I'm Pregnant at 42 Years Old

We opted not to have the quad screen with either of our children (though I was in my early 30's with both). There are high levels of false positives and false negatives with the tests, so we didn't want to get ourselves worked-up for results that were sketchy at best. And, by the time you have the test done, we were so attached to the baby, we would have figured out how to deal with the issues.

A former coworker had her 3rd child at almost 40 and had a positive Down Syndrome test. Her son was born perfectly normal.

Down Syndrome is caused by having extra chromosomal material on Chromosome 21. I don't know how accurate the tests are in determining this abnormality during pregnancy vs. other possible congenital abnormalities.

I do know, though, that most people who have a child with Down Syndrome consider them such a blessing. With 3 other children and no husband to help, I can only imagine the anxiety. I hope you find this to be a false positive and have a healthy, wonderful child.

I was 37 with my last child and was told there was a 93% chance he would have Downs and he couldn't be more healthier. That's not to say your case is different but I honestly don't think they know for sure. I had a brother that was born mentally and physically handicapped that they said wouldn't live past age 2 and he lived to be 32(Passed this Oct.) He was loved regardless of his condition. I say just enjoy your pregnancy and don't stress. If it is God's will for the child to be born with Downs then just love it.

hi, i had my last child right before i turned 40. they thought she had trisommy13. i birth defect that the can not survive. thank god she did not. but it is my opinion that a downs child is the most loving kind of child on the face of the earth. they are a blessing, not a burdon. just enjoy your pregnancy and pray for the best. the lord has it all planned out. if it does have downs, god pick you to have this special child. good luck and may you and your child be blessed and a blessing to each other. mom of 7, R.

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If you had an amnio done, they should be able to tell you with 100% certainty whether or not the child you are carrying has Downs. They can determine the child's DNA, and that will say for certain if the gene mutation is present or not. The amnio will be more accurate than an ultrasound for diagnosis. Also know that Downs syndrome can have a wide range of severity, and you may not know how severely your child may or may not be affected until he/she gets older.
Regardless, you need to do some research and prepare yourself for this possibility. Find a local support group, and contact the members for advice:
http://www.downsyndromeoflouisville.org/

When I was pregnant with my second child the first blood work done for Down Syndrome worried my OB. He wanted to do an amnio but I flat out refused. It wasn't a definate yes or no. Even if it was, it wasn't going to change the fact. She was still my loveley little girl, no matter. My daughter was born and does not have Down Syndrome. The blood test was waaaay off. But in between the test and the time she was born the thought of possibly having a special needs child was still in the back of my mind. To help me deal, my mom sent me something by Emily Perl Kingsley that help me tremendously. I hope it helps you as well. She sent me the following:

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.  It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum.  The Michelangelo David.  The gondolas in Venice.  You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It’s just a different place.  It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips.  Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever  go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.*     *     *

Does it really matter?? A "special" needs child or not, it is a special child. What is the relationship with the father? Children are blessings, and should be respected as such. But.. if your life situation does not allow a child, of any need, perhaps alternative thoughts should be explored, and fast!!! God Bless and Merry Christmas!

I was told the same thing when I was pregnant at 41 with my first child. He too was a big surprise as I was told I could never have children. He is now 2 a the most perfect little boy. They told me he had a 90% chance of having down syndrome and also said he had a problem with his heart. When he was born 3 weeks early they gave him little chance of being ok but he is fantastic.
Hang in there and I am sure the baby will be ok.
K.

Assess if you are in the right place in your life to have a baby, especially one with special needs. You need to make the decision that is right for your life and your other children. You have to support yourself and special needs children are a serious financial commitment. Also, if you want to remarry, special needs children are associated with a high divorce rate.

Read up on Downs Syndrome on the internet and discuss your options with your doctor. Make sure you have the right doctor and get a second opinion, do it right away.

The older you are when you have genetic testing done for your unborn child, the higher your percentage of risk will read, as to whether or not your child will be born with a genetic defect. That also means, the more likely it is that the test will be inaccurate.

I think it is most important to trust the ultrasounds and measurements, as they can give you the most accurate information, in most cases, of the state of health of the child.

Shame on people for berating you for even having the testing done, or for considering not continuing the pregnancy in the case of an obvious defect. While many people choose to walk the road of having and raising a child with obvious, often serious issues, it is NOT a course to be undertaken lightly. If they find joy in it, good for them, but personally it is not something I would choose to go through.

I am turning 40 this year and I had my son when I was 37. We went through as much of the 'non-invasive' genetic testing as we could. The test where the back of the child's neck is measured during an ultrasound is a good one for helping to rule out Downs. Ours came back with a good measurement. That measurement, combined with the reasonably good genetic test (considering my age) gave me a fair amount of confidence that we had a good chance of having a healthy baby. He has, so far, been healthy and will be three in a few months.

I agree that an amnio should have told you, essentially, 'yes or no'. I would possibly consult with someone else regarding that issue. Good luck to you.

This is something that happens all of the time. My sister's daughter was supposed to be downs but was born perfectly healthy and a friend of mine was supposed to have a perfectly healthy baby and had a downs baby with no advanced warning. Those tests are not very accurate. No matter what happens I wish you well.

I personally have not gone through this exactly. I did have a pregnancy that they thought the child would be born with hydrocephales(sp?)or spina bifida. We knew nothing about this so we went to the library and checked out books. Every book we read was worse than the one before. The last book we read said that abortion was recommended. We looked at each other and decided that we did not need to read another book, abortion was not an option and if God gave us a special needs childs then he must know what he was doing! My SIL said if it was her she'd abort, we could not even fathom the idea of it! When this child was born he was born healthy with nothing wrong. If we had decided to abort we would of killed a child over something that was not even there. If this child has Down's then you will learn to handle it and do what is in your childs best interest. It will not diminish your love for this child. Many children with Down's go on to be adults that hold jobs and are a true joy to be around! may God bless your life with this child!

First, does your OBGYN handle high risk pregnancies? If not change doctors immediately.

I am about to turn 51 years old and the youngest of my 4 children is 5. He was delivered when I was 46 years old. I am a diabetic and it was a high risk pregnancy. My OBGYN did an exam and ultrasound every week. I had an appointment with my diabetes doctor every week. I tested my blood sugar 8 times a day and my diabetes doctor adjusted my medication as often as 2-3 times a week to keep my blood sugar regulated.

My OBGYN did all the tests to make sure the baby was healthy. We took each test one at a time and my baby's father and I made decisions based on the test results. We already had 3 healthy children and we felt like our family was complete. I am not sure what we would have done if the baby had downs syndrome because we made each decision as it happened. But, we had discussed that we have 3 children who are active in sports and school activities and we both have busy careers. It would have been tough for us to have a special needs child and we discussed terminating the pregancy under some conditions.

Our last child has been a blessing and he has enriched our lives. I cannot imagine life without him. He was a healthy baby, so we did not have to face all of our fears. It is tough being a parent, even tougher being a working parent, and I cannot imagine raising 4 children alone.

What ever your choice is in this matter, my prayers are with you this morning.

I'm a little confused by this -- an amnio should be able to tell you one way or the other with certainty -- not give you a percentage. There is a small amount of human error that creeps into amnio, like in any man-made and human-performed test, but it is supposed to be 99% accurate (if it says your baby has Down's then he or she has it; if not, then s/he won't). There are *screens* that can give you a percentage of likelihood that your baby will or will not have a certain condition, like Down Syndrome, but these have a much higher rate of false negatives and false positives than amnio. I write a bit more in-depth in this blog post (http://wp.me/p9IBz-br).

An amniocentesis involves withdrawing amniotic fluid using a long needle -- there are fetal cells in amniotic fluid that have the baby's genetic material which can be analyzed. Is it possible you were confused as to the test? -- there are a lot of different tests and screens, and it may be that you got mixed up and had a quad-screen test, thinking it was an amnio. If you did have an amnio, I'd call back to the doctor and ask for more explanation about the "83% chance", because unless I'm vastly mistaken, an amnio will tell you with certainty whether your baby has Down Syndrome or not.

I had a friend who had an amnio and she was told she could have a downs child. She stressed out through the remainder of her pregnancy as to what to do. She had the baby and she was NOT downs. I believe that the amnios have been known to be contraversal so I would not rely solely on that test. You may want to do some research on the topic or contact other doctors to see what their thoughts are. Not all Dr's think the same. Best of luck with the new arrival. God doesn't give us what we can't handle so you will be fine.

Hi P.,

Ask the doctor what the error rate is with that test. If I remember correctly, it is only correct 50% of the time which is why most of my older friends never had it done. Cherish this child as a gift from God. When the time comes to deliver, that's the time to deal with special needs if there even are any.

God bless!

M.

this happened to my mom she was 42 and pregnant with my little brother and i was the baby were 13 yrs apart he was supose to have down sydrome too but hes perfectly healty except he has asthma good luck