregnant women's blood correctly identified nine cases of Down's syndrome, reports PNAS journal. Babies with Down's syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, causing physical and intellectual