Has anyone NOT done the NT scan?

starrysmile18

I'm just curious, because we opted out of the additional tests that were offered to us.

We chose not to do it with our DS, and again, decided not to do it this time. I still got offered to do it at my 16 week routine visit, and I'm just wondering if we're in the minority declining this, or if there are others out there who have also declined it.

Our reasoning- The rates of false positives or false falses are so funky sometimes, I'd rather not worry if we didn't need to. 

If you chose to decline the testings, what were your reasoning's? Thanks for sharing!  

finchfeeder80

We didn't do it. Our insurance didn't really cover it and I had heard mixed reviews on the results.

ReadyforBaby2

We didn't do it with this baby or with DD1.

effthisnoise

We didn't do the first trimester screening, but it was because I thought it wasn't covered unless I was over 35. I just did a quad screen last week and hopefully that comes back with good results so I don't have to consider more testing.

starrysmile18

Good to hear there are others!

bossybluejay

We didn't do the NT scan. Our doctor didn't even mention it. He did advise us to do the quad screen at 16 weeks though, which we did do. Personally, I don't think the rate of false positive is high enough to forego the screening. Of course there are some but it's not like they jump right to an amnio if you get a positive on the genetic screening. 

mathistm

We did not do any of the screening aside from the blood work to check my levels and we are doing the anatomy scan. I was super freaked out for a little bit not doing it, because it seemed like everyone was, but that was the right choice for us.

finchfeeder80

Jumping back in to add that we did do the quad screen at our 16 week appointment. It came back clean.

mrs1374a

We did not do any of the screens, 1st or 2nd trimester.

wegrowsheep

We did some routine bloodwork screens with DD, but haven't since.

FloGirl82

We did not do the NT scan or any other screenings.

ETA: My husband was against the screenings, for some reason. I had also heard so many results of false positives, that I ultimately decided against it, since I was low-risk anyway.

CMSullivan326

We didn't do any screenings with any of my pregnancies.

veggiemo

We didn't do it. With DS they were really pushy. My sister has a genetic condition, but it's very VERY rare and the gene actually mutates after birth so there is no way to detect it in utero anyway. After they pressed me to do some testing I finally said "do I have to?" and the lady backed off and said absolutely not. I didn't like how it was approached, using my sister as some kind of example. So that's how we came to that with my first pregnancy.

This time I have a new doc and he noticed at my first appointment that I chose no genetic testing with my DS and asked did I want to do the same with this pregnancy. I hadn't really thought about it yet so I just said nah, we don't need to do it. There are parts of me that are sort of regretting that now, which I didn't feel with DS. I'm not sure why.

I really don't have a solid reason one way or another. I think arguments on both sides are perfectly acceptable and I don't fault anyone for doing it or not doing it. It makes this anatomy scan coming up a little more scary than had we had the testing done, but that's ok.

malgosia21s

We didn't do it with both of my pregnancies.

lwyz

We didn't do any additional testing. The doctor said most of what they screen for can be detected at the a/s and I honestly just didn't see the point. I get people's points of 'being prepared' at birth if necessary but didn't think of/see that point til I already said no and am just honestly not that worried cause I'm fairly young with no family history or indicators for anything like that. Obviously things can happen but we'll deal on the fly if necessary.

NirvanaGreen

We didn't do the screenings. If they're fine, they're fine. If they're not, they're not. There isn't anything I can do about it either way.

girlymama79

We arnt doing it. My dr said cause I'm young it's fine for us to not do anything unless there is a red flag from the a/s and we are comfortable with that.

efeehan

We chose not to do any of the genetic screenings. I'm not high risk and besides the blood work it is all just a "screening"- not a 100% diagnosis. My mom is a geneticist and didn't think it was worth it for us since we do not have any family history. My insurance wasn't going to cover the blood tests and I didn't think it was worth it to put myself under the stress waiting for baby's test results while dealing with DHs medical condition/diagnosis. It wasn't going to change our plan and I figured we could wait till the anatomy scan (this Friday) and deal with any findings then- which hopefully there won't be anything to find.

bossybluejay

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

lwyz

bossybluejay said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

bossybluejay

lwyz said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

According to my doctor, they typically aren't detected at the anatomy scan. They recommend genetic screening bloodwork specifically because of that reason. If they could detect chromosomal abnormalities easily through the A/S, I highly doubt they would recommend genetic screening for anyone that wasn't high risk. 

lwyz

bossybluejay said:

lwyz said:

bossybluejay said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

According to my doctor, they typically aren't detected at the anatomy scan. They recommend genetic screening bloodwork specifically because of that reason. If they could detect chromosomal abnormalities easily through the A/S, I highly doubt they would recommend genetic screening for anyone that wasn't high risk. 

--anticipating mobile quote fail-

Hah, I guess our doctors say very different things! Maybe it's due to location, they must do things differently.

bossybluejay

lwyz said:

lwyz said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

According to my doctor, they typically aren't detected at the anatomy scan. They recommend genetic screening bloodwork specifically because of that reason. If they could detect chromosomal abnormalities easily through the A/S, I highly doubt they would recommend genetic screening for anyone that wasn't high risk. 

--anticipating mobile quote fail- Hah, I guess our doctors say very different things! Maybe it's due to location, they must do things differently.

I'm just saying logically if they could detect Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18 at an A/S, why would they even recommend that women get the first trimester, triple, quad screen, etc done? It wouldn't make sense.

blu-eyedwife

bossybluejay said:

lwyz said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

According to my doctor, they typically aren't detected at the anatomy scan. They recommend genetic screening bloodwork specifically because of that reason. If they could detect chromosomal abnormalities easily through the A/S, I highly doubt they would recommend genetic screening for anyone that wasn't high risk. 

Yes and no.  Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected by markers at the a/s which would lead to further testing.  But there are a lot of genetic issues that cannot be, so that's probably what your doctor was referring to.


We weren't offered an NT scan, probably because of the reasoning we declined the earlier genetic testing.  Some of you may recall my anxiety was out of control first trimester.  Like full-fledged panic attack style heart racing, shortness of breath, uncontrollable thoughts and images.  We talked to the doctor about the testing and came to a consensus that at that point in time in might not be in my best interest to do non-diagnostic testing which could cause further anxiety issues.

littlechemist

We didn't do it, but like you I felt like I was in the minority. We opted to do the quad screen at 16wks and all came out fine. Other than that and the a/s we won't have any kind of test or screening.

lovemywildgirls

We've always opted out of first trimester screenings. Just a personal choice.

klkonwi

We had a scan at 12 weeks but he said they don't really look specifically for that, I asked him and he said the Nuchal area looked fine....

Sugarbean17

We haven't done testing with any of my pregnancies. But I'm under 30 we have no family history of problems and I have been fortunate enough to have healthy pregnancies so far (minus a loss at 10 weeks four years ago) we will have an a/s at 20 weeks with one of the best perinatologists in our area just to make sure everything looks good.

kimmarie1105

lwyz said:

bossybluejay said:

I don't really understand people's rationalization for skipping the genetic testing because they're low risk/don't have a genetic history of the diseases. My doctor said that typically, people who have a baby with downs syndrome don't have a history of it in their family...same for Trisomy 18. I specifically asked about that because I'm also low risk (young & healthy) and neither my husband nor I have any history of any birth defects or genetic disorders in our family. His response was "and you wouldn't need to". Also, he said that the defects the quad screen looks for, typically cannot be found during an A/S. 

Downs and Trisomy 18 can usually be detected at your a/s. So it doesn't mean you're completely in the dark. Lots of time to research after 20 weeks.

Trisomy 18 is NOT something I'd want to wait to find out about.

starrysmile18

Thanks ladies! It's nice to hear others reasonings and that they didn't with their first pregnancies either. I don't think it's better to do one or the other. just personal preference!

IslamoradaBride09

I wasn't offered an NT scan with either pregnancy. I had a quad screen with my son and then the Harmony test this time around. 

shahoi

starrysmile18 said:

I'm just curious, because we opted out of the additional tests that were offered to us.

We chose not to do it with our DS, and again, decided not to do it this time. I still got offered to do it at my 16 week routine visit, and I'm just wondering if we're in the minority declining this, or if there are others out there who have also declined it.

Our reasoning- The rates of false positives or false falses are so funky sometimes, I'd rather not worry if we didn't need to. 

If you chose to decline the testings, what were your reasoning's? Thanks for sharing!  

We opted out of the test as well, pretty much for the same reasons you did.

sharice111

Wasnt offered with my first two and personal choice to decline these last two pregnancies. It just didn't seem like a big deal to me and even though I think insurance would have covered it, I just didn't feel like it was something I wanted done.

karaelaine1991

I didn't want it done, but my doctor told me it was required. Then I found out insurance didn't cover it (after it had already been done, of course) because they consider it to be experimental. So then the next time I saw her, I asked her why a required test would be considered experimental. Her response? "Oh, it's just recommended. Highly recommended, but it's not necessary."

Needless to say, I switched doctors after that lovely incident.

WifeDeAngel

I do it, but mostly just so we can see the baby squirming around in there being all alien-cute.

stephjhouston

We have decided not to do it either as here in Ireland, all abortions are illegal and unavailable under any circumstance.

Tulips114

We've always just done the quad screen (2nd trimester blood test) and we did get a false positive this time.  It came back showing an increased risk for Down's, 1/250 compared to my age alone would be 1/469.  So we were sent to an MFM & genetics counselor.

Turns out the lab had my due date a month off.  When they recalc'd it with the correct due date it was 1/6900.  A mistake that cost us $750 for the MFM appt.  Grrrrrr.

Schnurette

We did the IPS (integrated prenatal screening) which is the NT scan AND bloodwork with DD.

We didn't do it with this one because I didn't get my ass in gear and get a doctors appointment set up. I wish we had done it because it would have been some extra piece of mind (likely).

veggiemo

stephjhouston said:

We have decided not to do it either. This baby will be loved regardless, so we don't feel we need to know anything in advance. We have also seen too many friends who have had all joy sucked from the enjoyment of their pregnancies by false positives and their babies have always been fine. Most of the testing in the UK comes back with percentage rates of chance and without any definates, so why put ourselves through the doubt.

Careful with your wording here. Saying the baby will be loved regardless is insinuating that people who have babies with genetic abnormalties, or people who might choose to terminate pregnancies because of a potentially fatal diagnosis don't love their babies. I know you probably don't mean anything by it, but it's just a good thing to think about what you say and how it could be hurtful.

AmberC311

We opted out as well for the exact same reason you did.  The false positives and negatives were all too common for my taste. 

mamalmd

Strangely, my doctor never even offered a NT scan or first trimester screening...they just did the quad screen at around 16 weeks. I guess because they considered me low risk? I was getting worried because I kept reading on online forums that everyone else had at least been offered the tests in the first trimester. Luckily everything came out normal...but I still found it unusual (then again I'm a FTM so I didn't really know what to expect and when).