Most likely Down's syndrome...please help

Raquelito78 · January 2014

I'm 28 weeks and just was told of my positive free cell DNA test for Down's syndrome. I'm an emotional mess and in denial. My husband says he won't believe it until she is born. (Also in denial I'm my opinion.) need to decide if I want the amniocentesis to be a confirmation diagnostic test or just wait until birth. I'm unsure what to do. Im scared, upset, "why me" stage, sad, confused, etc. please provide any advice if at all possible. Thanks!

PipSqueak0313 · January 2014

Raquelito78 said:

I'm 28 weeks and just was told of my positive free cell DNA test for Down's syndrome. I'm an emotional mess and in denial. My husband says he won't believe it until she is born. (Also in denial I'm my opinion.) need to decide if I want the amniocentesis to be a confirmation diagnostic test or just wait until birth. I'm unsure what to do. Im scared, upset, "why me" stage, sad, confused, etc. please provide any advice if at all possible. Thanks!

I got a positive MaterniT21 test at 13 weeks. We chose not to do confirmation testing until after his birth. We figured the small risk of miscarriage with the testing was not worth the small risk of a false positive. We chose to just plan for a child with Down Syndrome.

I second Kitchen's recommendation to check out the babycenter boards and to meet up with your local support group. By the time ds2 was born at 36 weeks, I was looking forward to having a baby with Down Syndrome.

Hugs. Receiving the news is hard and it is an emotional roller coaster while you process the information.

TrySoMe21 · January 2014

In response to Raquelito; I am the mom of 15 yo daughter with DS; back then (1998) there was only the AFP as a screening tool which came back with a very high risk for DS. We faced the same difficult decision. Should I have an amnio or just wait until the baby was born? It was gut wrenching; but I had previously lost a daughter and we did not want to lose this baby! I kept telling myself that I had already experience the worst thing a mother could, surely God wouldn't bestow another tragedy on me. We made the decision and completely put it out of our minds--so we were shocked to discover when she was born that our daughter did have DS. It took a couple of weeks to work through the grief, anger, guilt and self-pity but I remember one night when she was 3 or 4 weeks old talking with my husband and saying, "If everyone knew what an amazing wonderful experience it is to have a baby with Down syndrome they would want one too." I can honestly say that she has been the biggest blessing of our lives-I wouldn't change a hair on her head! The National Down Syndrome Congress has a ton of great information for new parents on their website and if you call them they will answer any questions you might have.

Raquelito78 · January 2014

Thanks! Will research. Sharing your experience is so helpful.

Raquelito78 · January 2014

Bump

jessicastanley · January 2014

Hi there! I'm 23 weeks pg with a little boy. I also received a positive Harmony test for DS at 13 weeks. The first few weeks are tough and we did a lot of self reflecting. We ultimately decided against an amnio, choosing to wait like the pp and not risk this little life. While there are false positives out there, we didn't want to put ourselves in a position of not being prepared. We've been in touch with support groups and have done a lot of research. We've talked to a lot of people that have children with DS. I would encourage you to do the same, as a pp also said. My husband also struggles with denial. It took a while but he's starting to come to terms with it. Staying positive is so important.
Our niece has DS, so we have been able to see how beautiful and rewarding life with a DS child can be. Stay strong, research as much as you can, and ask questions everywhere you go. You got this, mama.

Most likely Down's syndrome...please help

Re: Most likely Down's syndrome...please help

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