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Down Syndrome testing ?
so i'm almost 12 weeks and have an appointment tomorrow, & i need to make up my mind if i want to do the genetic testing or not. but i have no idea! if it comes back good i'll be able to relax the rest of the pregnancy but if it comes back bad i would worry the whole time. & if they told me for sure or that it was likely my baby has down syndrome, i would have to think seriously about abortion because i dont think thats even a quality life for a person.. :'( i just want a healthy baby! any advice pleaseee?
On her bowel, it's called "echogenic bowel"...scared the heck out of me, it's a possible sign of downs and cystic fibrosis, which to me is a lot worse for quality of life, and they sent me to a high-risk OB for a rescan. The marker was completely gone, so either she just swallowed some blood or it was just an error in the scanning capabilities of the first machine. The OB said some markers are very "machine-dependent."
I did the bloodwork only AFTER the ultrasound came back with a single possible marker for downs syndrome (or other possible issues). I refused it because of the high false positive rate, but the bloodwork came back negative which was strangely reassuring as a counter to the ultrasound. Then a few weeks later the little marker they found on her was completely gone...just letting you know that there really is no 100% definite way to know if your child has downs, and sometimes the percentages and ultrasounds they give you can just worry you for no reason. Whether you go full-tilt with an amnio or just wait and see via ultrasounds like me and then make your decisions, no test can tell you definitively. In my case no matter what came back this kid was here to stay, and I'd love her like crazy, but if the tests matter and will determine a different choice I would say do them, just realize that no test is 100%.
U can't go on what the first blood test says as your only source of input to whether you'd abort or not, the blood work gives u your odds, if they are high, u can do an ultrasound to see any other complications & diagnosis, an amniosentisis (sp?) can be done if the ultrasound isn't favourable. My twins had turner syndrome, tumours, dwarfism amount other things, all seen by US. I lost them at 5 months, but deff, their quality of life would have been horrendous! Constant surgeries, so given the option there I may have considered to abort if I had known. I feel it would have been kinder. But to each their own, do what's best for you and your baby, I am sure that u wont have to make any hard decisions.
By the time the test comes back its to late to abort anyways. I wanted the test just in case my baby did have downs then I could prepare myself and learn more on how to take care of a special needs child.
I had the bloodwork done also at 12 weeeks, regaurdless of what any test results say, im going to love my baby unconditionally. It doesnt hurt to get them done, so you can prepare yourself for after the babys born should anything come back positive. But like the other ladies said, if your choosing to abort with poor results, you might wasnt them done. But you can also talk to your doctor to get a better understanding of these tests. and ehat the results actually mean.
I did the one at 12 wks and the blood work that followed and it came back positive. But saying that there are different levels as well. The measurement but me at 1 in 2420. but Combined with my blood work it changed to 1 in 810. So we opted not to do further testing. Dr told me that for my age (31) my chances to start with were 1 in 450 so I was still lower then that. Then he told me I have a better chance of getting into an accident on the way home. Lots of people get a higer risk assestment from the tests but it doesn't always mean your baby will actually have downs.
I didn't do it I'm going to love my child regardless I don't need a test to tell me nothen
My doctor told me that the accuracy on the test is 60% and in most cases it comes out like a false positive. So if you do it there might be a big chance you test a false positive, and if you do you might be having an abortion with not really knowing if he had down syndrome.
Just one thing to point out, the nuchal translucensy testing (ultrasound measurements combined with bloodwork) are only a screening tool used to determine your odds of developing downs or a couple other genetically related disorders. It is in no way a yes/no positive/negative type of test. It will give you a percent chance that your baby "could" have an inherited disorder. I opted to do the testing more because after having a missed miscarriage the year before, it gave us a good reassuring opportunity to have a peek via ultrasound at 12 weeks instead of waiting until the 18-20 week anatomy ultrasound. In the end, it is a personal decision. I was happy and reassured to have an opportunity for the ultrasound at 12 weeks. Just keep in mind it is not a definative test, and if you were to come back with a higher chance of an inherited disorder, it is still only one chance out of many, so odds are still in your favor for a healthy child.
Just one thing to point out, the nuchal translucensy testing (ultrasound measurements combined with bloodwork) are only a screening tool used to determine your odds of developing downs or a couple other genetically related disorders. It is in no way a yes/no positive/negative type of test. It will give you a percent chance that your baby "could" have an inherited disorder. I opted to do the testing more because after having a missed miscarriage the year before, it gave us a good reassuring opportunity to have a peek via ultrasound at 12 weeks instead of waiting until the 18-20 week anatomy ultrasound. In the end, it is a personal decision. I was happy and reassured to have an opportunity for the ultrasound at 12 weeks. Just keep in mind it is not a definative test, and if you were to come back with a higher chance of an inherited disorder, it is still only one chance out of many, so odds are still in your favor for a healthy child.
I did the test at 16 weeks
Just the basic one and it came out normal
Then I did the level 2 ultrasound and they found calcium deposit on the baby's heart
Yesterday I went to the genetic place
To talk to the counselor and to do another ultrasound...
I decline the echo guide for amniocent
I'm not letting them put no needles in my belly
My baby looks fine on the ultrasound there are no other signs of DS
And theirs a chance of miscarrying when you do that test
I even ask them for pictures
I'm not stress because no matter what happens I'm gonna love my baby
You should do the blood test cuz there are still gonna send you to do an ultrasound
I agree...if you would consider abortion...def get them done...i got them all done just because my drs suggested them because im old so my risk is much higher...i didnt really put much thought into what would have happened if they came back pos...your obviously going to stress and wonder if you dont...so might as well!!
I agree with lilbit_17, if you think you would take action if the tests came back with poor results then deff get them done. I had mine done and mine came back very good to have a healthy baby so it does put your mind at ease :-) I would suggest that u consider carefully what u would feel/do if u receive bad results so that u are prepared. Good luck!
I declined with all three of mine because either way we will be keeping the baby. Plus, if we found out there were actual problems I would've been worried and stressing even more throughout the pregnancy. I just didnt wanna put that additional stress on me or the baby. Good luck!
Well if you think you would abort do the testing. I declined all the tests because I would keep my baby no matter what. Also keep in mind that some of the tests could say that something is wrong when in reality the baby is perfectly healthy. Just be prepared to go in for more vigorous testing if that's the case.
i did mine also when i was 12 weeks, must likley ur baby is okay, i would not worry about the test too much. look at it this way , this is ur baby, who cares about those stupid test, , some times those test are wrong and the dr will say now u have to do amnio test that is one step up kind of testing, , if i were u i would do it but if they come back and say something negative about it i would not worry about it , because 99% of times they are wrong. a lot of people will get a bad result ending up with healthy baby. belive me those dr are going to find something to make u worry all the way to the end of pregnancy. try to relax , best of luck , have happy healthy pregnancy :)
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