How many of you opt out of ALL the prenatal screening?

[seattleview]

I am 35 years old and opting out of ALL the screening tests. I would never terminate based on their results, so I figure why put my body and mind through this additional stress. Just wondering if many other mothers-to-be who are 35+ opt out?

[Super_sally888]

I was 38 when I got pregnant with my now 17 mo daughter.  I didnt' have anything done except the 18 week ultrasound.  They didn't even calculate odds or anything, just told me the baby looked fine. I'd never do amnio, and i've never terminate. But that's my personal only.

Trying for number 2 now and I'll be 40 in another few months.  Same approach. Minimal intervention.

[mum2beagain]

With my first I had the bloods done, everything was normal and my pregnancy was fine. I went on to deliver 8 weeks early, my baby had complications due to his prematurity, he developed hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy because of the damage to his brain and was diagnosed autistic when he was 4. No test in the world could have predicted his disabilities and I wouldn't change him for the world.
With my second I chose not to have any bloods screening done, I had had two miscarriages and knew that if the bloods had shown high risk I wouldn't have had an amnio because of the miscarriage risk. I already had one disabled child I knew the birth of another would be something I could deal with if I had to. But did have several ultrasounds more than normal as my midwife wanted me monitored carefully during the last 1/2 of my pregnancy due to my previous early delivery and complications. That baby was delivered fine and healthy at 37 weeks.
I am now 35 years old and we hope to have 1 more child, I think this time round as I would be in the higher risk age group we would go for the bloods and then decide from there what to do next. I would not terminate a pregnancy because a child would have disabilities but it would be good to be prepared if that was what was in store for us this time.

[seattleview]

I totally hear you and agree 100%. That's ANOTHER reason I really don't want to do any of it. I just hope I don't regret it.

[seattleview]

Well, as you know, I just *feel* like it's a boy, so it's like I already know. :)  I know, I know, people think they know all the time and then they end up being wrong. Oh, well.

[trh0819]

I really want to wait and not find out but my DH doesn't think I'll be able to stand not knowing. I may very well be the most impatient person ever. I keep telling myself I want to wait and hope I'll be able to once I'm faced with the option of knowing.

[adgal]

Not to try to impose my beliefs on you at all, because as I said I 100% respect any and all decisions people make on this issue.  But, personally, if I was not prepared to do amnio, I most definately would have skipped the first trimester screen.  All that first trimester screen does is give you odds.  And it can scare you half to death, most of the time for no reason at all.  So, in my opinion, if you don't want to do an amnio, I think you are wise to skip that screen.  Just my two cents.  

[seattleview]

It's so nice to hear from someone else not doing any testing! Yes, I will do the 18-20 week ultrasound, too, but I don't think I even want to find out the gender (my husband definitely wants it to be a surprise). A friend told me not knowing if she was having a boy or girl helped her get through labor because she had a surprise to look forward to at the end. I love that perspective!

[38_pregnant_az]

I appreciate how you feel.

Though I worry "is everything ok?" I chose not to have any tests aside from ultrasound done. It wasnt an easy decision to make. Having a supportive partner helped a lot. I ultimately decided the potential benefit to me/my partner did not outweigh the risks to the child, however small. I also felt it would stress me unduly. I knew I could never choose to end the baby's life. So I made the choice to have faith, hope and pray for the best and wait it out. I discussed the decision with my doctor. He was cheerfully supportive. He reminded me that ultrasound would rule out many problems and put my mind at ease.

I've had several ultrasounds. My child is a girl, due in September. She's doing very well. I'm happy with the decision I made.

Good luck to you. Trust your intuition. Your love for your baby will guide your decision making. And congrats! How fun to be pregnant yea!

[oceanv]

you really can't win either way :)

it was much easier 40 years ago when my mom had me, they got pregnant found out probably month 2, didn't know the sex or anything about the baby and delivered.......

basically pregnancy is stressful no matter what we do

good luck with whatever you choose.

my girlriend - same age as me did the quad (kind of) and was given a result of 1:3000 she wasn't stressed about anything so there is hope for results from the quad that don't stress you out.  i just find that on this board, a large percentage of posters are first posting because of their quad / triple screen / nuchal results.....

[seattleview]

The lack of definitive answers available with the screening is also a big part of the reason I don't want to do it. And I think I would be way too scared to take the risk of amnio or CVS so I think any worry that would be caused by the pre-screening would just be too much for me to handle.

[seattleview]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I will tell my husband what you said and see what he thinks. I would still prefer not to do any of the screening, but I want him to be fully informed so he can have educated input into the decision.

[adgal]

I have no regrets in terms of the decision I made and would (and probably will if I am lucky enough) make the same one.  Ocean is correct...none of the other tests are accurate the way amnio or cvs are.  

[oceanv]

i think that it's a personal choice, we had the screening which didn't give us too bad odds, 1:400 for downs (my age was 39) couldn't have an amnio (medical rules here) but at the actual birth while i was recovering from c-section the ped indicated that my dd might have downs because of her squished nose. we got a taste of how being given the news at the birth might feel and my husband said if there was going to be a problem with the child he would prefer to know before hand not discover it for the first time at the birth, there's just too much going on.

i don't think the quad screens and ultrasounds are the answer, they may as well just give a person an amnio or cvs and be done with it, i think the screens are almost useless and create worry. i know there's risk associated with the amnio / cvs but at least they're relatively definitive for some things

[pertykitty]

i posted but its gone now or i didnt hit the send button lol.

i have a different take on things.  i knew i wouldnt terminate, but i had an u/s that showed a thick nuchal fold, along with bloodwork my chances of a baby with down syndrome was very high, 1:3.   i knew i couldnt stand the next several months worrying, as there are also health conditions that go along with ds .  i had an amnio and after finding out my dd did have down syndrome we were able to do an echo of her heart to discover she had a defect.  holes that would require surgery to repair.  for myself it was a choice to comfort myself, to prepare and then to grieve before the baby came.

until you have been told there is a problem, you cant imagine how it feels.  there is a grieving you go through when you hear.  not one person can say they dont exp it.  for me and my family we got the chance to do that before and then get excited about her arrival.  she was taken to the nicu and i think if i hadnt known and had my baby taken from me ,like that it would have been harder.  

im not telling you or anyone what to do, i just thought id add a perspective from a mom that has been there.  you will love your baby no matter what, i love my daughter more than i can every describe.  we were able to have the proper precautions for her birth with having the neonatal team ready and waiting for her to arrive.  that made me feel better as well knowing her heart condition.  best of luck to you and your choice.  whatever you choose is the right one for you and your family.  congrats !!

[rhondaspruce]

I am 35 and the most I went for was a Level II sonogram. And thats just because I wanted a better view of my lil peanut. Good thing, At a 17 week sonogram they told me it was a boy and at the level II (22 weeks) we discovered it was a girl. LOL

[jenkaye21]

I am not 35+, but I have 4 babies and have opted out of the quad-screen test each time.  I would never terminate, and I feel like the worry over (possibly) nothing far outweighs the benefits of knowing ahead of time if there is an issue.  

[KarenDiane]

I'm 35 and chose not to have any tests. I just don't care if the baby has problems. I could never bring myself to terminate so I didn't even consider getting the tests.

[adgal]

It's a big decision, no question. Everyone needs to do what is best for them.  I completely understand why you feel the way you do.  I have seen women here do testing (amnio) and choose to terminate.  I have seen women do amnio, their baby has a chromosonal issue and have the baby.  And I have seen women refuse testing altogether (my co-cl PamelaBee was 45 when her little girl was born, and opted out of all of it for exactly the same reasons you are comtemplating.)  You have to do what is best for you, and no one should try to influence you one way or the other. At the end of the day, you went through a lot to have this baby, and it will be loved.  I truly wish you well in your decision!!

[seattleview]

I completely understand and appreciate what you're saying. Maybe part of me is just a chicken who doesn't want to know anything bad until I absolutely have to. I think another part of it is that I feel like my body and mind have already been through so much having done IVF that I'd just like as much of the rest of this experience to be as "natural" as possible.

[trh0819]

We have been talking about testing. Initially we did all of the required blood work but did not do any genetic testing. We are still undecided about amnio and such. DH is totally against it at this point. I'm like adgal in that I like to be prepared and think I'd want to know. DH makes a strong case, however, so we'll see.

[adgal]

This is one of those very personal decisions and I completely understand where you are coming from.  For me personally, (I am 41), when I was pregnant with my son last year I did have the testing.  My first trimester screen showed 1:13 for DS, so I opted for amnio.  I also would not have terminated, but I did want to know. I am one of those that prefers to be prepared.  The risk factor associated with the amnio was extremely low with the Dr. I was doing it with...his stats were something like 1:1600.  If my baby had in fact had DS, I wanted to be prepared.  I am now trying to conceive again, and I will take the same course of action.  I would have worried more without having it.  Had he had DS, I would have accepted it, dealt with it and still been able to enjoy.  Not knowing was the worst possible thing for me.  Choosing testing does not necessarily mean people will terminate.  That being said, I always respect everyone's decision as this is a very personal issue.

[seattleview]

That's an interesting take on it. I wish we could all just go through our pregnancies blissfully ignorant...I guess I'm hoping opting out of the screening will allow me to kind of do that to some extent. I was worried my husband was going to want ALL the available tests, and I would have done them if he REALLY wanted us to, but fortunately he seems okay skipping them.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

I'm not 35+ but I let them run the intial screening blood tests.  I would never terminate based on the results nor would I opt for an amnio or CVS or anything more invasive than a level 2 ultrasound.  I do however let them do the screening so that my doctor has the information he needs in order to best monitor my pregnancy.