1st Trimester

Down Syndrome/Spina Bifida tests

Is everyone getting tested for down syndrome and spina bifida?  My doctor asked if I would like to get tested for them and I said sure but now I'm not too sure.  I thought these were part of the prenatal check ups and testing but it seems as if they are extra.  So did anyone say no to these tests?

Re: Down Syndrome/Spina Bifida tests

  • We said no with DS.  It's a choice everyone has to make.  DS ended up being fine.  My cousin chose not to with their second and he was born with Downs.  They wished they would have opted for it.

  • I'm doing it, my insurance covers it and I want to be prepared.  It's an extra u/s too!  Smile
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  • We turned the test down with DS, The Doc told us that it increases the chances of birth defects and we decided that if the child had it to begin with that reguardless we loved him no matter what. With this one we are doing the same. I understand that raising a child with disabilities is more challenging but I honsetly doubt I would love my child any less. So, we're saying NO!
  • we didn't with DD... we won't this time either.  For us the decision was made by looking into if we had any of the risk factors for either thing... we didn't so we didn't bother with the extra tests.

    Oh and whoever mentioned the extra u/s... that is SOOO not a reason to do the test!!

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  • My husband and I are going for the u/s on Friday.  I'm nervous but it is something we feel we need to do.
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  • We turned it down as well. It is such a personal and hard decision to make, but in the end, we just didn't want to go through with it.

  • What risk factors?  The doctor said it would be a abdominal ultrasound for the down syndrome and a blood test for the spina bifida.  I had thought they would insert a long needle into my stomach, which I would have said no to, but that's not the case anyways.
  • I didn't say it was a reason to do the test, it's an added bonus.  From what I understand there is not a risk to the baby, it's just about whether you want to know or not, and I definitely would want to know so that I can be prepared.  The extra u/s is just a bonus.  Personal choice!
  • we had a friend who did have the test, and their baby does have spina bifida. i think it is a great test to have b/c their son had to have surgery and it prepared them and the dr.s for that. btw their son is fine and well now. it is all a matter of preferance, i didnt get the tests with my two other kids, but i will be getting it this time. i would hat for something to be wrong and not have the proper personel around then the babys born to deal with that.
  • I didn't have the test done with my first two boys but we did it this time b/c we had a previous loss and thought it would be a good idea. I didn't think anything would come of it and when I got my results back I was thrown for a loop. My results came back 1:5 for both Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18 and our NF measured 6mm. We now have to wait for our level II ultrasound and an amnio until next week. These test have a high false positive rate and the only way to know if that is what happened to us is to have the amnio.

    The moral of this is that it can be very stressfull waiting to get concrete answers and if you think you can deal with it, should you get not so great results, then do the test. Do as much research as you can on it and ask your doctor lots of questions.

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  • image123*:
    What risk factors?  The doctor said it would be a abdominal ultrasound for the down syndrome and a blood test for the spina bifida.  I had thought they would insert a long needle into my stomach, which I would have said no to, but that's not the case anyways.

     

    Must be different methods of testing. Up here its an invasive test, not an ultra sound.

    Not sure if that changes my mind though?

  • We decided to get the NT scan/Ultrascreen done.  My sister was born with DS, so I wanted the extra peace of mind that Bean is okay (or if not, we'd have time to prepare).  Our insurance covered the testing, everything was non-invasive, and we got an extra u/s - we couldn't think of a single reason not to  :)
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  • imagemiss_beckman:

     

     

    Must be different methods of testing. Up here its an invasive test, not an ultra sound.

    Not sure if that changes my mind though?

    You must be referring to a different test then, the NT scan is an ultrasound and blood work. The CVS is invasive and can have risks. But its usually used after the NT test to get answers if you aren't far enough along for an amnio.

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  • I will not be having these tests done.  both my sister and my cousin had them done and both came back that something could possibly be wrong.  And both their kids are fine.  I think sometime its alor of stress you don't need while you are pregnant.
  • imagemiss_beckman:
    We turned the test down with DS, The Doc told us that it increases the chances of birth defects and we decided that if the child had it to begin with that reguardless we loved him no matter what. With this one we are doing the same. I understand that raising a child with disabilities is more challenging but I honsetly doubt I would love my child any less. So, we're saying NO!

    I think you might be thinking of a different test - there are more than one that test for these conditions. The NT scan is just an ultra sound and a blood draw or two from the mom. There's really no risk to the baby. If you're thinking of CVS or Amnio, then yes there are risks, but most people don't get those done unless the NT scan comes back with a high risk of one of the conditions. 

    We're having the NT scan done, mostly because my doctor recommends it for everyone if possible.

  • There's the amniocentesis testing which does carry some risk (big needle into belly) and the U/S testing which does not. 
    We are getting the U/S test (NT scan) because we want to know ahead of time if anything is wrong and be able to act accordingly.  Our doctor recommended it very strongly. 

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  • imageSeaStar430:
    I didn't say it was a reason to do the test, it's an added bonus.  From what I understand there is not a risk to the baby, it's just about whether you want to know or not, and I definitely would want to know so that I can be prepared.  The extra u/s is just a bonus.  Personal choice!

    this.  From what I understand as well, there is no risk to the baby as it's just an u/s and blood work.  The amnio that they do offer later on is the one with the needle that can cause some sort of a risk...but the NT scan is perfectly fine.  I would like to be prepared and have the doctors prepared as well if there were something wrong.  I wouldn't love the baby any less...I would just want to be prepared.  Personal choice though.

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  • imagemiss_beckman:
    We turned the test down with DS, The Doc told us that it increases the chances of birth defects and we decided that if the child had it to begin with that reguardless we loved him no matter what. With this one we are doing the same. I understand that raising a child with disabilities is more challenging but I honsetly doubt I would love my child any less. So, we're saying NO!

    How can drawing blood and an u/s for the NT scan increase the risk of birth defects?

    Even if your doctor was talking about the CVS or amino testing, a slight chance of m/s is possible, but birth defects??

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  • nope here.  I think you need it if you have Down Syndrome in your family.. otherwise dont want the test.
  • imagemiss_beckman:
    We turned the test down with DS, The Doc told us that it increases the chances of birth defects and we decided that if the child had it to begin with that reguardless we loved him no matter what. With this one we are doing the same. I understand that raising a child with disabilities is more challenging but I honsetly doubt I would love my child any less. So, we're saying NO!

     

    I ditto this 100% Dh and I feel the same

  • Just came back from 1st tri test.  We took it so that we are prepared for the child if it has special needs.   i drank too much water and had to pee like crazy.  turns out it was easier for her to do test once i peed.. plus we got to see little bugger bouncing around and kicking up a storm... 
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  • imagemagdusia:
    nope here.  I think you need it if you have Down Syndrome in your family.. otherwise dont want the test.

    My sister has DS.  We weren't required to get any testing done.

    Genetic defects can happen to anyone - regardless of family history and age.  My parents were both 23, healthy, no family history of birth defects on either side before my sister was born and none since.

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  • I took the test also, my insurance covered it.
  • This was a really hard decsion for us to make. My first instinct was NO I do not want to know. It wouldnt matter to me either way, I will still love and keep this baby. But then after talking it over and reading the information we were given we decided that yes we were going to have the test so that if by chance something is wrong we can make sure we are prepared. I am really nervous...and my test is tomorrow.

     Its a personal choice you have to make for yourself Smile

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  • We opted out of all the additional tests. To us, it wouldn't matter either way. On the otherhand, I do think it would be helpful to know ahead of time so you can prepare yourself and line up the proper Drs, equipment, etc. But, I think personally, I would be a mess the rest of the pregnancy.

    It's a personal choice that everyone will need to make.

  • I took my sisters advice.  She told me that she only took the tests that something could be done about.  Meaning that Trisomy and Downs Syndrome can't be fixed, so why know about it and then be stressed during your pregnancy.  If there is a test they can do where if they found something out and could actually operate on the baby to fix it, then take that test.  I thought it was good advise and am following it.  Termination of my pregnancy is not an option for us, so if my child does have Downs Syndrome, there's nothing I can do about it and I would love it just the same when he or she arrives.  Good luck making your decision.
  • We are choosing not to do any tests. We decided together that we would not want to terminate the pregnancy if there was a potential problem, so the test results wouldn't really matter. If our baby winds up having a problem, so be it, but I don't want to spend a large part of my pregnancy stressed about it. A few things added to our decision. One: we have zero of the risk factors. Two: my DH's best friend and his wife just had a baby in Jan. They were told that due to results of a blood test and a following amnio that their son would almost definitely have DS. He was born absolutely perfect, but they spent a lot of sleepless nights worrying. I personally would rather just not know. I think it's something everyone needs to decide for themselves though.
  • imageSeaStar430:
    I'm doing it, my insurance covers it and I want to be prepared.  It's an extra u/s too!  Smile

    same here

  • All I can say is knowledge is power.
  • We decided to do the tests. However these are not invasive - just blood work and an U/S. I thought you received results that would help you decide if you wanted to continue with pregnancy but found out that you don't receive final results until well into your second trimester - so its more of a heads up. But i have heard that it can help you prepare and in some cases plan for needed surgeries. Hopefully its mostly peace of mind. My insurance covered it 100% other than a copayment for the u/s. Every insurance is different but it seems to usually be covered.
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