- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
2nd Trimester
Prenatal testing
This is my first post as well as my first pregnancy and I'm hoping that any of you ladies that have experienced what I'm going to share can help ease some fears. My doctor just called to tell me that my blood work came back and I'm at the intermediate level for Downs. The ok level is from 1 to 45, intermediate is 45 to 55 and the high risk is 55 to 200. I am a 46. She told me that she is very conservative and thinks that everything is going to be just fine and not to worry. She even spoke to the doctor who does the amnio and was told that even if I wanted it, she wouldn't recommend it (because the risk of miscarriage outweighs the chances of my baby having Downs). My doctor personally called me so that I could calmly talk to my husband who is a HUGE worrier. He is leaving for a business trip tomorrow, so I'm going to wait until he comes back to tell him. I'm not usually a worrier, but this is really freaking me out. Advice?????
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Prenatal testing
You have to decide what is right for you. I'd want to know and I would just worry the entire time, so I'd probably go ahead and get the amnio. However, that might not be the case for you. Talk to your DH and decide what you want to do.
What test is this? I had did the NT scan, but the results do not look like that, so I'm curious of what you had.
I know exactly how you feel. Im 24 wks with my first and had a similar situation. At my NT scan with the high risk doc at 12 weeks things looked ok, until they got back my blood test results, my dr called and asked me to come in right away. Turns out I had a 1 in 18 chance of having a Downs Baby. They suggested either a CVS or Amnio at that time and I decided to think about it since I was uncomfortable with the risks. My regular OB was telling me that he sees those odds only once ever 5 or 6 years and encouraged me to get the amnio for peace of minds sake since I am an obsessor and worryer type of person. My fiance did NOT want to any additional testing but at our 18 wk anatomy scan when the U/S didnt look any better we decided to get the test that day. I was driving myself crazy for those 6 weeks wondering and stressing. 4 days later we got the results that there were no genetic abnormalities. Although I was worried about a miscarriage, it is alot more rare of an occurance from the research i did. and the peace of mind is absolutly priceless. Next pg I will not wait so long to feel at ease. You certainly have to make the choice for yourself and be comfortable with it. the Worrying gets so intense and for me it wasnt worth it, it was all for nothing. Good Luck with things and you have to let us know what happens!
We found out we were both carriers of cystic fibrosis so our baby had a 1 in 4 chance of having CF, a disease where most children do not live past 30. Since the risk was so high, we decided to do the amnio which was not bad at all and the dr and staff were amazing! Because we did the amnio we were able to find out the sex of the baby earlier on. 9 days later after the amnio we found out we were having a healthy baby girl who is not even a carrier of CF. We also were able to test for all other chromosomal issues that turned out to be fine. As others said, it is your preference what you want to do. Sounds like your dr feels it will be alright and your chances are not 1 in 4 like ours were. But, there is a risk with the amnio however everything in life has a risk. I wish you the best of luck and am sure everything will be fine. I think the worrying is the worst part!
My NT screening came back with a 1 in 31 chance of downs syndrome, and we opted for the CVS. I was just on the edge of the time limit for having it done (barely 13 weeks), and I wanted to know. I can't say if we would have terminated, but it was important to us to be prepared. In our case, the chance of the baby having downs was higher than the risk of miscarriage.
You have to decide what's right for you, and everyone is different.
((hugs))
Happy Spring!.
If you don't want to do the amnio you can request a level 2 ultrasound.
However, what she said about the risk of miscarriage with an amnio isn't accurate. It's much less risky these days than it was in the past. It upsets me that women are being counseled to not have the test based on research done decades ago.
"A recent study, led by Keith Eddleman, MD, of New York's Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and published in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, sought to determine if amniocentesis still has the 0.5% miscarriage rate (one in 200 pregnancies) that it did 30 years ago, when the last significant research was done. Dr. Eddleman offered amniocentesis to 35,000 pregnant women; 3,000 women opted to have it performed and the outcome was the same for both those who had the test and those who didn't -- about 1% of the women in both groups miscarried.
In this study the amniocentesis-related miscarriage rate was 0.06%, or one in 1,600 pregnancies -- significantly lower than the 0.5% rate that came out of studies performed in the 1970s. Since then, there have been many innovations in amniocentesis safety, the most significant being the use of ultrasound technology during the procedure - doctors are able to view the baby and therefore determine where to insert the needle."
eta...I had the CVS test done. I wanted to have all of the information that I possibly could about the health of my baby.