First Trimester Screening for down Syndrome

I'm so glad you researched the risks of the amnios! The percent and risk of spontaneous abortion is too high imo to take if it were me. But if you feel comfortable with those odds and really want to know (which I do understand) then go for it. This is why I rejected all testing, I could never make such decisions. I'm really sorry you have to decide this and now have to go through the rest of the pregnancy wondering all the "ifs" if you don't get the amnio. Just remember that even though it literally feels like forever that you'll be pregnant, it really does go by fast. I really hope you can get the answers you need and that you have a wonderful pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Based on what my Perinatoloigst told me...age is no longer the key factor anymore. They used to only screen women 35+, but they have determined that the risk is still high even for those younger than 35.

Keep in mind that the numbers are just an indicator and not a guaranty. There are women who are told they have a high chance, but the baby comes out without DS.

I hope everything will work out for you. Try to take it easy and get some rest. I hope you will get some great news!

M., I am mom to a 20 yr old with Down Syndrome. I went through a similar process ( I was 33 when he was born) and my doc convinced me not to do the amnio. I'm glad I didn't because I had a great pregnancy. The truth is that more babies with DS are born to younger mothers because the # of moms having babies after 35 is lower. If your baby does have DS you will have the advantage of months of mental preparation and time to research programs, etc. My son was the BEST baby, and is now a sweet young man that is loved by many. He works part-time at Whataburger and even got a standing ovation when he walked across the stage for graduation. I don't want to minimize the challenges but he is truly a special gift! Let me know if you want to talk.

Those tests have been shown to produce false positives, which usually makes moms worry for no reason. It is completely my opinion and what I chose to do with my pregnancy, but I say cancel the amnio. If your baby does have DS, will it make any difference to you? I chose not to know, because wether he was born with it or without it, he is my baby and I will love him no matter what. And he was born 100% healthy and I didn't stress out over something the whole pregnancy that might not even be accurate. If you want to read up on DS, to see how to handle it if your baby is born with it, then go prepare yourself, but all those tests usually stress a mom out more than they help. Again, completely my opinion! Also, my aunt has down syndrome and wasn't given much of a good outlook on life when she was born(in the 1950's) and she has been self sufficient, living on her own, and employed through a group that helps find mentally disabled people jobs in their community. She has not only succeeded in life, she has flourished!She was my inspiration when I was worried about my baby boy being born with DS. She is living proof that disabilities do not have to control the direction of your life. Good luck to you and congrats on your expected arrival!

It might even be too late to respond but I had a pretty harsh experience with this situation so I thought I would share. When I was 13 weeks pregnant, after my 2nd sono, they told me they had seen a dark spot on the bottom of the baby's skull. They said it could have been 1 of 3 things, a small cyst, a sign of down syndrom or the worse case, a condition called encephalocele (where the brain protrudes through a hole in the skull) Basically those were our options and we were scared. They wanted me to get a few different tests done just to make sure it wasn't the worse case because then they would have had to do surgery as soon as the baby was born and most likely would not survive. One of those tests was the amnio but I honestly didn't want to go through that for all the horror stories. My moms friend had it done, they said it was possitive the baby did have DS. Her husband and her fought over this for months because he didn't feel they could care for the baby the way they needed to and turns out once the baby was born he had absolutly NO problems and it really showed her his true colors that he was willing to give up on their baby so easily. I just didn't want to worry myself during my pregnancy for no reason, you know? You just have to prepare yourself for anything so no matter what you can be prepared to do whatever you have to do to care for your baby. I wanted them to do one more sono before I got the test just to see if anything had changed so they did and my baby was perfectly fine! I went from believing there was a chance I might lose my baby to no worries at all. Now my baby boy is a perfectly healthy 16 mo old with a big personality! :) Also, just remember that God won't give you something you can't handle and if your baby does infact have DS, God knows that there are certain people in this world that are meant to have children with special needs, they are very special parents. God Bless you and your family!

I only read a few of the responses, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents. The question you should ask is, if your baby is DS, will that change things? If not, why risk the amnio? I have a dear friend who lost her 2nd baby 2 weeks after amnio. The risks are too high-- that is, if you will love & care for your baby no matter who or what you get. Parenthood is a gamble. Even the most perfect child can have problems as an adult. Decide if it really matters to you before you have the amnio. Good luck to you. And congrats on your pregnancy. You & your sweet child are in my prayers.

I had an amnio after seeing abnormalities on the ultrasound (I was 27). I was so worried about having it done & it turned out to be no big deal (for me!) IT was done by our perinatalist who does lots - I think I'd insist on that & not the regular ob who only does them once in a while. But, it didn't really hurt, it was quick (although it took 2 visits a few hours apart as the baby was moving too much the first time).
Getting the results allowed us to be prepared for what was coming & to change hospitals so that we had the most amount of care possible available to us.
I would do that again in a heartbeat if there was a reason. (I have had a healthy pregnancy since & did not have one done)
Feel free to message me if you want more details-good luck to you & keep thinking positively about your beautiful baby :)

I was 38 when I had my daughter. I had lots of screenings and sonograms because of my age. I came back with high risk of Downs and elected to have the amnio.

We did the amnio for 3 reasons:
1. Worry factor - I needed to know so that I could get on with enjoying my pregnancy.
2. If we found that we were going to be the parents of a special needs child... we wanted the chance to be as informed as possible when the baby was born.
3. Since there are risks for several kinds of birth defects with Downs, our OB suggested that it would be good to have the right specialists in the room when the baby was born.

D.

I had the same result with my first pregnancy. I did not do the amnio, but instead saw a specialist & had several in depth ultrasounds throughout the 2nd trimester & through those he was able to determine that the baby did not have Downs. At that time we thought it would be good to know for sure for trying to plan ahead & we were already stressed by the false positive result, but we wanted to do it in the least invasive way.
I chose not to have the first trimester ultrascreen done with my second pregnancy because it was too much stress for nothing.
Good luck & God bless

Dear M.,
My grandaughter when she was carring my greatgrandson which is gona turn 14 next mo. They told her chances were very high he would have downsydrome. She was so up set and wondered if she should have the test. I ask her or you gona do away with it if it does. Of course she said noand for got about it . He was born normal.Don't know if that will help you are not. Good luck.And God Bless.
J. G

I have an aunt who had a positive result from her amnio and the child came out completely normal -- so there are cases of false positives.

There are so many false positives on that test I wonder about it. I did amino for both my kids because of my age 37 and 38. Niether showed any genetic problems. My daughter is fine. My son is autistic but of course autism ian't genetic so that isn't something that is tested for. I do think to many vaccines too soon are a contributing factor to my son's autism. It is a personal decision about the amino so think about the risks and what you will do with the results.

I have a friend that had that same test. Her case was a 1/10 chance. She or her husband have Native American Ancestry, which causes an elongated chromosome, which is what made the test scare them. I think if you are having the baby quite worrying. I only allowed test that were "necessary" to ensure the baby's safe arrival. I think any test that can't give you a yes/ no answer will just worry you for no good reason. So, diebetes- yes or no, sonograms- can detect abnormalities- yes/ no. But, skip the extra tests.

I'm sorry to hear that you are going through the stress with your pregnancy. I had my 2nd child at age 38 and when I had a sonogram, the doctor told me that my baby had signs of DS. I had numerous sonograms until my delivery by different doctors in the hospital and only one doctor informed me that the baby seemed fine. I was so stressed my entire pregnancy and couldn't enjoy being pregnant. I elected to not have the amnio because I didn't want to have to go through the procedure. My husband and I prayed every night during the pregnancy that our baby would be fine and put our faith in God that he would take care of her. My little girl was born healthy and didn't have any medical problems. She is 6 years old now. My husband and I are so blessed to have her in our life.

M., Bless your heart. I will say a prayer for you to have the needed wisdom and peace. I never had "positive" bloodwork but I delivered my first child at age 37 and 2nd child at 40 so I understand the worry during pregnancy about having a DS baby. There are so many things to worry about when we are pregnant on top over every day stress especially having a 3.5 yr old boy : ).

My advice is for you to pray that you make the right decision for your family. I did not ever have amnio's because we went thru SO MUCH to get pregnant the first time that I wasn't going to take any chance (no matter how small) of losing that baby : ). You have the right to refuse the amnio if you are not comfortable with that and your OB should not harass you for that - mine just ordered neonatal ultrasounds for more detailed study to check for likely DS development in the womb.

My other thought was God would not bless us with a DS baby if He thought we couldn't handle it. When I "realized" that I no longer worried - I just trusted that God knew what was best for us. Blessings to you and your precious little one(s).

Did you know that by having that needle injected into your uterus your chances for miscarriage will rise greatly? I was 35 with my son and my doc asked to do this at every visit and I always said no. My ultrasound was normal. I felt fine and wouldn't risk losing my child so he could do a science project.

What did they find in your blood to make you think you might be at risk - find out.

They like to do this procedure and they get paid well for it. Don't forget being a doctor is a business too.

See if they can find other non-invasive ways to determining if you are at risk. You are quite young for it but it is not unheard of. My brother-in-law and his wife had a down baby with their first child and they were in their early twenties.

OH: If he thinks you are at risk - see if you can get the high resolution ultrasound first!!! that should help determine if the arms and fingers are too short and if the head is shaped unusually (I don't know other characteristics of a down baby).

Please do your homework on the internet first before the amniocentesis. I hope the best for you both! God bless the baby. c

M.-

I am the mother of 2, one of which has DS, he's almost 3 and the love of my life. We chose not to have any additional tests on both pregnangies, so when my son was born it was a surprise. I would not change it and honestly if I did know before hand, I would not have terminated.

I also have several friends who have hads tests (one recently with a 1/10 risk) and both are just fine.

If you decide to not have the amnio, the only suggestion I have (which is the same I had for my friends) is to deliver at a hospital that has a NICU, just in case. My son had no health issues at all - he was and is a healthy boy who happens to have DS.

I would be happy to answer any questions you have, just email me at ____@____.com

My take is, it's your decision. You know what risks and fears you can comfortably live with and that should be yoru guide. If you would feel better definitively knowing your baby has DS, then get the amnio. A lot of people make it sound like getting an amnio is akin to aborting. It's not. it's just a test albeit with some risks. There are risks in just about anything you do during pregnancy, from what you choose to eat to what activities you choose to do.

Anyhoo, I opted to go straight for the amnio because of my age. The triple screen is not really a true diagnostic test but merely calculates the odds of having a child with DS given a number of factors including your actual blood work. We opted for the test not because we planned to terminate, but because we wanted to know and prepare physically, emotionally and financially. I also knew that I would be able to enjoy my pregnancy much better with that out of the way one way or the other.

The test itself is actually easy and little pain. A big plus is that you get to spend the rest of the day (and weekend if you work it right) on bed rest more or less. Typically you meet first with a genetic counselor and then you can have the test. You can opt not to have it too if, after talking to the counselor, you decide not to. We had a level 2 sono as well which as really cool.

Whatever you decide, feel good in knowing that you made the right choice for yourself. Good luck.

M.....I didn't have any of these test because they come with dangers...and honestly it wasn't going to change anything. There was nothing that I could do to change the outcome of the test and I was going to have my babies regardless out what the test said. Best of luck

Triple screens are not very reliable. They are just a screen. If your first ultrasound was good, could you discuss with your doctor a more detailed ultrasound. I do not remember what it is called. It would be less invasive than the amnio, and then if that showed a problem you could decide to do the amnio or not. We have 5 children, one has DS. He is healthy and growing, and a blessing to all in our life.

I had one. They are not comfortable, but necessary. I went twice because the baby was not in position. The specialists know what they are doing and would not be careless with you. Just don't look at the screen and have your husband go with you. Downs can happen to anyone, and the degrees of it vary. Good Luck to you.

M.,

I also agree with many who have already commented. If your amnio comes back positive will you terminate the pregnancy? If not, then why borrow worry. My husband and I also decided not to have any downs tests. My first physician was a real jerk about it - "why would we want to raise a child we knew had problems"? blah, blah, blah. I told him we didn't believe in abortion and if God determined we were to raise a child with special needs we would deal with it. Then I found a new doctor that same day. There are MANY problems which can occur with pregnancies and "special" babies are the result. Downs is just one of many gene mutations which can occur. The false positives on the test are very high. Just being stressed out about this could have negative impacts. You need to relax and know that however your baby turns out it will be PERFECT for you. I had my fourth child at age 38 with no complications or any Downs Syndrome appearances. Age can be a factor as it does appear that the genetic mutation which occurs happens at a higher rate in women who are 40 and above. I would decline the amnio if I were you. Also, see if you can talk to other women who have used your OB/GYN and see if this is a trend. Amnios cost a bit and the doctors do get paid to do them. Not saying your OB/GYN is doing this, but there are bad apples in the barrel, unfortunately so it might be worth checking out.

I had an amnio just after I turned 35. I did it since I wanted the yes/no DS, etc. answer vs. the bloodwork that gave non 100%. There is a risk with amnio, but to minimize that risk, ask the doctor you're having it with to learn his/her %. I discovered mine had only 3 issues in his longevity. His percent was not 1/300 but like 1/1000. You have the right to ask your doctor and you should.

Hi M.,

DONT WORRY! It's VERY common to get "false posotives" with these tests. I didn't know that until after getting a posotive with my first screening like you and I remember being in tears and very stressed. I wasn't going to end the pregnancy even if the baby had DS but I still wanted to know for sure in order to prepare myself before the baby was born so I went in for the amnio and everything came out great! Baby had a 99.9% chance of NOT having DS. For me, the amnio was scary but not painful, just a little crampy and didn't take long like I was expecting. Try to stay calm and the main thing I learned from this test is to make sure I decline the offer of any future DS testing. Take care and keep us posted please!!

My friend did the same screening you did and it also showed that her child was at risk for having DS but her ultra sounds looked great. That is why I never had the tests done on anyone of my kids. You shouldn't stress over this. Just because they show your child could be born with DS doesn't he/she is going to, my friends baby was born just fine & no problems what so ever. But if you child does have it in the end, you shouldn't fret. You will be able to raise this child the best of your abilities. Keep the Lord and your family close and you will be able to get through your tough times. Love your child on matter what.

When I was 28 and pregnant with my first child, my blood work indicated that there was a chance (I don't remember the ratio but remember being surprised at how high it was) my daughter had Down Syndrome. I declined the amnio because of the risk (despite how low) of miscarriage and because we knew we wouldn't terminate the pregnancy regardless of the outcome. My daughter is almost 4 and doesn't have Down Syndrome.

Don't do the amnio... I know four people who had it and lost their healthy babies!!! That's a lot higher than 1 in 300. Your UltraSound is good let it be. Since your course of action will not change with the results, why risk your child???? I would change doctors if he is pushing for this unneeded test. Pray and God bless! He never gives us more than we can handle. Enjoy your pregnancy full of wonder and hope NOT worries!! PS You can research on DS regardless of whether you are having one or not :-).

I am 40 now, but was 36 with my first pregnancy and 38 with my my second. Because of my age, my doctor suggested that I have an amnio, so I had one with each pregnancy and everything went very smoothly. If you decide to have the amnio - please follow their instructions for after the procedure. You will need to be off of your feet for at least the rest of the day (after). The best part about the amnio (besides receiving the acurate results) is finding out the sex of your baby :) Good luck to you. I hope everything works out for the best for you and your baby.

M.,

I have three children and, because of my age (35+) it was recommended that I have an amnio with my last two children. I wrestled with that decision tremendously with the first because I would not have agreed to terminate the pregnancy regardless of the results and I was concerned about the miscarriage risk. However, I did make the decision to have the amnio because my husband and I decided that we should know if we were going to have a DS child and to be able to do the research necessary to understand DS before the baby arrived. I had the amnio during both of my last two pregnancies and there was no DS diagnosis, which did result in much peace of mind. I did not experience any discomfort or side effects from either amnio and am very glad that I chose to have them done. Now that your doctor has told you that you are at high risk for a DS child, having the amnio might be advised just to let you know what to expect. Without it, you will go through your entire pregnancy with a great amount of wondering and worry, which would not be good for either you or your baby. I will say that I do not know anybody that has had a DS child that wishes they hadn't. They're very special children. I will keep you in my prayers.

I didn't have a positive first trimester screening, but did have an amnio with my second son born on May 1st because I am 36 yrs old. The key with the amnio is to have a really great doctor that you feel really comfortable with. The prenatal specialist I went to also did the testing for my first son a few years ago. He is very laid back, but you could tell how thorough he was by the questions he asked and how he asked them. If you need his name, please PM me. The amnio actually is not as bad as you imagine it will be. It's a more detailed ultrasound then he asked me whether I still wanted the amnio or not. I didn't feel the needle, his team helped hold my son in a position that kept him out of danger, and I watched the whole thing on the screens. I had no complications or cramping. But the wait for the results was tough. It took about 3 weeks...and it was difficult to focus. My results were negative for DS, and I hope yours are, too.

As for the DS, both my OB and the prenatal specialist said that an ultrasound gives no indication of DS, because it is genetic. So, all your ultrasounds could be great and the baby still could have it. I had an ultrasound every 4 weeks because of my heart troubles and age and saw nothing. The only way to be 100% is with the amnio, which is why we had it. And since it is genetic, DS can happen to anyone at anytime. Just one of those things I guess.

Good luck to you and your family. I know I was really nervous before my amnio, but I am glad we had it. After the wait is over, it's nice to have that reassurance that everything is okay. Best wishes!

I also had a positive test for Down's. My son is 3.5 and perfectly healthy. I hate that test it is so inaccurate. I will not do it the next time I get prego. His ultrasound was great so I declined the amnio for fear of miscarriage.

I have 6mo old twins and one has Down dyndrome. The other has NO problems. Per my prenatal tests the one with no probs had a higher chance of having Downs. I am less than a month away from 40. I had my first child at 37, and she had no probs. Due to my age I had alot of tests but due to being pregnant with twins (no fertilization!) I had a sonogram every 2 weeks. At my 21wks sonogram my son was diagnosed with a heart defect. It was then that I was advised that he probably had Down syndrome because of the type of heart defect he had.
I said all of this to say that the testing can be a headache and a heartache. My OB put it to me this way, "if you are not looking to abort the baby if he has Down syndrome then the tests are not necessary." I will say that I am so thankful that I just ENJOYED my pregnancy rather than be consumed with the "what-ifs".

I have heard so many positive results on this test but perfectly normal babies. My doctor asked me if the test is positive do you plan on aborting. I told him no so he said then don't have the test. I think these tests just bring unnessary stress to the mom. I will pray for you and your unborn baby. FYI age is not a factor in having a DS baby. I know a 21 year old that had one.

I had my first child at age 19 and he was/is Down's and turns out to be the love of my life. My only point is I was 19 and no family history, I believe he was God given and I was chosen to receive him. He is now 25 and still the love of my life. When he was only 6months old I found myself pregnant again and I kinda shocked as you can imagine. I did have an amnio and got great results a beautiful, perfect daughter. When my 3rd came along only 14 months after my daughter I had no tests at all b/c to me it didn't matter. And he too was perfect. If God blesses you with a child with DS He will also give you what you need to deal with the issues that go along with it. Please don't fret over this it's not worth it. Good Luck and God Bless!

G. M.

I have had 2 friends that tested positive for DS, both had amnios, and neither baby ended up having DS. That test is very irritating...seems like it could be a little more accurate. I know it causes tons of worry. My friends had to wait 2 weeks total between the results of the testing and results of the amnio.

Good luck! :)

This is a test that I chose not to have with my 2 pregnancies. It is a very fallible test. Please, step back and take a deep breath. Have the amnio and then take things from there. Pregnancy is scary and at some point I learned to just trust the process. Take care of yourself, enjoy your baby boy and your pregnancy.
Best wishes!

Hi M.: I've had two amnio tests and am so glad I
did. I was 37 & 42 when my babies were born, so my age
was the reason for the amnio. My OB/GYN just happen to be
specialists anyway, so I was very comfortable with Dr.
Mark Bernstien doing both tests...it's a little nerve
wracking, sitting around thinking about it...don't do
that...trust me here:

THE FEAR OF THE TEST IS SO MUCH WORSE THAN THE TEST
ITSELF!

It wasn't painful and was over quickly, plus I got to
watch my sweet little babies on the screen both times. I
was fine, afterward we went for an ice cream cone, and I
went home and took a nap.

Stress and worry are very unhealthy for you and your baby.
If having the amnio will put your mind at ease, as it did
mine, then by all means, have the test. Once you know,
one way or the other, you'll be better prepared for
whatever lies ahead. If the baby has DS you'll have time
to figure out your options and what you want to do...which
will help you relax. If the baby doesn't have DS then you
can really relax and enjoy your pregnancy...which is
exactly what I did...my daughter is now 15, my son is now
11, and both are healthy & beautiful and the loves of my
life!

Good Luck!

S.

I refused all testing for that on both my pregnancies. Partly because of the rate of false positives, and the fact that if my baby had it, he had it. I didn't need to know before hand because it would not have changed my feelings or thought about having that child in any way.

this test is wrong one out of 4 times... in my opinion the risk of the amnio isn't worth it, that being said, having a DS child really doesn't change anything you might do for the baby's first year, you will have plenty of time to adjust after the baby is born, also additional ultra sounds may confirm either the presence or lack of DS as your baby grows.
I had a 1 in 7 chance of DS but my son is healthy, My SIL has a DS child, with no history in the family. but really if you would not chose to terminate the pregnancy over the outcome it really isn't worth the risk IMO. if you need to talk you can email me off board

S.

I wouldn't worry yourself too much over this blood test result yet (I know, easier said then done...but stick with me here and continue reading) as i know that that test is not that accurate and sends out a LOT of false positives. (It sent out a false positive to my boss's wife: more on that later). In fact, it is often so "off" that my dr did not recommend me having it with either of my pregnancies unless "termination" of the pregnancy was an option since I had no known risk factors for it and was young. She did not want me to worry about a possible positive result just to be ruled neggative with the "double-checked"/amnio test.

Of course, the test was an option of mine to take, but I did not choose to take it because honestly, a Down's Child is a gift from God, just in a different package! I didn't want to worry about the gift that I was going to receive no matter what!
A positive diagnosis of Down's give you the option to terminate OR prepare you for the birth of a beautiful child with (possible but not certain) issues outside the spetrum of "normal"....but NO birth is EVER "normal", fully prepared for, or without risk as that is why it is so personal. Some people don't need prepared for a Down baby if they are in a certain mind-set (as I was).

Your same sceanario happened to my boss's wife on her third pregnancy and the amnio confirmed the baby as fine! Don't worry about something you can't control and that may mean nothing! Wait for and treat the amnio as you would the first test...just another thing you have to check. All your first test did was tell you that you have a risk, not that you are carrying a Down's child! And remember....many Down's childre are healthy and happy and "normal"! Down's is not a sentence! It is an invitation to a special package!

First of all, let me assure you, age is not realted to having DS childrenas thought many years ago. Next, these are the most precious gift from God as well as others, so embrace and look forward to this new life. Next, the doctors are not 100% correct every tiem but testing will help you to be educated, informed and ready for thsi new little one when he/she arrives. Teach, train, correct and love as always and enjoy! No amnio is necessary and too high a risk-say no and continue taking care of yourself as normal.You will love no less and probably more!

my test was also positive however i chose not to do an amnio, my baby was born 2 weeks ago and she is healthy. there are many reasons why your test could have been positive even though your baby might not have ds.

I was 29 years old when I had my DS screening as well. It came back with an increased risk of DS, so I had the amnio. My husband and I wanted to know so that we could make the best decision for our family and be prepared for the birth of a DS baby. Since you already had the screening if you don't get the amnio you will be worried and stressed your entire pregnancy. It is a basic screening and there are a lot of false positives. Since you aren't in an increased risk group, it is most likely a false positive.

The amnio was a quick simple test. I just had to take it easy for the day. You can check out the doctor doing the test and see what his rate of miscarriages are. I believe the doctor that did mine was more like 1/500 or something much lower than the normal rate. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm glad I had the test and was able to find out the my baby would have no chromosomal defects. I was also able to find out for 100% the sex of the baby.

Good luck, and I will be praying for you and your baby.

I was offered that test with my pregnancies, but my doctor said that many positive results turn out to be nothing and that she didn't recommend it unless I really wanted it. I didn't want the worry, so I skipped all tests(I wanted the baby no matter what anyway). Hopefully, your test was just a false positive. Good luck.

My blood tests were the same with my daughter. During ultrasound they said her legs were "short" for where she should be. I asked if it matter that I'm 5'6" and dad's 5'7" but they said no. In the end, everything was fine, my daughter did not have any problems. No one knows what your situation will be but the MOST important thing is to try not worry excessively. Of course you are worried and upset but just try not to upset yourself. Sometimes I hate the saying but whatever will be, will be. Worrying won't change anything, so concentrate on you and your beautiful new baby! Good luck to you.

M.--I feel for the stress that you went through, and you have to choose what is right for you. I have 3 different scenarios that I would like to share with you.

My sister-in-law, had her baby at 33, had an amnio, which relieved her fears, and ended up fine.

My best friend from high school, had a negative tests, no problems indicated in the ultra-sounds, and had a little girl with downs...who is an absolute delight to her family and everybody else that knows her. My friend could not imagine life without her even though her problems were very unexpected.

My friend from work, had a positive test (the triple screen) for a high probability of trisomy 13--and stressed about it a lot, but in the end decided not to do the amnio because of the risk. She also knew that she would not abort either way. She ended up having a perfectly healthy baby girl.

Whatever you choose, it has to be what gives you the most peace in your life. I will keep you in my prayers and hope that you find what you need. Good luck!

It is a really scary experience but that test is highly innacurate. I had the same thing happen to me with my first child and I did the amnio with that child and my other two that followed. I really got so scared with my first that I didn't want the agony of not knowing, even if I had not decided on an abortion needed to know. It didn't hurt that much and the risk of miscarriage is pretty low if done right.
I wish you all the luck and that you will leave this behind and enjoy the rest of the pregnancy!

I was 29 when I had my son. I remember the dr asking if we wanted to do all these tests and that there were dangers that come along with them. I cried all night worrying about my baby. I talked with my husband and we both decided that no matter what we were going to have this baby and love him. There was no need for us to find out. So we opted out. We understood that there was no medical reason for the tests. You will need to decide whats best for your family and unborn child. Enjoy your pregnancy, enjoy your baby and do what you feel is right.

M., my heart goes out to you. We had this exact situation with my 2nd child. Our doctor pushed me to have the amnio, and I was reluctant to for the same reasons you stated. We went back & forth during that visit until I brought up that I had noticed my number of weeks along were wrong on the papers from the test. She looked at it, realized they were wrong, and then refigured it with the right number of weeks. She then determined that our numbers were fine based on the correct number.

When we were still discussing the need for an amnio, I told her that regardless of the baby's diagnosis, we would be keeping it, so I didn't see the need for an amnio. She said that since we live in Wichita Falls, and DS babies have a higher chance of heart problems when they are born, we would need to know if I would need to be in the DFW area to deliver. This was the only valid reason I heard. In fact, she kind of pushed that I should consider abortion if the baby was DS. When I told her that was not an option for me due to my beliefs, she acted like my husband was putting some kind of mind control on me, and that it wouldn't be fair to my older daughter if I had a special needs baby. It was my one major complaint with that doctor. Every baby is a gift from God, and I'm just thankful my precious boy didn't have to go through unnecessary testing.
Hoping things turn out well for you and hope you & your baby stay healthy.

M. -

I, too, am sorry that you have to go through the uncertainty of this test. It's always unnerving and a little frightening. I was told via my screening results that I had a 1 in 1780 chance of having a child with Down Syndrome, and was lucky enough to get that 1! Please know that whatever the results of your testing that this child is a gift to you. It was definitely an adjustment for us to have a child with special needs, but, as so many others have expressed, she is a delight to all who meet her and brings joy and an unique perspective to each day for us.

I pray that God gives you peace in knowing that whatever the situation turns out to be, He will not be surprised by it. Even if the path for this child is different than you expected, He knows His plan for him/her and will walk with you both.

Blessings on you and your family,
L.

I was 36 years old when my 7 year old twins were born and my husbands oldest brother is a high functioning downs. We took the test and got the same results. We set up an appointment with a Level 2 Sonogram doctor that does nothing but Level 2 Sonograms and Amnio's. We scheduled the appointment after my 24th week, to give the kids a fighting chance if something happened. Because of twins, the doctor required that his partner be there to assist. His partner had a family emergency that morning so we would not be able to do the amnio. He still did an extensive Sonogram and was able to convince me that he felt like both my children were fine and did not have Down Syndrom. We trusted him and decided not to reschedule the Amnio. My daughter and son are perfectly healthy and driving mom crazy like they should at the age of 7 years. I hope this helps you make your decision.

The false positive on this test is just too high - I didn't do it with my pregnancies...

I have been through this exact same thing. I had the TETRA screeneing with our first child and it came back positive for Downs. The day of the amnio my husband and I were so worried we fought all the way to the hospital, cried, yelled and screamed, all because we were so upset. Ultimately, we decided that no matter what the outcome of the amnio there was no way that we were going to terminate the pregnancy, Downs or not. After some research I discovered that the results of the TETRA were only 60% accurate and I was pissed. The results of the amnio were negative for Downs, thank God. We decided to decline the TETRA for our second child, knowing that it didn't matter how our baby came into this world we would love them regardless. It was such an emotional rollercoaster and there is no way that I would ever do it again. I guess the only positive to finding out is that you can be prepared, but can you ever be prepared for a child with Downs? I say do the amnio, you are already emotionally invested and it will ease your mind so that you can rest easy for the rest of your pregnancy. Live and learn. Good luck, best wishes and I will keep you in my prayers.

Hi, M.! It seems that alot of us went through the misdiagnosis of this blood test which is the most inaccurate test any dr. could give. I, too, was diagnosed with a high risk of D.S. or Spina bifida. My OB/GYN was in PA at that time (17 years ago) and they were not very comforting. My husband and I decided to get the amnio just to be mentally prepared. It didn't matter what the outcome was, we were going to have the baby. She turned out to be a normal, healthy, beautiful baby girl.

Best of luck to you both. I understand how mentally draining it can be. I will be praying for you on Wed.

I declined to test on both my pregnancies, because the percentage of accuracy was not high enough for me.

The screening is always wrong! Almost everyone shows positive and once amnio is done, a sigh of relief. Don't stress. If it's important enough to you to get the amnio, do. Otherwise wait until you are further along and it is ruled in/out by ultrasound

You've gotten a ton of responses and I did not read them, but please know these test are not 100%. I knew going into all 3 of mine that it didn't matter if my child was DS so I chose to not want the answers to the test. I let the doctor do them because I knew it helped them but I told him I didn't want to know results. Didn't want to stress myself out.

My suggestions is since Amnios can cause a miscarriage, unless you plan on not keeping the baby if they say it is DS after the amnio then I would suggest not doing it and just be happy with the baby inside you and love it and dont worry.

Just believe that God has you in his hands.

My daughter is 24 and had a child that had down syndrome. We don't have anyone in our family with downs. Sometimes it just happens. We couldn't be more proud to have little Shyanne in our family. She has been a great blessing and we love her very much. My daughter wouldn't take all those test because she said it wouldn't matter anyway. There are some things you have to do with a downs baby like start them with special programs starting with age 0. If you want more information I will tell you more. Let me know what the other test showed. however there is a chance you take with the other test. so I've heard. I worked in special education for 10 years. So I had a chance to work with Down syndrome children. They are the sweetest children I have ever had a change to work with.my email is ____@____.com if you ever need a friend. I repeat Shyanne is so precious and we love her so much she has brought us so much pleasure. I don't know what we would do without her. She is two now. My daughter is so proud of Shyanne and love her so much she is her life. I wouldn't worry too much. Test can be wrong.

I had my 1st baby at 38, I was tested at the first screening and my test results showed no sign of a problem but my doctor and we decided to do an amnio because of my age. You are alot younger than I was so there is propably nothing wrong. The test can be a sort of false positive. I am writing because I was terrified of the amnio, because of the risk to the baby. I went to a specialist who I loved and he put me at ease he explained how many of these he had done and the small percentage of people that had complications. The procedure was over very quickly and the results are completely conclusive. I think if you have a good doctor that you are comfortable with you will do great. Good Luck! By the way my baby boy is 2 and perfect.

I also got a positive on that test when I was preg with my 2nd son. It was wrong. He is perfectly healthy , no disorders of any kind. That test is known for giving false positive a lot. I am preg with 3rd baby now and I will not be having any genetic testing, it's not worth the scared and worried feelings plus I would never terminate my pregnancy, no matter what. Good luck on your test, try not to worry much.

Don't be scared and don't worry. I was told the same thing early this year and my baby boy was born perfectly healthy with no downs. The formula they use for giving you the odds is very screwy and often times wrong. I did alot of research and so many women get false positives and vice versa. Many women get told their babies are healthy and then they are born with downs. So it works both ways. Relax and just trust in God it is all you can do anyways : )

i'm wondering why you are stressing about something that you have no control over. if you are concerned at all about risk to your baby during this procedure, then you shouldn't do it. this test will not change the outcome (assuming) and you should enjoy your pregnancy. from what i've learned this test is for people who are willing to abort their baby after finding out their child is not the perfect baby they'd envisioned. the scary part is this test is not 100%.
let your baby do his/her job and grow w/out being jeopardized.