@novelblessings this is the first pregnancy it’s been offered for me (AMA this time). The standard genetic screening here (NS, Canada) is maternal serum screening: one blood draw done in the first trimester and a second blood draw done in the second trimester. There is no cost for the maternal serum since it’s covered under provincial health care. We do have to pay for the NIPT—although there are some high risk individuals who can have it provincially funded. For all three of my previous kiddos the soonest we could have found out the sex was after the 20 week anatomy scan.
I did it this time because I'm AMA but it's semi-out of pocket (insurance covers some but has nothing to do with me being old). Last time around I didn't get it -- even just in the last few years they've gotten a lot more accurate, I guess. But four years ago my OB said they were seeing an absurd number of false positives that was leading to a lot of anxiety for the moms, and a lot more terminations based on what she was starting to see as not always accurate information. So in our case, when termination wasn't even a consideration regardless of the outcome, she said to save ourselves the potential stress and just wait the extra 8 weeks for the anatomy scan. This time, the accuracy has improved, and based on my age the risks have gone up for me such that, while terminating wouldn't be an option, if something WAS funky I'd want to know to emotionally prepare better for it, if there is such a thing.
@novelblessings I’m only doing the NIPT this time because my state (California) requires all insurances to cover it (it’s a new law this year). I never had it or any other screening tests in my previous pregnancies because we couldn’t afford it and our insurance didn’t cover it. The wait for the anatomy scan is so tough!
I've always done NIPT just b/c I'm AMA so it was covered for my daughter and for this LO. I don't find out the sex, so I do it more for just the information on genetic testing.
Glad I am not the only one then. I don’t know if I’ll have an u/s prior to 20 weeks other than the one we already had. I am also AMA, so I was told I would have extra testing and monitoring but was able to opt out of the genetic testing. April 6th just can’t come quickly enough!
eta: this our last baby and we have two girls already. More anxious and excited to find out this time!
Is everyone who has gotten the NT scan just having an abdominal scan or are they doing a transvaginal? My midwife said I should make sure they do a transvaginal but I’m not sure it’s really necessary at that point. Even at my MFM last pregnancy they didn’t do transvaginal.
No NIPT here. I’ve never done it, even if insurance would cover it. I don’t care to get the genetic information that may or may not be accurate. I want to spend my pregnancy being content and bonding with baby just as a baby. Extra stress during pregnancy does appear to have long term effects, while me waiting to learn about disabilities after the baby is born really won’t have long term effects.
At the anatomy scan, I’ll turn my head away from the screen when they get close to the genital area (if I can), and wait until the birth to find out the gender. It was so much easier in my first few pregnancies when I didn’t even get an anatomy scan (the midwives I used didn’t require it). I could probably decline it still, but with an OB and a hospital birth, I’d be setting myself up for a terrible experience and terrible treatment. Plus I am getting older…and statistical chances of there being something wrong have gone up. So I’m not skipping the anatomy scan this time.
@amydawn09 if it's ever something you're interested in, the NIPT brand that I did was 99% accurate for DS and slightly less accurate than that (but still high) for tri 13 and 18. They can do amniocentesis to verify, but especially for DS, they don't really even push it since the initial accuracy is so high from just a blood draw.
@emeraldcity603 my 12w scan was abdominal today. I was expecting transvaginal haha but we had a super photogenic and active baby!!
For some reason they had us meet with a genetic counselor even though I knew I just wanted the basic NIPS test for the three trisomies and gender. It was kind of cool to hear about all the options out there but wow they’re expensive. I liked that the counselor was really honing in on “what would you do with the information?” Which was nice. I totally agree with you @amydawn09 that sometimes this stuff can create undue stress. I’m not going to do an amniocentesis no matter what so all these more in-depth tests feel unnecessary especially since a lot of what they cover will show up on the anatomy scan.
At what point do they switch from changing your due date to worrying about baby’s growth when measuring? I thought I was 12w 4d but measured at 12w1d. No one was worried but I wonder if I should be because I do know my exact ovulation date?
Measurements aren’t exact and human error can cause them to be off. I wouldn’t worry. I had a baby that was 2 weeks behind at one point and she was perfectly healthy and normal. She was just tiny.
I knew my exact ovulation date too and the baby measured 6 days earlier than what was first calculated at my 12 week appt. They weren’t worried or anything at all and for me I’m just relieved the baby is bigger and heartbeat is strong
Anyone ever get microneedling treatments on your face while pregnant? I used to get them a couple years back to help with acne scars and I want to do it again as this pregnancy made me break out & I couldn’t resist picking/squeezing and now have very nasty scars 😭 I looked it up there’s no studies on pregnant women on the lidocaine application that’s needed.
So just curious if anyone has done it in previous pregnancies? 😜
@slothstatus not sure on microneedling but I know facials are safe as long as you talk to the esthetician so they avoid certain things. I have already done one hydro facial and plan to keep going back. I’m a chronic picker and my jaw line is breaking out bad. My lady told me to come the week before I am due as well to help keep my skin hydrated during labor and suggest Face Reality products. Haven’t tried them yet but suppose to help.
Hi mommas, I’m having some pelvic pain, I wouldn’t associate it to period cramps. It’s like pressure with sometimes sharp pain, really hard to describe it, it diminishes with laying down. No bleeding thank God, but I am worried, I haven’t called my OB because they will just tell me to rest, hydrate and if I bleed to go to the ER..
This is my third pregnancy, I have a 2 year old and my second pregnancy ended in MMC at 11 weeks. Currently 12 weeks & 2 days so feeling concerned if this pain is a MMC pain or if it’s just my uterus expanding. It’s hard to describe the pain, definitely not contractions. I don’t recall feeling this with my first nor with my MMC.
Anyone else 12 weeks or around this mark and having cramping that doesn’t feel like a cramp? Or have experienced it before with other pregnancies?
@slothstatus I’ve been feeling a similar low, center pressure. It’s not really painful, but it feels like it’s all the time. I don’t remember when it started, but it’s been more frequent as time has gone on. I’m 14/nearly 15 weeks now. I also have one child and had a MMC before him and don’t remember this symptom either of those times. 🤞🏼it’s just the uterus expanding, but I plan to mention it at my next appointment this week.
@slothstatus sounds like ligament pain I had the same feeling at 12 weeks and it was lower sharp pain/pressure almost stabbing but it didn’t last long. Like quick jabs. I hope that it’s only that and nothing more for you!
thank you @tumbleweed-1 and @lmn823! I would say it is painful for me to where I can’t carry my 30 pound son or else it will hurt more. But praying it’s just my uterus expanding. Will call my clinic tomorrow to see if I can get an ultrasound for reassurance.
@slothstatus it sounds like round ligament pain to me too! I had the same thing happen to me last week. I freaked out at first thinking it was cramping and then it dissipated when I laid down and I started paying attention to where the pain was and realized it was round ligament pain. I forgot that it starts right around this time period. It happened much later with my daughter. I totally understand the u/s for reassurance though
@slothstatus I have felt weird pressure. One night I was a little concerned because it was just a weird sensation. I have also been having strong one sided cramps which I’m not as concerned about. I drank a ton of water and just tried to rest as much as possible.
I’m looking for pregnancy pillow recommendations. This time around we have a lot of travel happening from now through June. We will also have a 10 day trip end of June for my oldest daughter’s national dance competition. I am looking for something I can take with. My other two pregnancies I just compromised and used a regular body pillow and spare pillows we had around the house 😂 We also didn’t travel during those pregnancies.
Has anyone successfully stayed team green after the NIPT? I’m worried if they upload my results to my patient portal, it will be too tempting to not look 😬
I think I have food poisoning, non stop #3 and nausea and tummy pains 😞 worried for baby, please any prayer warriors pray for my rainbow baby. Thank you 💙
@slothstatus oh no! I hope you feel better soon ❤️
And this is a bit of a delay, but I had an appt with my aesthetician today and I asked her about treatments. She said no on microneedling because of the risk of infection and obviously no on lasers and deep chemical peels. She said hydrafacials are fine (I had one today) and she’s comfortable with some light peels and lights.
@tnt7409 I think after time is passing it gets easier with just not knowing. I know I’ll be happy no matter what. I thought it would be hard, but it hasn’t phased me thank goodness
My OB called yesterday requesting my husband be tested to see if he’s a carrier for cystic fibrosis. My blood work came back positive. With that said, this is my second pregnancy and 5 years ago when the same doctor tested me the results were negative. My husband was not tested then since my results were negative. As you can imagine I was shocked by this phone call. The nurse I spoke with confirmed my test from 5 years ago was in fact negative but explained that since then the test is more advanced and screens for more mutations. My first child does not have CF.
So now I’ve spent the last 24 hours in a panic. Has this happened to anyone else between pregnancies?
@gp4 That’s really interesting. The last time I was tested was roughly 5 years ago. It came back negative and no one has ever mentioned getting retested and I have had 2 babies and now this pregnancy since then. Hopefully your husband comes back negative.
Anyone with experiences of a mostly natural unmedicated birth in a hospital setting? I am trying to weigh my options of potentially switching OBs, which would mean I would need to deliver in hospital as opposed to at a birth center. As this is my first pregnancy I am not entirely sure what to expect from either environment, but know I want to achieve a natural birth if all goes well. I've had consistent issues with my current practice, was waiting it out hoping things improved solely for their birth center option, but I'm realizing it simply may not matter in the end. Any encouragement or advice is welcome. 🙂
Re: Questions Mega Thread
At the anatomy scan, I’ll turn my head away from the screen when they get close to the genital area (if I can), and wait until the birth to find out the gender. It was so much easier in my first few pregnancies when I didn’t even get an anatomy scan (the midwives I used didn’t require it). I could probably decline it still, but with an OB and a hospital birth, I’d be setting myself up for a terrible experience and terrible treatment. Plus I am getting older…and statistical chances of there being something wrong have gone up. So I’m not skipping the anatomy scan this time.
I looked it up there’s no studies on pregnant women on the lidocaine application that’s needed.
I’m having some pelvic pain, I wouldn’t associate it to period cramps. It’s like pressure with sometimes sharp pain, really hard to describe it, it diminishes with laying down. No bleeding thank God, but I am worried, I haven’t called my OB because they will just tell me to rest, hydrate and if I bleed to go to the ER..
And this is a bit of a delay, but I had an appt with my aesthetician today and I asked her about treatments. She said no on microneedling because of the risk of infection and obviously no on lasers and deep chemical peels. She said hydrafacials are fine (I had one today) and she’s comfortable with some light peels and lights.
I am trying to weigh my options of potentially switching OBs, which would mean I would need to deliver in hospital as opposed to at a birth center. As this is my first pregnancy I am not entirely sure what to expect from either environment, but know I want to achieve a natural birth if all goes well. I've had consistent issues with my current practice, was waiting it out hoping things improved solely for their birth center option, but I'm realizing it simply may not matter in the end. Any encouragement or advice is welcome. 🙂