APA Dictionary of Psychology

a method of diagnosing chromosomal abnormalities, blood disorders, or infection in a fetus. A fine needle is inserted through the mother’s abdominal wall into the uterus, enabling the collection of fetal blood directly from the umbilical cord for analysis. Because the procedure carries a higher risk of causing a miscarriage than other prenatal tests, it is performed only in high-risk pregnancies when the results from amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling are inconclusive or when results are needed very rapidly, with some PUBS results available in as few as 2 hours. Also called cordocentesis.