age appropriate testing during pregnancy

[tricia448]

hi everyone,
i usually post and answer questions on the fertility board...but since i found out i was pregnant i thought i would move over to the pregnancy board. today i am considered 5 weeks and 1 day pregnant. i am 34 years old and will be a month or so away from age 35 when i give birth. so my question is....because of my age...what tests or screening should i expect? am i considered a higher risk...for my age? any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[tricia448]

thanks!

[melimeli]

amnio tests for everything.. cvs also  but is kinds risky...  AFP is a blood test that tests for spina bifida and downs and some other things... good luck...

[tricia448]

hi everyone,
thanks so much for getting back to me...the only tests i have a few years ago are the;

10-14 week test for downs..it was an ultra sound and blood test.. (i guess the appropriate name is nuchal translucency scan with the blood test)

then i had bloodwork for the pregnancy anemia..and gest. diabetes...

luckily the only thing that was positive was the anemia...all i had to do was take an iron pill.

what is ..AFP, amino, and CVS???? and what do they test specifically for?

thanks again....

[melimeli]

I am 34 and will turn 35 1 month before birth.. I was offered everything... amnio cvs all of it... I decided on nuchal translucency scan with the blood test  since that is non invasive and is 98% accurate for downs and tri 18... my risk went from 1 in 306 to 1 in 6101 so it gave me a lot of peace of mind and another chance to see my baby by ultrasound...  I didn't want to do anything else without reason so that is all I decided on doing... good luck

[Tanker Chic]

I'm 36 and have had the Nuchal and AFP.  Amnio or CVS (I think that is the write acronym) was offered, but I didn't feel a need for it, so I passed.  

I wouldn't do the AFP alone. There are too many false positives.  

Best of luck

[tahariel]

By the way, Congratulations on your pregnancy!!!

[tahariel]

I think it might depend on your ob/gyn office. Some do more tests, others offer the same unless your pregnancy is high risk. However, age itself doesn't usually make you high risk, although your test results might be looked at a little more closely.

I just turned 36 and have had the same testings offered that I did before turning 35. My doctor's office no longer does the Triple Screen testing because of the higher rate of false results. They changed to the B.E.S.T. testing, which is supposedly more accurate. Also, the Nuchal Translucency test, which is a newer test. And the cystic fibrosis testing. The tests are offered and explained, however I think they are your option to do or decline, except the basic blood labs which will show any iron deficiencies, etc. Good luck!

[kellym]

I am 34 also and will be 35 1 month after the birth. I was only given the option of the AFP testing which is done around 16 weeks. You may get offered the Nuchal fold testing but I think everything else starts at 35.