Whether from the perspective of parents or healthcare providers, the importance of family planning is clear—from its benefits to individuals, as well as to families, communities, and societies. As a method of determining the risk that the fetus will be born with certain genetic abnormalities, Noninvasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) is favored by many parents and healthcare providers because it requires drawing blood samples only from the pregnant woman and, therefore, poses no risk to the developing baby.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued a new set of guidelines as of 2020, recommending that prenatal aneuploidy screening be offered to all pregnant people regardless of their age or other risk factors. ACOG specifically states in the new guidelines that NIPT offers superior sensitivity and specificity over traditional prenatal aneuploidy screening methods. The false-positive rate of NIPT is significantly lower than the alternative serum screening.