Materni21 Test

Starfish+77

Hi Ladies, I am scheduled for an NT scan ultrasound in a couple weeks and will be about 12 1/2 weeks at that point.  I am also considering the Materni21 blood test that I have read.  I'll be 35 1/2 at my EDD, so not very high risk but I'd like to be prepared in advance of any issues. 

Should I wait for the NT scan results first before deciding on the Materni21 blood test?  Or it that something I can do soon?  My insurance will cover it and I'm fine paying whatever amount out of pocket to ease my concerns :-)  Would I just contact my OB office and let them know I want to pursue this blood test?

Thanks for your input!

Adi

If your insurance covers the blood test, I've heard it's very accurate. Mine doesn't so I went with the integrated screening, which included the first trimester blood draw,NT scan, then 2nd trimester blood draw. I, personally, really enjoyed what was essentially an extra ultrasound... at 12.5 weeks it looks like a baby, not just the little tadpole you probably saw at 8 weeks. (and the tech was able to make a gender guess too, which was confirmed at my 19 week anatomy scan) The u/s won't harm you or the baby, so I can't see the harm in doing both (unless your insurance will only do one or the other).

My only "risk" factor was my age, I am 36 now. It's a personal choice that only you can make.

Good luck either way!

amandaleigh1

If you want to have more sensitive results in addition to the standard nt test with bloodwork screening, and you don't mind paying 235 dollars, go for it! I did the maternit21 test in addition to the integrated screen and had my results back from maternit21 first. It gave me extra peace of mind, so for me having the extra test was a plus. You can get the test any time after 10 weeks, so if you are interested in it, as your ob to set it up. It requires a special blood draw, and I had to see a genetic counsellor to get mine. Other offices might do things differently.

Starfish+77

Thank you both for your responses! I'm going to call my OB and ask since my next appointment isn't until 2+ weeks.

pb_bride

::lurker here::

I'm 38 and I had MaterniT21 done, in addition to my integrated prenatal screen.  For me, the bottom line is, what kind of odds (from the IPS) will I be really comfortable with?  With your age of 35, the average odds for DS is 1:350.  If your screen comes back with an odds of 1:400, would you be fine with that?  Or how about 1:1000?  Or 1:2500???

For me, (39 when I deliver), the odds for 39 year-olds is 1:110.  Mine screen came back at 1:1200.  Obviously, that's a good odds for my age, but I didn't feel completely comfortable so I opted to pay OOP for MaterniT21.  It came back negative so now I feel a lot better (and my A/S was normal).

The only "issue" I've heard about MaterniT21 is that if it's done on the early side (close to 10'ish weeks), some patients had "inconclusive" results and had to get it redone a few weeks later.  There is quite a bit of a discussion board over on babycenter and a number of women reported that issue.  You might want to check out the MaterniT21 forum over there.  Good luck to you!

Starfish+77

Thanks - I called my OB and according to him this test is only recommended if the sequential screening results are not good.  He told me when I have the NT scan (2 weeks) to discuss the Maternit21 test with the genetic counselor.  I would prefer to do both tests to feel better about things.  Interesting I didn't know that about potentially testing too early.  Makes sense to wait a couple weeks then!