Family planning – prenatal care

This is probably a really specific question but, in relation to prenatal care and OBGYN visits, I’ve heard that Japan does not typically do NIPT (non invasive prenatal testing).

NIPT is a screening for genetic abnormalities such as trisomies and missing chromosomes. Given my personal history, I really really want this screening. Is this something I can have in Japan?

5 comments
  1. You can get it here. It’s called 新型出生前診断. It’s not cheap though. You are usually looking at at least 20万円 depending on where you get it done.

  2. If you’re willing to pay for it you can find a doctor who will give you almost any test you want.

  3. NIPS, as is more appropriately named (it’s a screening tool for diagnostic tests) can be found at Aiiku for something in the ballpark of ¥200,000.

    A more commonly offered test, although still not covered via insurance, is the Quad screening. I believe it’s closer to ¥3-50,000

  4. if you are over 40, I think its is covered by national health insurance but you may need to do some genetic counseling

  5. They do, we just had ours done like 2 weeks ago, and also did for our firstborn. Not cheap though…

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