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September 2011 Moms
confused about testing
Ok ladies I need some clarification.... I go see my doctor tomorrow about testing for downs syndrome... what kind of test is it blood? US? I have heard that they are not very accurate. What is the consensus are you having it done?
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Re: confused about testing
U/S and Bloodwork. They compare results from the two to check for chormosonal abnormalities. If they see any red-flags they can send you for further diagnostic testing such as a CVS. The CVS is more accurate but carries some risk so they do not tend to do that unless they feel they need to.
I wish the "search" function worked on these message boards... Ho hum...
OP, take a glance at all the previous posts on this board regarding "NT Scan" - there is a lot of good information in them. GL.
That's an amnio. It's not one of the routine tests for all pregnant women but if you get an u/s that comes back and raises some red flags they'll recommend doing one.
A CVS can also done through the belly (or vaginally if needed depending on the location of the placenta), but my guess is you're thinking of an amnio.
For a CVS they go in and get cells from the placenta. For an amnio, they get fluid from the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby.
If you scroll back through the older posts there are TONS of posts about NT scans.
If you wouldn't go to the next steps (amnio/CVS) then no, it doesn't really make sense to have it done. NT isnt a yes/no test, it just gives you odds.
They can see the markers for issues at your anatomy scan which will be much more conclusive than the NT odds.
I usually toss the termination question aside, because for us the answers from the tests mean something different for us. We had thickened nuchal fold with DS at our 2nd tri u/s. We decided we were keeping the baby, but this is what we did with the information:
1. We did do further testing (an amnio), as I wanted to prepare my kids and my heart for something I had not dealt with before. I believe parents of special needs go through a mourning period of the loss of "normal" and I didn't want that to be the day I delivered. I wanted to gather resources and support if necessary. I wanted to be ready to parent that child and its needs from day one, and I felt getting the information earlier was better for me.
2. The results determined the hospital we deliver at.
3. A thickened nucal fold can mean more than downs. It can also mean a heart defect. Given DH's heart condition and a thickened nuchal fold, it was important to do a fetal echocardiogram to rule out heart defects
We lucked out and everything came back normal. However, the screening tests help inform your next decisions, so if you do them depends on what you would do with the information.
Yes, my son will be two in July. He is healthy and doing great. He did not have downs or any other chromosomal abnormality, and he did not have a heart defect. We were told to make sure our pedi did a very thorough exam after birth, and our pedi just said we had a big baby which meant a thicker neck. In our case everything turned out as we had hoped, but the scare made us really know what we'd do with the information from prenatal screenings. It confirmed for me that termination (I'll be honest the conversation came up) was not our reason behind finding out if something might be wrong. We needed to know for other reasons. We will be doing the 1st tri screening with this baby for the reasons I listed. I was hoping our experience would help you think about if you want to do the screening. Good luck with your decision.