First Trimester Screening advice

[Tara2009]

Hello all,

I am posting in the December 2009 mommies group. Io just had my first trimester screening. The ultrasound showed very normal Nuchal Translucency and Nasal Bone measurements. But after my blood test results came out, the risk increased to 1:50 for downs syndrome. The doctors and pernatologists are recommending amniocentesis test. I really don't want to take this test because of the risk of miscarriage. Did anybody have a risk closer to 1:50? Should I worry? Please advice.

Thanks,
Tara

[CT_Michele]

I did not have high risk myself, but I have seen many people on these boards with normal nuchal u/s, but blood test results came out showing an even higher risk for downs than you. And probably 90% of the time, whether they chose to do the amnio or not, they went on to deliver healthy babies.

[lyly14]

Tara- I went through a very similar situation. My NT scan was normal and my first set of blood work did not put me at higher risk. However, when I had the second set of bloodwork done they told me I had a 1 in 37 chance of having a baby with downs. Of course they recommended amnio, but I was also told that this was a less than 3% chance the baby has downs. I elected not to do them amnio because of the risk of miscarriage and have often questioned whether or not I made the right decision. I will be delivering very soon and still do not know whether or not my baby boy will have any genetic abnormalities and I am praying that the 97% chance he does not wins out. It was a very difficult decision to have the amnio or not and to be honest I had the appt scheduled to have it done and cancelled last minute. I can honestly not tell you the outcome yet but I just wanted you to know there are so many of us out there facing the same thing as you and it is a very personal decision. Would knowing the outcome make a difference to you? If you plan to keep the baby or not? Just know there are people out here that understand what you are going through. I wish you the best and I am here to talk if you need to.

[summerbaby]

Hi Tara,

I am from the October board. Like so many others have said, it is really a very personal decision as to whether to proceed with the amnio or not. Would the outcome make a difference to you? Would you feel better knowing whether if your child has downs or not, so you can better prepare yourself for his/her arrival?

Unlike most, I didn't have any prenatal testing and only had an amnio. For the very reason that the prenatal testing just gives a risk assessment and not a concrete result, like you get from the amnio. The risk of miscarriage with an amnio is incredibly low (especially if done in week 17 or 18, according to my doctor), and lower than the CVS test that is also sometimes recommended.

The anticipation of the test is so much worse than the test itself, which after going through IVF, is almost like getting another shot, with a bit of pressure when the doctor removes the fluid. It takes about 15 minutes in total. Thirty minutes after the test, the doctor did an ultrasound and the baby was fine. The next day, my ob/gyn did a follow-up ultrasound to check the healing of the puncture point (which should seal itself within 8 hours after the test) and check on the baby. All was fine, no bruising, no blood. I then had to take it easy for 5 days -- no lifting, no exercising - just relaxing to make sure everything healed nicely. When I went for my regular appointment last week, all was healed and everything was fine.

We are waiting for the results, which we should get this week.

I'm not advocating amnio one way or the other, but having the test did give me, personally, peace of mind.

The decision in the end is yours and yours alone. I wish you all the best. If you have any other questions, feel free to write to me.

xx summer

[jennywit]

Tara, I too had a normal nt scan but the bloodwork came back and showed a risk of 1 in 49 for my little boy to have downs-I was 35 at the time-Long story short-I opted for the cvs which I Didn't know at the time had a higher risk than amnio-Thank God all went well with the procedure-I have a perfect little 9 week old boy now-I swear those damn screeenings are just there to scare the heck out of all of us-I was so sick waiting for the results and thinking the worst and my boy is PERFECT-So whatever you decide DON'T read too much into the screenings-they really dont tell you anything. Good Luck!!! Jennifer

[Tara2009]

Ladies,

A BIG THANKS to all of you for your inputs and supporting words. I feel a lot better after reading about your experiences.

I have decided not to take the amnio test and be prepared to accept however my baby is.

Thanks again for helping me make a decision.

Tara.

[riogirl71]

Are you going to do the level II ultrasound and blood tests?
I had the same thing happen, normal NT measurements but blood gave me bad odds, I cried and was so upset. Then went for 2nd trimester bloodwork and level II u/s and my odds went from 1 in 105 to 1 in 750!!! So don't stress out, blood tests are wrong very often, plus it is a small %, 1 in 50 is 2% to put things in perspective. I had an amnio scheduled but I canceled. Plenty of amnios go fine but I personally was only doing an amnio if the second set of tests were bad. I have a perfect 8 month old!!!! good luck