Positive FFN test?

DianaChristineB

Has anyone had one? How soon after did you go into labor? My FFN test at 24 weeks was negative, but the one I took yesterday came back positive (I'm being monitored due to a short(ish) cervix). My doctor said that negative results are more accurate than positive results (which she claims really don't mean much). Still, I'm nervous that it came back positive. Please share your experiences if you have any. Thank you.

hopefuldad

Good post from another forum about this, where one poster reported having positives at 22/31/34, and delivered at 40+2! And the person who posted that thread even reported within 2 weeks that she hadn't had her baby yet.

https://www.babyandbump.com/pregnancy-third-trimester/600543-anyone-ever-had-positive-ffn-fetal-fibronectin-test-result.html

If you have a positive FFN but absolutely no other risk factors, your chances of PTL within 2 weeks are very small. If you have a positive FFN with major signs of PTL, your chances of PTL within 2 weeks are a lot higher. With you only having the dynamic/shortish cervix, you're probably on the lower side of that spectrum. However, it probably means the doctors will take it very seriously if you start having any other PTL signs in the next few weeks and may give you the corticosteroids if it looks like anything else is happening.

False positives are very common, so a positive result is considered MUCH less meaningful than a negative one. I'm sure that doesn't make you relax a whole lot, but a positive FFN with no other indication of PTL like contractions puts you at only a slightly increased risk of full-blown PTL within 2 weeks. 

Our doctors won't even do FFN tests for my wife because the false positive rate when you have a cerclage is so high and it just gets people more worried than anything else.

Hang in there! Lots of women have had positive FFN's and then carried for months more! 

DianaChristineB

hopefuldad:

Good post from another forum about this, where one poster reported having positives at 22/31/34, and delivered at 40+2! And the person who posted that thread even reported within 2 weeks that she hadn't had her baby yet.

https://www.babyandbump.com/pregnancy-third-trimester/600543-anyone-ever-had-positive-ffn-fetal-fibronectin-test-result.html

If you have a positive FFN but absolutely no other risk factors, your chances of PTL within 2 weeks are very small. If you have a positive FFN with major signs of PTL, your chances of PTL within 2 weeks are a lot higher. With you only having the dynamic/shortish cervix, you're probably on the lower side of that spectrum. However, it probably means the doctors will take it very seriously if you start having any other PTL signs in the next few weeks and may give you the corticosteroids if it looks like anything else is happening.

False positives are very common, so a positive result is considered MUCH less meaningful than a negative one. I'm sure that doesn't make you relax a whole lot, but a positive FFN with no other indication of PTL like contractions puts you at only a slightly increased risk of full-blown PTL within 2 weeks. 

Our doctors won't even do FFN tests for my wife because the false positive rate when you have a cerclage is so high and it just gets people more worried than anything else.

Hang in there! Lots of women have had positive FFN's and then carried for months more! 

Thank you for always being so helpful. Seriously. Thanks for the information. You have definitely helped put my mind at ease. I'm just so terrified of going into labor early. My OB's office and hospital where I plan on delivering is about 30 miles from my home (I love my OB and refuse to switch). I guess if I feel anything funny (i.e contractions) we can just o to the nearest hospital (with a NICU) which is about 4-5 miles away. Anyway, I will try to focus on the positive info that you have given me.

lisac1017

I had a positive ffn at 24 weeks. My cervix had shortened, I was funneling and having contrax. I ended up having a scheduled c/s at 39 weeks. I did, however, get steroid shots, go on procardia and bedrest until 37 weeks. The next ffn a few weeks later was negative.