尊龙凯时 - 人生就是搏!

Maternal care is the cornerstone of a healthy pregnancy and thriving families. Genetic screening has revolutionized this care by enabling early and precise detection of potential health risks, safeguarding the well-being of both mothers and babies. At BGI Genomics, our advanced  screening solutions empower families to make informed health decisions, significantly safeguarding prenatal outcomes.

As we honor World Mother’s Day on May 11th, 2025, we celebrate not only the traditional role of mothers but also the diverse, multifaceted identities of all caregivers. This year’s theme- embracing authentic connections and challenging rigid expectations- reminds us that every pregnancy and parenting journey is unique. At the heart of each journey lies a universal truth: the health and well-being of mothers and their babies are foundational to thriving families and communities.

Two Lives, One Priority: Better Care

Despite decades of progress, maternal and newborn health remains a pressing global challenge. World Health Organization data reveals how, in 2023, over 260,000 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth-amounting to nearly one maternal death every two minutes. The vast majority of these tragedies occurred in low- and lower-middle-income countries, underscoring persistent disparities in access to quality care.

Newborns are equally vulnerable. Recent data from England’s National Child Mortality Database show that infant deaths (under one year) accounted for 61% of all child deaths in 2024, with an infant death rate of 3.9 per 1,000 live births. Neonatal deaths (within the first 28 days) represented 42% of these losses, and 80% of neonatal deaths were among babies born prematurely. Globally, an estimated 4.5 million women and babies die every year during pregnancy, childbirth, or the first weeks of life, mostly from preventable causes.

Follow #14DaysToBeAPreparedMum, an Instagram series where we share key facts about single-gene disorders and how early screening can make a life-changing difference.

Early Action: A Lifeline for Families

Early detection and intervention are cornerstones of modern maternal and newborn care. Three types of screening play pivotal roles:

• Early Screening: Detects potential health concerns in the mother or fetus early in pregnancy, allowing for timely interventions.
• Newborn Screening: Identifies rare but serious disorders in newborns, enabling prompt treatment and improved outcomes.
• Carrier Screening: Helps prospective parents understand their risk of passing on genetic conditions, empowering informed reproductive choices.

Expanded carrier screening, in particular, is transforming reproductive health by identifying carriers of rare genetic diseases, helping families make informed choices and reducing the incidence of serious genetic disorders. However, challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to these advanced screenings worldwide.

At the recent International Maternal Newborn Health Conference, Dr. Queen Dube, Chief of Health Services for Malawi’s Ministry of Health, emphasized the urgent need for accountability and empowerment:

“It’s about accountability, and this is something that we all must take responsibility over. We work in environments where a lot of women and families are not empowered.”

Progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths has stagnated since 2015, prompting experts to call for renewed investment, innovation, and collaboration to meet global health targets.

Innovations in Prenatal Screening: NIFTY® mono

Advancements in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) are making a profound difference.

Dr. Alfonso Alba, Vice President of Genetics at Atrys Health, a major diagnostic services and medical treatments provider in Spain and South America, emphasizes NIPT’s role in improving prenatal diagnosis and its ability to analyze all autosomes and sex chromosomes comprehensively. He also highlights the importance of making such advanced technologies accessible to all pregnant women globally—a necessary step toward equitable healthcare outcomes.

Click here for full Dr. Alba's insights video.

Key advantages of NIFTY® mono include:

• Safe and Simple – Requires only a maternal blood sample

• Early Testing – Detects risks from the 10th week of a singleton pregnancy

• Enhanced Sequencing Depth (800X) – Offering superior accuracy and reliability

• 200+ Monogenic Diseases Screened – Including rare de novo dominant disorders

• Unmatched Coverage for Noonan Syndromes – Setting new benchmarks in early diagnostics

• High Clinical Impact – Comprehensive panels with extended scope to aid critical medical decisions

More info on NIFTY® Mono here.

About NIFTY® mono

NIFTY® mono is a new and unique non-invasive single gene prenatal screening test for 202 severe congenital diseases and mental health disorders. It detects clinically significant and critical genetic conditions that until now have not been possible to determine with the classic NIPT technology, providing a more complete spectrum of potential risks after pregnancy and fetal health.

About BGI Genomics

BGI Genomics, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is the world's leading integrated solutions provider of precision medicine. Our services cover more than 100 countries and regions, involving more than 2,300 medical institutions. In July 2017, as a subsidiary of BGI Group, BGI Genomics (300676.SZ) was officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.