Prenatal testing yes or no??

smorin7888 · December 2014

my boyfriend and I have chosen not to do any prenatal testing but have been getting a lot of unwanted opinions from some family, friend and even nurses! Anyone else experiencing this? If so how did you cope??

housewifebecomesher · December 2014

There has been a lot of discussion on this lately. I recommend searching first trimester screening!

Bottom line: it's a personal choice, don't let anyone make the decision for you.

smorin7888 · December 2014

Thank you for that information. I'm still learning how to navigate this app. But thank you

yes I know it is my choice it is just extremely frustrating when people offer their opinion without asking.

housewifebecomesher · December 2014

Welcome to pregnancy! And motherhood. I agree, extremely frustrating.

There is a thread on page 1 right now on this subject!

katedecanto · December 2014

My husband and I decided to skip it also as there would be no way we would ever terminate. Our midwife agreed, because the blood tests aren't always correct and amnio/CVS also carries an increased risk of miscarriage. The bottom line is that it only diagnoses, it doesn't cure/prevent anything. It's your baby-your decision! If anyone questions your decision, just let them know that you will love the baby regardless and don't want to put them at risk with testing.

sideboth · December 2014

The Panorama is able to accurately test within 99% for many diagnoses and it carries 0 risk unless you are scared of needles and think you would faint. Again your choice, just correcting some misinformation. Prenatal testing has made leaps and bounds in the last couple of years and women have more non invasive choices.

delujm0 · December 2014

katedecanto said:
My husband and I decided to skip it also as there would be no way we would ever terminate. Our midwife agreed, because the blood tests aren't always correct and amnio/CVS also carries an increased risk of miscarriage. The bottom line is that it only diagnoses, it doesn't cure/prevent anything. It's your baby-your decision! If anyone questions your decision, just let them know that you will love the baby regardless and don't want to put them at risk with testing.

Saying you skipped it because you would never terminate implies that the people that have this done do so because termination is an option. That's not necessarily the case.

In my case we did the basic testing (NT scan and sequential blood screen) because if something was wrong we wanted to be prepared. If the baby had something that would require immediate medical attention at birth, we want to be sure to talk to relevant specialists at the hospital to make sure they would be prepared to handle it. If the baby would be special needs, we would get a head start on researching care and therapy options. If the baby had something that would cause late stage miscarriage or still birth/death shortly after birth, we wanted to know that and not be surprised when it happened.

Even if you wouldn't terminate there are still very good reasons to have at least basic testing done.

silentdormancy · December 2014

What delujm0 said^. This is why I had non invasive testing done. I just had an NT scan and the basic prenatal blood panel. I wouldn't get an amnio since the risk would outweigh the benefit in my case but I sought answers to be prepared not because I'd terminate if something were wrong. I wouldn't want to find out my baby had something wrong that I could've known about before hand and have a million questions while still having to recover from childbirth.

wtbratcher · December 2014

They will be able to more accurately diagnose any abnormalities at the time of your second trimester ultrasound. These tests are far from 100% and cause unnecessary stress in the fragile first trimester; then, a risk of miscarriage if they were to do an amino. Just seems like a lot of risk to know a diagnosis a few weeks early. For these reasons and the fact that we will not terminate no matter what, we passed. It is totally up to you and there are many reasons women choose to do it. The right answer, for you, is the one you choose.

kimmarie1105 · December 2014

wtbratcher said:
They will be able to more accurately diagnose any abnormalities at the time of your second trimester ultrasound. These tests are far from 100% and cause unnecessary stress in the fragile first trimester; then, a risk of miscarriage if they were to do an amino. Just seems like a lot of risk to know a diagnosis a few weeks early. For these reasons and the fact that we will not terminate no matter what, we passed. It is totally up to you and there are many reasons women choose to do it. The right answer, for you, is the one you choose.

Ugh, there are so many things that could be diagnosed that are much much more serious than the typical Down syndrome that many people automatically think of. Before you say you wouldn't terminate "no matter what" put yourself in the shoes of someone who has no other option. If the condition of your unborn baby puts you at risk and is causing stress on the baby and the end result is a non viable pregnancy, you really wouldn't be left with much of a choice. Also, choosing to remain ignorant rather than educate yourself, God forbid your child has a serious disorder, is not very admirable.

missjenniebean · December 2014

We are opting out. Figured might as well not stress ourselves out and will deal with any worries/complications when our child arrives.

lalamomma · December 2014

As someone who has benefited from these tests in a prior pregnancy I politely want to state my experience and what I share with my family and friends.

During my pregnancy with DD my bloodwork came back with an elevated risk to neural tube defects.
Things like spinabifida have options for treatment inutero which from my understanding can be more successful than waiting until after birth and sometimes a vaginal birth holds higher risk for those babies.
In our case our daughter had a cleft lip and we were so thankful for the opportunity to prepare and look at the best options for her!
In the end as long as you do the research you really don't hve to tell anyone what you do or what choices you make. That helps

Katerina&Baby · December 2014

I had the basic testing done (NT scan and bloodwork). Completely noninvasive. I don't see any real downside to having more information rather than less. Not only do you get to mentally and emotionally prepare if something is off but it may affect the care you receive (doctors can be prepped to deal with whatever the issue is immediately after delivery if necessary). To each their own but that was my reasoning.

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