Bottom 1% Papp-a and hcG

mtarpee

Hello All.

I was wondering if anybody had experience with having an ultra low Papp-a and hcG?  I found out recently during my first trimester screening that I have no chromosomal issues, but my Papp-a and hcG scores were both in the bottom 1 percent.  After doing some research I found a strong correlation between having a preemie ( if youre lucky) due to pre e , iugr, etc.  Does anybody have anything that they would be willing to share regarding this?  You seem like a very friendly bunch, so Im hoping there will be plenty of stories for me so I know what we are looking at down the road....

Thanks!  ( PS I love looking at all the cute baby pics!) 

jacque_z

I had a low PAPP-A (bottom 5th percentile) and my Dr. wasn't concerned at all.  He said it's almost never relevant on its own.  My preemie was caused by IC.  She always measured right on track and she was actually bigger than the Dr.'s expected when she was born.  HTH.  Good luck. 

sbphotos

I had low Papp a (can't remember how low, but it was low) and, in the end, it turns out my placenta was a nightmare.

He measured a month behind pretty much from 18 weeks. Had c section at 29 weeks because fluid levels were at 2 (apparently normal is 11?) and a decelerating heartbeat along with his measuring small.  He was born 1lb 11oz.  After 2 months in NICU, he's been home nearly 2 months and weighs somewhere around 9 pounds!

My umbilical cord was attached to the placenta all crazy...velementous cord insertion, where the cord is attached to the side of placenta rather than the middle. This wasn't discovered until he was being delivered. Also I had a huge bleed at 12-13 weeks which I am guessing was a sub chioronic hematoma, but again, no one could figure it out until they saw this huge clot hidden behind my placenta when they did the c section. 

Sooooo, in my case, the low Papp a was definitely flashing warning signs about my placenta. 

I hope your pregnancy is smooth and easy with no issues .

ashleybritton

I'm not sure about Papp-a, but my hcG was pretty high. I still have that info in my sig. FWIW this started out as a twin pregnancy, but we lost one at 6 weeks. So who knows.

JuliaJAG

My PAPP-A was I believe 0.3 MoM which is around the 5th percentile (maybe lower). Because of that, I was concerned about pre-eclampsia and IUGR from the moment I got those test results. 

I kept being told there was nothing I could do, but I did end up getting pre-eclampsia and having to have a c-section at 29 weeks because of it. Knowing what I know now, I would have put myself on modified bed rest immediately (2-4 hours a day of resting on my left side, and taking it easy/reducing stress). BTW, my baby is doing great, so even getting pre-eclampsia or one of the other dreaded conditions that go along with low PAPP-A and hCG isn't the end of the world!