I am 40 years old, approx 7-8 wk pregnant with my second child. My first one is going to be 16 in September. I have concerns about genetic testing and wonder if I should do any of them at all. I have my first OB visit on Friday. I also had a miscarriage about 2 yrs ago and I am pertrified about loosing this one so I have done almost NOTHING physically since I found out I was expecting. No concerns as of now but will feel a ton better when that heartbeat is confirmed. Any advice?
Re: 40 and Pregnant with my second after 15 yrs
THIS!!!!
In your same boat. I was 40 when I conceived back in Nov. (turned 41 last week). Oldest is 16, had miscarriage prior to this baby, which is due on Aug. 12th.
Had no genetic testing done. BUT because I am AMA (you are, too! Advanced Maternal Age), my OB has had me have lots of extra ultrasounds. Advice? Chill until you know more. I know, easy for me to say...but it's true. NOTHING physiocally won't help you as much as keeping calm emotionally. Luck and Love to you!!!!
Cat
Congrats!!!
It's up to you whether to do genetic testing. If you don't do it, at least you should do the 1 tri screening.
I had a miscarriage myself last October, so we decided to go for CVS with this one to make sure there are no chromosomal abnormalities. We were told the risk of miscarriage after CVS is comparable to that with amnio at the particular center where we had it done. We wanted to know as early as possible, hence the CVS. "Nothing physically" will not make any difference. If the baby is ok it will be ok if you continue with your normal activities.
I have just turned 40 and my other DD is 20, my DH is 39 and this is his first. We chose to have screening done which consists of an ultrasound and two rounds of bloodwork to determine if we are at high risk of deformity.
I agree with the other posters to try and relax!
Hello, Im 9 wk pregnant after 15yrs of ttc.We had given up over 5 yrs ago. We had 6 miscarreges before 6 weeks. I am 38yrs old. I had a sonogrm last week and saw a heart beat going st 166 beats per min.We were suprised to even get pregnant and now were 9 wks.Im thank full to feeling misrable.Im going to see high risck Dr on the 10th Im having testing done too but have alreddy choosen not to have any test dont that places the pregnacy at risck of misscarrege. IE no anmino test.I advise take it one day at a time
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I can relate to your delimma. I am 41 and as an older Mom I am worried about the risk of Down's or other genetic problems. We did the 1st trimester screening and initially the results put me into a very high risk group - and I was devastated. When my DH discussed the results with the genetic counselor she explained exactly how the risk was calculated (breaking down each component) my DH discovered that since the Radiologist didn't see the nasal bone on the sonogram it had a major impact on our risk and that was why they were recommending additional testing.
Fortunately for us - both my DH and I clearly recalled the US tech and the Radiologist both pointing out the nasal bone to us during the 1st trimester screen (evidently he just forgot to include it in his dictated report). Since the nasal bone was present it dropped my risk significantly (less risk than that of a 30 year old) and additional testing was not recommended.
Talk about dealing with a ton of stress for no reason at all! We still had the option of additional testing since I am AMA - but we decided not to risk it. Chance of misscarriage with amnio was 1 in 400 - too risky when there wasn't a clear indication of a potential problem.