Diagnosis
Gastroschisis is fairly easy to detect early on in a woman's pregnancy. It is usually detected in the second trimester using antenatal sonography, a high frequency scan that allows us to see the baby's movement. The diagnosis of Gastroschisis can be made before 20 weeks gestation however, and even as early as 12 weeks! In early pregnancy, we can see the bowel loops freely floating in the amniotic fluid with the thickness and diameter of the bowel at a normal measurement. Later on in pregnancy more complications with the bowel can be detected. These include bowel obstruction, peritonitis, bowel perforation, and fetal growth restriction. Another method used to diagnose involves testing for  an elevated amniotic fluid alpha-feta protein level (AFP). This is caused because the herniated bowel is floating in amniotic fluid, which raises the maternal serum and AFP levels in a mother. Using AFP levels to diagnose a baby with Gastroschisis occurs between 77-100% of the time (Khan, 2015).

Khan, A. N. (2015, September 9). Gastroschisis. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/403800-overview