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Do you know what this is?

palmerampalmeram
in High-Risk Pregnancy

I had to get an an internal exam a couple days ago...they did this swab thing and the nurse said it is to see if you will go into labor in 2 weeks? What is this called and do you know if it actually predicts that within 2 weeks time you will go into labor? In all the commotion I didn't think to ask more questions.

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Re: Do you know what this is?

  • TigerlilliesTigerlillies member

    It is an fFN test.  (Fetal Fibronectin test).

    It is really only accurate if it comes back negative.  Which means that you should not go into labor within the next 2 weeks.

    But, they get alot of false positives, so if it is positive- it's not that helpful.

     

    GL!

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  • MrsmaybebabyMrsmaybebaby member

    its the fFN test. It gives an indication of labor starting in the 2 weeks following the test.

    If the test comes back negative, it's about 90% accurate but there are mannnyy false positives so they are not taken AS seriously but still a benificial test!  I see you're 36 weeks, I've never seen them given this late in pregnancy, do you know why they are testing? There may be another use of the results that I don't know about. There are many Mama's on here that get them frequently to see if labor is near b/c they are high risk and/or need steroid shots to mature LO's lungs!  Best wishes to you!

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  • palmerampalmeram
    Yeah, they gave it to me at 35 weeks, which I just read they usually are only given between 22 and 34 weeks. Great, a useless procedure to get more money out of me. Maybe they were confused!
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  • allyandpat2010allyandpat2010
    I had one yesterday in labor and delivery... it was negative thank goodnes.
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  • AlishaMayAlishaMay

    There's many schools of thought on whether or not these are beneficial or not. 

    First - my doctor explained to me that they swab for the presence of a sort of 'glue' that binds the sac to the uterine wall.  Typically when they see it, it means that you are preparing to deliver and will probably do so in the next 2 weeks.  That being said, it is very easy to get false positives.  Basically anything that touches your cervix, or is even inserted into the vagina, for any reason 24 hours before the test is done can cause a false positive.

    My doctor has done these every two weeks with me starting at 24 weeks.  She has said that a negative result tells her much more than a positive one, but if we were to get a positive one, it could be a red flag that she may not otherwise have seen any other way, and allow her to be proactive.  Also, at this point in my pg, it would give her a justifiable reason to give me the steroid shots to mature the babies lungs.

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    Discovered TWINS during the 6w u/s - what a shocker!
    Delivered on 5/19/2010 at 34 weeks due to pre-e and HELLP syndrome
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