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1st Trimester
Hi Everyone! I'm new, soon to be a new mom and have to decide if I want a First Trimester Pregnancy
So hi again! My name is Jacklyn Marie and I'm 3 months pregnant due in December. This will be my first child. During my last appointment my doctor gave me this piece of paper so I could go and get a "First Trimester Pregnancy w/ Nuchal Transluccency" test to make sure the baby is doing fine and to detect Down Syndrome. Now my husband keeps telling me that we are going to keep the baby no matter what, and I agree with him, but the thought of knowing early would relieve my nervousness. I really don't know what I should do. If I go and the results are positive for some abnormality would I go in a depression so deep that I would resent the baby? I mean like I said we would keep the baby no matter what but I don't know how my emotions are going to play out. I'm 25, I'm healthy,but a big junk food eater, so I should have no worries. But yet I'm worried. A lot of women told me that they felt the same way with their first baby. So maybe I'll just do this test and go from there. Any thoughts?
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Re: Hi Everyone! I'm new, soon to be a new mom and have to decide if I want a First Trimester Pregnancy
Totally a personal choice.
FWIW, we decided against all genetic screening. My reasoning was that I was going to go ahead with the pregnancy either way, and there are false positives so I didn't want to spend my pregnancy in fear if something came up. If we did have a child with a birth defect, we'd deal with it when he/she was born.
To argue the other side, I've heard that there are some birth defects, although rare, that can be dangerous to the mom as well so it's good in that sense to know ahead of time so you can terminate a pregnancy that could potentially be life threatening for you.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
I didn't get any of these tests done with my first pregnancy and I won't be doing them with this one either. The results won't change my decision to keep the baby. I have also read so many women who had false positive tests for abnormalities.
To me, I don't need the added stress.
Emily 8.8.08
Madeline 1.2.11
William 8.5.12
DH and I have elected not to have the NT test done. We too, know that we would keep the baby regardless, and would love the baby just as much. That is in no way saying that the only reason that people would only have the test done if they would terminate if the results were unfavorable. But for us, because we have confidence that our facility can handle any problems that arise at the birth, and the fact that we choose not to have the worry that would be present for the remainder of the pregnancy, or deal with false positives (which I have heard to be fairly common), and because we know we would love our baby just as much if it were diagnosed with downs etc.,it is just something we choose not to put ourselves through.
To each their own. No Judging - it just was not the right decision for us.
Yes, Hardees and McDonald's causes Down Syndrome.
If you take the test you'll supersize your chances of birthing an apple pie.
What the heck are you asking??
Are you asking us if you'll be depressed if your baby shows signs of DS? How the heck are we supposed to know how you'll react.
Just think of it as an extra ultrasound.
Or, don't do do the test... It doesn't sound like the outcome matters to you, you're going to keep the baby no matter what.
This 100%
I wasn't going to take the test but my doctor explained it this way. It's not a positive or negative, it's a percent chance. If the percent chance is really low, it will be a relief. If it is really high, say 1 in 5, remember there is still a 4 in 5 chance everything will be okay, however it's good to be prepared for the possibility, for the parents as well as the medical staff.
Because of his explanation, I talked to my cousin about a relative with DS, and this is the mother's story. She didn't know until delivery that one twin had DS. The baby had to be rushed by helicopter to another hospital while mother and other twin stayed behind. It was very shocking and traumatizing at that time. However she's a wonderful child, and mother and children are happy. It is of course a more difficult road the parents are travelling, but they have said they wouldn't have changed having her even if they knew in advance. It would arguably have made the birth itself better for all involved had they known the possibilities ahead.
we did it. I would keep the baby as well, but I would want to have everything lined up in advance if something was wrong....from calling in specialists to delivering at the right/better hospital, etc. It was such a relief when during the scan they could tell that our chances of anything being wrong were very very low, I could relax a little.
For us it was all about knowledge.
It's a personal choice but my doctor made a really good point. If you are going to keep the baby regardless, don't do it. As she pointed out she's seen couples suffer the 9 months b/c they knew, but they still were upset when the child was born. It just prolonged it all. You can't really 'ready' yourself. Plus, she told us about a couple who had one test or another, had a false positive and lived in real limbo for months.
You're young, healthy, and know you'll keep the baby. GL though, I know it's a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions!
It's not just a scan for DS. It looks for ancepholy, Trisomies, and other conditions that are incompatible with life outside the uterus.
If my doctor offered it, we would be getting it and are considering paying OOP to do so.
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
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The first tri/NT scan is a personal choice and no one can tell you what's right for you. I think everyone who chooses to have the screening is emotional and worried waiting for the results. But being worried about your child's health and future is something that will occur for the rest of your life. This is only the start of the difficult decisions that you'll have to make regarding your child.
For some parents, the NT won't affect the duration of the pregnancy. Others have received shattering news. All you can do is talk it over with DH, tell him your fears and concerns, do research on the facts for your age group and family medical history (junk food aside) and speak candidly with your doc. Then you and DH make the decision that is right for you.
this test is not just for DS. Cystic Fibrosis, Spina Bifida and a multitude of other tests. If we had done this scan 3 years ago when we went in for a "routine" NT scan we would have not known that our DD had not developed kidneys and I had no amniotic fluid. Both of these a complete flukes we had to terminate our pregnancy in the 2nd trimester.
I would never NOT want to know we did this test with DS and we did it again with this pregnancy. No regrets we wanted to make decisions regardless if there is a bad outcome not knowing is worse IMO.
We did it with DD and I will do it again. Why, 1st because I wanted to see my baby again! Two, I wanted to know if there was anything there that we had to prepare for. It not only checks for downs but also all the organs.
I figured God forbid if there was a heart problem Dr's would be ready when DD was born....No fumbling around. So this is what we did. I will do it again.
This exactly.
Exactly this. Downs was one thing. Trisomy 18 -- whole different ball game.
Me too!
Especially b/c my OB's practice only does 1 sono at 20 wks.
I had this scan done last week and had an awful experience with the genetic counselor. First, this is a screening that determines if there is a high risk for any problems. If there is a high risk then you'll need further testing like a CVS or amnio. It also gives off false positives and I've talked to a lot of women who were told their babies were at high risk and were born perfectly healthy.
I am 36 and will be 37 at time of the baby's birth, therefore they consider me a high risk already (and the only risk as there is no history in either of our families). I had the scan and the scan alone showed a high risk for an issue, we didn't have the bloodwork results back and still don't have them back. The genetic counselor made us think that there was definitely a problem and had my husband and I freaked out, we walked out of the facility thinking our only choice was to probably terminate the pregnancy. Of course she scheduled a CVS for me and we'll have that done on Monday.
So bottom line, educate yourself and then make a decision.
GL!