Quad screening--someone HELP

kcave21 · May 2012

hello,

So I was not sure what a Quad screening was so I did some research and it turns out it is for downs, spina bifida, edwards syndrome (I dont know what this is), and any other type of abnormalities. I told the doctor from the start that I didnt want the test simply bc she said "it has 80% false positive" and preceded to tell me a story about a woman whos test came back positive for downs and went through her entire pregnancy worried and not able to enjoy it. When the lady had her baby her baby was perfectly fine with no abnormalities. I got a paper in the mail today saying my quad screening came back normal. (is this good).

When I was searching online it said that normal meant that the RISK was normal so there was still a chance?!?!? is this true?!?!?

now I am worried and this is all I have been thinking about all day!!! SOMEONE HELP ME

kcave21 · May 2012

also, when they told me to go give blood I didnt question them or anything, so I had no idea what I was being tested for!! Do you think they did this without tell me bc they might see something???

mommybear77 · May 2012

I wouldn't worry about it, I just did mine the other day and they said that if there was any concerns (especially for Downs) that they would schedule me for an U/S that would look at the thickness of the neck. If you didn't get scheduled for additional testing such as an U/S or amnio I would think it is okay.

opaque1997 · May 2012

To be honest - if you can take a deep breath.

My nurse called and said mine was normal - I went into my next appointment and my doctor gave me more specific information -and in my case I had a 1 in 4000 risk. (much lower then 'normal') So normal could mean a lot of things

My guess is they didn't do the NT scan but that their office regularly does the quad screen and thus it got ordered. I'd call your doc tomorrow and say - hey I got this in the mail and its kind of freaking me out. Explain you weren't going to do it or so you thought and now its concerning as to why

But until then - NORMAL is good

MichelleL1118 · May 2012

Here's the thing. There's ALWAYS a risk of something being wrong in a pregnancy. Nature is weird that way. The quad screening is a risk-analysis test. It looks at levels of various hormones & substances in your blood, compares that to your age, and calculates a risk factor for certain disorders - namely spina bifida, Downs, and trisomy 13 & 18. The "normal" risk varies with your age - at 25 "normal" might be 1 in 500, while at 35 it might be 1 in 200. But even if they give you numbers, and tell you that your risk is 1 in 10000, there's a possibility that you're that one. And that risk doesn't change if you don't do the testing, or don't know about the results. It's still there. You have to trust that things are OK unless you're told otherwise, and relax. Stressed & worried is no way to spend your pregnancy, especially without cause.

kcave21 · May 2012

Thank you so much everyone!!! that really helps me a lot and I will call tomorrow!

b-ruth · May 2012

I really wouldn't worry. My quad screening came back positive meaning I would be at a greater risk for my baby having a chromosome problem or disorder. ... However I had a CVS beforehand and we already know for sure that my baby has no chromosome problems or disorders! So even with a positive screen my baby is healthy. I'm sorry they did the test without your knowledge!

cwm11985 · June 2012

Why did you get quad screeening results if you told your doctor you didn't want the test?

IAM3Bs · June 2012

OK- here's the facts... you don't get a 'positive or negative' result from this screen. It simply tells you if you have an elevated RISK for your baby POTENTIALLY having any of those conditions.

I repeat- a quad screen will not tell you if your baby actually has downs, or spina biffida, or any other condition-- it will simply tell you that you may have a 1 in 500 or whatever chance of your baby having this condition.

Keep in mind, that is a 499/500 chance of your baby being completely normal.

I was against the test for the same reasons as you- thinking I'd get a potential false positive, (which, with this test, there is no such thing, since it is not like an amnio, which actually diagnoses these conditions...) but my doctor explained it really well to me, and I ended up having it done, and found out that I'm not at any elevated risk, so that made me feel much better.

This test basically is a step you can take before you decide if you want a CVS or an amnio- if you're not at risk, then you can skip those invasive tests.

I hope that helped some. Feel free to message me if you want any more info.

credcat7 · June 2012

All of these "tests" are called screening because they are checking for any HUGE red flags, but as a screening it will NEVER be 100% ... the amnio is currently the most accurate test covered by insurance... BUT there are compnies out there creating new tests that challenge the state stand of amnio only covered testing...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2012/01/06/aria-diagnostics-emerges-from-stealth-with-new-blood-based-prenatal-test/

for now most insurances won't cover this but hopefully in the future it willbe the norm.

As far as dealing with it.. thats all you can do... take the news you got as good and move through, you can always go talk to a genetic counselor too.. it could help alleviate some stress

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