Health Council of the Netherlands advises against 13-week ultrasound

The Health Council of the Netherlands has advised against the structural introduction of the 13-week ultrasound, a prenatal screening intended to detect serious abnormalities in unborn children. An investigation requested by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport found that the benefits of early screening do not outweigh the disadvantages, primarily due to inaccurate results.

Research conducted on nearly 130,000 ultrasounds performed between 2021 and 2022 revealed 775 false positives, necessitating follow-up scans to confirm the absence of abnormalities. Additionally, while over 1,100 abnormalities were missed in total, Vice Chair Selma Tromp noted that at least 150 of those missed cases should have been identified by a 13-week scan.

While an earlier scan would provide pregnant individuals more time to prepare or consider options regarding the pregnancy, the Council concluded that the frequency of incorrect findings makes structural implementation inadvisable. The final decision regarding this advice rests with the Minister.