Anybody opting for no chromosome abnormality tests?

sararn2004 · July 2012

My DH and I decided we wouldn't do any interventions anyhow if we discovered an abnormality so we opted out of all of it. The blood tests would likely just worry us and we had no intention of doing an amnio.

PrincessMRC · July 2012

I haven't had anything except for the normal GD and ultrasound.

3rdat40 · July 2012

I share your feelings, so I won't be doing any of those tests. Based on my health and family history, I should be at a low risk for abnormailites. And like you said, we wouldn't opt for an amnio anyway, so what's the point? I didn't test with my other two either, just had the regular 20-week u/s.

allip504 · July 2012

I didn't do any with either pregnancy, except for ultrasound and basic tests.

JonesBaby0624 · July 2012

We regret having the 1st tri screening. We had the NT scan and 1st tri blood work, which showed some possible abnormalities, and decided it only scared us. We decided we will be blessed by what God has given us and enjoy the rest of our pregnancy.

mama2many · July 2012

I've never done anything other than the a/s and GD testing.

This time, I did an NT scan because my a1c was a little high during the first tri and I was concerned about structural damage that could have been caused by high blood sugar - figured if there was, we could get a plan together for delivery & the neonatal time if needed. But they didn't see anything significant, so I told them I didn't need the blood tests. The MFM doc said he was fine with that.

ukmisgirl · July 2012

I opted out of all genetic testing with both children, except the level 2 U/S at 19wks and that was because I wanted a super good look at the baby and nothing else. I've read about way too many false positives and markers that ended up being nothing. I couldn't stand the stress of waiting or worse even getting a false positive and fretting for the rest of the pregnancy or having to do even more invasive testing.

KrissyL10 · July 2012

I'm 45 and also opted out. We wouldn't have done anything differently if we discovered an abnormality and I've read too many stories of women worrying over results for no reason.

benoitfan · July 2012

Like you, had my tests shown an abnormality, I would have still carried to term. I did however elect to have the screening done for 2 reasons.

1. In the case of Tri18, many babies do not make it to term and I would like to be prepared for the increased possiblity of pregnancy loss. Also children with Tri 13 rarely live longer than a year. I'd need to know if I might be dealing with that.

2. I live in a center with a good nicu, but not the best one. If I were to deliver a baby with one of these conditions, I would rather do so at a top notch nicu so that they would have all the necessary specialists and equipment on hand to give my baby the best treatment available.

In the end I had non-invasive Integrated Prenatal Screening (1st tri b/w, NT scan and 2nd Tri b/w) and my risk for any of the trisomies (even at my ripe old age of 41) was less than 1 in 100,000.

benoitfan · July 2012

3rdat40:

I share your feelings, so I won't be doing any of those tests. Based on my health and family history, I should be at a low risk for abnormailites. And like you said, we wouldn't opt for an amnio anyway, so what's the point? I didn't test with my other two either, just had the regular 20-week u/s.

FTR, some of the chromosomal abnormalities have nothing to do with family history or your health, they happen when the sperm and egg meet. They are flukes of nature.

mswood1977 · July 2012

I haven't done any generic testing. So far everything looks great with our baby and I have had tons I ultrasounds because of my gestational diabetes and pre-e.

RachelG1016 · July 2012

We decided against additional testing. If something comes up at the 20 week u/s then we might do an amnio. I didn't want to stress over it.

MelleTX · July 2012

I also opted out of all prenatal testing.

I am pregnant with twins and AMA so I get an ultrasound with every appointment. While they will not catch everything, it is likely that my regular monitoring will pick up anything that is highly abnormal or potentially fatal.

I am highly against invasive testing (Amnio or CVS) due to the risk to BOTH babies so my Dr and I agreed that other testing would not be a benefit to me.

It's not that I wouldn't terminate a pregnancy. I would NOT terminate for Downs. I might terminate for other potentially fatal abnormalities if I was having a singleton. However, having twins means I would not terminate even a potentially fatal abnormality or defect because of the risk to the surviving baby.

benoitfan · July 2012

MelleTX:

I also opted out of all prenatal testing.

I am pregnant with twins and AMA so I get an ultrasound with every appointment. While they will not catch everything, it is likely that my regular monitoring will pick up anything that is highly abnormal or potentially fatal.

I am highly against invasive testing (Amnio or CVS) due to the risk to BOTH babies so my Dr and I agreed that other testing would not be a benefit to me.

It's not that I wouldn't terminate a pregnancy. I would NOT terminate for Downs. I might terminate for other potentially fatal abnormalities if I was having a singleton. However, having twins means I would not terminate even a potentially fatal abnormality or defect because of the risk to the surviving baby.

great points melletx.

Jessica Swanlake · July 2012

PrincessMRC:
I haven't had anything except for the normal GD and ultrasound.

Us too- we would not do anything if it were abnormal, so why stress out throughout your pregnancy about it? Plus, you know you will have higher numbers just based on your age- reading you have a 1 in 90 chance for Downs is one thing, but having the doctor tell you that seems like the end of the world.

kristaae · July 2012

We're not going to do the amnio or CVS if my doc recommends it (I'm 38, this is my first pregnancy). DH and I talked a lot about it. We figured we're older, wiser, and financially stable, and any abnormality would not change whether or not we have the baby. I would feel devastated if I had a complication from the testing.

michaels_girl · July 2012

We did all the non invasive testing, and would have done the amnio if it seemed appropriate, but statistically it was not. I do not understand the mindset of "we won't do anything anyway". If the baby has a potential heart defect, you don't want to be in an appropriate hospital environment with surgeons at the ready? The mindset that the only reason to have testing is to have the option to terminate is ridiculous.

MelleTX · July 2012

Every step of the way, I ask my Dr one question... "Will the outcome of these tests in any way change the way you treat this pregnancy?"

kristaae · July 2012

michaels_girl:
If the baby has a potential heart defect, you don't want to be in an appropriate hospital environment with surgeons at the ready? The mindset that the only reason to have testing is to have the option to terminate is ridiculous.

It depends on the hospital, I guess. We are delivering at a hospital that can handle all these issues anyway. As a nurse...I can tell you that it is equally ridiculous to assume that the prenatal tests are 100% accurate, and that doctors don't assess for these issues at birth, either.

buggirl72 · July 2012

We are doing the non-invasive tests. The two main reasons are 1) I am already worried. There is a chance that I will worry less; 2) My OB saying that it was important to her to make sure the right people were in place during the birth sunk in. I know we can wait to find out at the birth, but if there is a complication, I would rather know in advance and have the right team of doctors in place.

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