No genetic testing?

eboyd83 · February 2016

im curious because I freel I'm the odd one out on this one. Does anyone opt out of and of the genetic testing?

tinypikachu · February 2016

DH and I decided against it. For me, insurance wouldn't cover it but we discussed paying out of pocket and decided we really wouldn't benefit all that much from having it done. We even decided to opt out of the quad screen. My doctor told us I am low risk and young and healthy and said he really didn't see it necessary. I can understand the benefits and why other moms choose to do it, I guess it's just not for us this time around.

vampirina · February 2016

DH and I decided against it as well.

homebird · February 2016

We aren't getting any testing on the baby. The only thing we tested was my husband's blood because I am a carrier for CF, but we had that done with the first pregnancy and obviously don't need to repeat it.

ajn092 · February 2016

We still have time so we may change our minds but the traditional testing isn't covered by insurance so we're skipping due to low risk. NIPT we may end up doing but my primary hesitation is the reportedly high rate of false positives. I'd hate to have an unnecessary scare and/or additional testing.

camichael84 · February 2016

We opted out with our first and this one as well. We're low risk, we wouldn't terminate, and I don't want to go through the emotional drain if there was a false scare.

COmama87 · February 2016

We opted out with our DS and with this LO. Heck, we didn't do a dating U/S and I won't have my 1st U/S until the anatomy scan at 20wks bc my cycle has always been like clockwork (for either pregnancy).

Eta: I'm also considered low risk so my doctor said there was no need for unnecessary testing.

Knottie1456280733 · February 2016

We opt out of genetic testing as well. I have the same reasons as @camichael84

eboyd83 · February 2016

Yea my dr didn't say I have to and is comfortable with us opting out. We wouldn't terminate. Just seems like most people don't so I was wondering

Sporty1216 · February 2016

We opt out too--same reasoning as @camichael84

618mom22boys · February 2016

We opted for it because I will be 35 at delivery and my ins. covers it 100%. But regarding the termination comment I don't think most of us would terminate if something was wrong. Having had a child born with an illness I would rather be prepared than not.

camichael84 · February 2016

@618mom22boys It's not always illnesses. Sometimes genetic testing comes back with issues incompatible to life, and in those cases some women make the choice to terminate. My comment was not meant to offend or judge. It was just one of the reasons we are not doing testing.

Cassandraspregnacy2 · February 2016

We did genetic testing today.
Both my husband and have genetic medical challenges.
And our 1st LO was born with all of them and has had to have 8 surgeries so far.

We would never terminate, but we only want to be prepared. We also know that the baby may need urgent medical care at birth so the Drs also want to be prepared.

Obviously the baby may not inherit as its 80% chance but it's good to know and be educated as well as prepared.

tinypikachu · February 2016

@618mom22boys@camichael84 a lot of people do decide to terminate and that's their choice, I wouldn't but I don't judge them. I don't think that most people that do genetic testing do it because they would terminate but to be prepared. I said in my post that I understand why moms choose to do it; for example, a lot of those tests check for conditions that could end baby's life before birth or shortly after, so it is a good thing to be prepared for something like that.

camichael84 · February 2016

@AlwaysAuntNeverMom I also never said, nor implied, that people choose to do it because they would terminate. I also understand why women do it, particularly if they know they are high risk. I'm not high risk, which is another reason I decided against it.

berh2001 · February 2016

camichael84 said:

We opted out with our first and this one as well. We're low risk, we wouldn't terminate, and I don't want to go through the emotional drain if there was a false scare.

This....exactly why I'm opting out this time. The initial test scared me for no reason, the "deeper" test was like 1 in 25000 chance. I wouldn't terminate regardless so not worth the stress.

KarenBeth714 · February 2016

Maybe if you did a blood genetic screening for both parents ( most likely covered by insurance) you can see if there is a need to do testing. If you're not carriers for the same disease, not a strong need for testing. However, in my personal experience when we got screened we found we were both carriers for an extremely rare genetic disease - it could really happen to anyone. We never even heard of the disease and no one in either of our families have it.

chavezrd2 · February 2016

camichael84 said:

We opted out with our first and this one as well. We're low risk, we wouldn't terminate, and I don't want to go through the emotional drain if there was a false scare.

Same here I've got anxiety issues already and any risk would drive me over the edge. Opted out

crispy11 · February 2016

We keep increasing our prenatal testing with each pregnancy. I'm still young. My ages at conception were 22, 24 and 27. For my first we did nothing thinking we wouldn't terminate. For my second we did the quad screening thinking that it would be nice to be prepared. For my third, we just had a NIPT blood work drawn last week because my OB suggested that is the new standard of care for prenatal testing regardless of maternal age.

frogdog06 · February 2016

We were just going along with everything that was offered to us, and ended up getting an NT scan which resulted in a 3.7mm (at risk). As @camichael84 says, we are super worried, have paused on any announcements, and are kind of in limbo. The genetic counselor basically advocated a slew of tests, but the numbers are in our favor, we are low risk, and very healthy with no family history of issues. Therefore, we will just wait on the NIPT results. Thankfully, our OB agreed.
After that, proving that everything is normal, we will proceed as such.

Pregnancy counselor and husband brought up an excellent point:
Genetic counselors have biased colored lenses - they typically just see couples when risks arise whereas the OB sees all couples.

In hindsight, we shouldn't have done the screening and do not feel it necessary for any subsequent children.

eboyd83 · February 2016

Thanks for your replies everyone. I get so much anxiety. With pregnancy and babies it's hard to know if you are doing the right thing. Thank God I have my husband to make half the decision lol. I totally over analyze. I red somewhere pregnancy is a gamble not a guarantee. So true.

No genetic testing?

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