Lower chance result letter templates
Updated 19 February 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fetal-anomaly-screening-programme-handbook/lower-chance-result-letter-templates
Template A. Lower chance result letter – Down’s syndrome screening only
Dear (name),
Re: Your first trimester screening result
You recently had the ‘combined test’ to screen for Down’s syndrome. This has shown that your baby has a lower chance of having this condition.
For this pregnancy, you have 1 chance in (number) of having a baby with Down’s syndrome.
To understand what ‘1 chance in (number)’ means, imagine a group of (number) women. One of these women will be pregnant with a baby that has the condition.
We do not offer further testing at this level of chance. A lower chance result does not mean that there is no chance at all that the baby has Down’s syndrome, just that it is unlikely.
If you have any questions about your result, you can contact me using the details below.
You can find more information about antenatal screening for this condition, including details of parent support organisations, at www.nhs.uk/depscreening.
Yours faithfully,
(co-ordinator name)
Antenatal screening coordinator
Office: (phone number)
Mobile: (phone number)
Email: (email address)
Template B. Lower chance result letter – screening for all 3 conditions
Dear (name),
Re: Your first trimester screening results
You recently had the ‘combined test’ to screen for Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome. This has shown that your baby has a lower chance of having these conditions. Your individual chances for this pregnancy are as follows:
- Down’s syndrome 1 chance in (number 1)
- Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome 1 chance in (number 2)
To understand what 1 chance in (number 1) means, imagine a group of (number 1) women. One of these women will be pregnant with a baby that has Down’s syndrome.
To understand what 1 chance in (number 2) means, imagine a group of (number 2) women. One of these women will be pregnant with a baby with Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome.
We do not offer further testing at this level of chance. A lower chance result does not mean that there is no chance at all that the baby has Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome, just that it is unlikely.
If you have any questions about your results, you can contact me using the details below.
You can find more information about antenatal screening for these conditions, including details of parent support organisations, at www.nhs.uk/depscreening.
Yours faithfully,
(co-ordinator name)
Antenatal screening coordinator
Office: (phone number)
Mobile: (phone number)
Email: (email address)
Template C. Lower chance result letter – Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome screening only
Dear (name),
Re: Your first trimester screening result
You recently had the ‘combined test’ to screen for Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome. This has shown that your baby has a lower chance of having these conditions.
For this pregnancy, you have 1 chance in (number) of having a baby with Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome.
To understand what this means, imagine a group of (number) women. One of these women will be pregnant with a baby that has one of the conditions.
We do not offer further testing at this level of chance. A lower chance result does not mean that there is no chance at all that the baby has Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome, just that it is unlikely.
If you have any questions about your result, you can contact me using the details below.
You can find more information about antenatal screening for these conditions, including details of parent support organisations, at www.nhs.uk/depscreening.
Yours faithfully,
(co-ordinator name)
Antenatal screening coordinator
Office: (phone number)
Mobile: (phone number)
Email: (email address)
Template D. Lower chance result letter quadruple test – Down’s syndrome screening only
Dear (name),
Re: Your second trimester screening result
You recently had the ‘quadruple test’ to screen for Down’s syndrome. This has shown that your baby has a lower chance of having this condition.
For this pregnancy, you have 1 chance in (number) of having a baby with Down’s syndrome.
To understand what this means, imagine a group of (number) women. One of these women will be pregnant with a baby that has the condition.
We do not offer further testing at this level of chance. A lower chance result does not mean that there is no chance at all that the baby has Down’s syndrome, just that it is unlikely.
If you have any questions about your result, you can contact me using the details below.
You can find more information about antenatal screening for these conditions, including details of parent support organisations, at www.nhs.uk/depscreening.
Yours faithfully,
(co-ordinator name)
Antenatal screening coordinator
Office: (phone number)
Mobile: (phone number)
Email: (email address)