Hi ladies,
I would like to get an advice from you. i am 9 weeks pregnant with my second baby and i need to decide on the 1st trimester screening. When i talk to my OBGN she told me that the best one is integrated screening/combination of 1st trimester screening and Quad screening/, but has the highest detection rate at 95% for Down syndrome. This test need to be performed my perinotologist at 12 weeks gestation.Do you know what the price on that one is and what do you think, which is the best.
Thank you
Thank you so much for all the wonderful input you gave me ladies.I made my appointment with the perinatologist, but still not sure to do it or not.I still have 2 more weeks to decide. But your answers and opinions were for sure very valuable to me.
Thank you
I did initial blood test and first ultrasound. I refused all other tests and put my faith to the test by trusting God. It is up to you. You can go through the screening and things will be fine but what if they aren't? What would you ultimately do?
I also did the regular blood tests, but refuse the screenings. In my eyes, having the screening leaves you with minimal options...Everything comes back normal, great!! Anything "abnormal" comes back...Do you abort because of that, or continue your pregnancy, possibly stressing the whole time?? I never did the screenings for that reason. The baby is my baby, regardless of any possible birth defects, so why bother. I'm one who wouldn't be able to abort because of it, so really what's the point?? Stressing out through an entire pregnancy is no good for you or baby either.
Just my opinion.
I do the regular tests (I think they just test me for stuff), but I don't do screening beyond that. I refuse the tests you are talking about. I've heard of women having abortions due to results from those tests, only to find out the baby was actually healthy.
For me, it will make no difference. If baby has Downs or any other syndrome it wouldn't change anything for me (which my oldest has a rare genetic disorder that causes bone marrow failure & cancers, so I can say I know for sure it makes no difference to me...and I have a 1 in 4 chance of having another with it...still won't tempt me to take the tests). I refuse doing amnios as well. The risk of miscarriage is 1 in 200. I know two women (possibly more) who have lost babies to this.
Point being, I guess you should think about what you would do with those results. I know it's nice to know in advance, but if you'll keep the baby no matter what, then there's no harm in waiting until birth.
I don't mean to be telling you something you're not asking for! Just offering my experience in case it helps at all. Choose what feels right for you...and sorry that I can't give more specifics on the test. I'd probably follow the dr's advice about which one to do if you're wanting to do one.
My testing was covered by insurance so I don't know anything about costs. Your perinatologist or genetic counselor should be able to let you know what the most accurate testing is given your age and any family or other risk factors. If you are at higher risk for some defects (age over 40, some others), then negative screening may not be adequate. I had an amniocentesis since I knew I would abort if there were any abnormalities found. Much depends on what you will do with this information.
I just had my second. This pregnancy I was 35 so considered on the high risk side.
I questioned whether or not I wanted to do the early early screening. My OB asked me if the early early screening came out positive for Down Syndrome would I want to terminate my pregnancy. My husband and I told her no. It would not change how we felt about our unborn child.
She said then there was no need to do the early early screening and just to stick with the normal screening at 16 to 18 weeks.
Everything was fine. I did have a girlfriend who did the early early screening and she did find out that her baby was going to be Downs. She did not terminate. She proceeded with the appropriate doctors and her child is beautiful.
our insurance did not approve this screening so we skipped it all together. i told him it did not really matter if our baby had down syndrome or not or if we found out now or later. either way it was our baby. that being said you should talk to your ob about it. often there is a discount if you pay in full. you might also want to check around and ask others (if they will give you this information) what they charge. good luck and congrats on baby number two.
I just had my second child and I am 37. We also skipped this screening. I would definitely talk to your OB's office and have them verify if the tests are covered by your insurance and if not what the cost is. If it is not covered by insurance they may be able to offer you a pompt pay discount or payment plan if it is expensive. Good luck!
and just an FYI everything with my baby turned out healthy!
I think the 1st trimester screening was covered by my insurance, so I can't help you on the cost. I did the blood test/ultrasound nuchal skin fold one during the first trimester because it does have the higher accuracy/detection rate. I did not do the quad screening.
For me, it wasn't about whether or not I would keep the baby, it was about knowing the odds and being prepared. I'm a bit of a control freak, so I would want to prepare myself in advance if there was a very real possibility of having a baby with Down's/Trisomy-21/Trisomy-18).
