My Dr just called me.......not good news

Dee just wanted to come in and give you great big hugs, what a tough time you are going through. Just remember how strong you are, and that we are all here for you!

Dee - CC had the same thing happen to her, remember? And Ally is perfect!
I will recommend the Dr Sarah Buckley book to you, Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering (you can order it from the Mothers Direct store, but I'm sure you can get it at other places, too). She has a great perspective on prenatal testing that ought to make anyone in your position feel like the testing is a powerful tool that is used excessively - much like a very powerful car in the hands of a p-plater! It's too much information with not enough support and information for parents when the odds are lowered. She also doesn't like how by doing testing and putting it to parents that they can terminate a downs risk baby (cos they can never tell you for sure that you have a downs baby until it is born!), it sends the message to Downs affected people and families that their loved one is an aberration that slipped the net. Once born, those kids are LOVED. I like how Sarah references the studies done to follow up women who had the test and those who didn't. They found that women who did not find out but ended up having downs babies reported far higher rates of happiness and satisfaction than did the women who had the test and had downs babies (as in, knowing what was coming did NOT make it easier to deal with, and in fact created more anxiety). More still, women who terminated after being given high odds reported higher depression levels than women who birthed a stillborn downs child or whose downs child died a bit later on of natural causes related to their condition. I don't know if this helps at all, but I was fascinated with these findings and I am convinced that when it comes to prenatal testing, knowledge is NOT power, it is dangerous and destructive.
Personally, I will never do testing again (ultrasounds, blood tests etc) for my next pregnancies, because I don't like mind games. With Oscar I was given my ratio of risk and when everyone else in our June Buddies posted theirs, I was very uneasy about mine. My caregivers told me they were great odds and it played on my mind until I decided that I would treat it as if I'd never done it. Which is so hard to do!
Look at it this way, sweetheart, you've been given 1 out of 118. When you look around you, do you ever see those odds reflected in real life? Out of every 118 people, how many downs affected people do you see? More of them will have debilitating issues that they developed far later in life, and probably of their own design, anyway!
I love ya, Dee, and I'm trying desperately to ease your mind here! Give CC an email - she knows where you're at :hug:
I'm thinking a trip to your parents might be in order, too - you get looked after real well there ;)

Dee, you poor thing, you must be going through a hard time now. Try to stay positive like everyone said, the NT scan combined with the BT are not accurate enough to say anything. My friend had a similar episode and she was about to terminate her pregnancy. Fortunately, the lab called her and requested her to redo her NT scan because there was an error! Sometimes, things can go wrong somewhere and it does not definitely mean that your bub's at risk for Downs. I can understand the stress you are going through now! Just remember, as long as no further testing is done, nothing is definitive! In the mean time, take care of yourself and big hugs to you!

Hello, sorry to hear about the agonising time you are having. I've just been through a similar waiting period, but sadly the outcome was not good for me or my baby.

I had the NT scan done, thickness was 2.3mm - which is the upper end of normal. I'm 38 and this alone put me in a 1:35 risk category. Then had the bloods done, which came back at a whopping 1:10 chance of Downs. I nearly died on the spot. I went straight in for CVS and had to wait 2 days for those results - which confirmed my son had Downs. I lost a full term baby in March, so this was all just too much to bear.

My DH and I chose not to continue with this pregnancy. Now this was our choice, and a most terrible choice to have to make for a much wanted child. But we had our reasons, and I have received nothing but support from family and friends. It was absolutely agonising, I had a termination nearly 2 weeks ago. I cry a lot of the time, our clock's been set back to zero again :(

I'm sorry if this is only going to add to your worries - but I was placed at a much higher risk than you. I feel sure your results will return a normal and healthy outcome. I never thought I would be "the one" - but I guess someone has to be. Most Downs pregnancies are miscarried naturally, but not all of them. I will be trying again, and my chance will remain 1:100. I really want another baby, and will keep on trying.

Stay strong and you will be able to handle anything that comes your way.

Lee xo

Dee, sorry to hear of your worries. My NT scan and bloods put me in a very low risk category. I was pretty happy about that and then at my 18-20 week scan, they found a "small unilateral choroid plexus cyst" that is synonymous with Trisomy 18 - for which I'm in a very low risk category. Apparently they're common and disappear...but, you can't help but be concerned, so I can relate a little. Hope you're feeling a little better today.

I feel for you Dee, I am having my 13 week ultrasound in 2 weeks and I am scared silly as I am 36....Try not to think about it too much... Im sure all will be OK.

Caz
:)

Dee how are you doing ?

Hi Dee, a friend of mine was 1:100 and her baby was fine.

My brother-in-law's sister had 4 kids and tested high risk for 2 of them. All 4 were born perfectly healthy with no complications. Remember when they say 1 in 118 ... theres still that 117 in 118 chance your baby will be fine.

All the best..

Dee, haven't heard from you in awhile. Hope everything is okay!

Dee, thinking of you my love... :hug:

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, ive been trying not to think about it which is really hard.

I went to see my Dr on Monday night. I have been booked in for an amnio next thursday so i will be 14.5 weeks. Normally they dont do them before 15 weeks but he didnt seem to think this would be a problem. Instead of growing all the chromosomes and matching the pairs as they do with a normal amnio, what they have decided to do is to grow the 21 chromosome which is apparently the one where the problem is ( i dont know how they can tell that but anyway) and that way i should have a result within 48 hours. I just want a definite answer either way to ease my mind and to help me make my decision. The hardest part is living a small town like i do and not having anyone to talk to or to tell what im going through. People here have very strong opinions on termination etc i just dont feel comfortable enough to talk to any of them. Im staying at home most days and not going out anywhere because i dont want to be asked "how are you going" How is the pregnancy etc. I will burst into tears. I just want the next 2 weeks to be over.

Thank you so much for all your support. YOu dont know how much this means to me really xoxoxox

Hang in there Dee. I am thinking of you and I know you will feel much better once you get those results. I know this must have been an awfully long wait for you already, but you are nearly there.

Dee
Just been reading your posts and i really feel for you. Please remain positive and try not to stress your self out too much. Sending you big hugs and hope all your testing will be fine. Stay Strong.

Hang in there Dee - It sounds like your a strong woman, so I know you can pull through this :)

Good luck Dee, hope you have good results from the amnio and feel happy again soon....

FWIW I think its good to have the opportunity for the testing to put your mind at ease at this early stage; my first scan was fine but a hiccup showed at the 20 week scan (fluid on baby's brain) at which point we had to quickly consider testing options etc. All worked out perfectly fine after a very stressful two week waiting period.

Hey Dee, how are you doing babe? How did the test go last week?
Hugs to you.....

Well, i had my amnio last week and i got part of my results which have come back negative for Downs Syndrome, its a releif but i wont get the full results until this week sometime. I dont understand how they can tell me that they have found something abnormal in my blood test and then come back and tell me its fine?? I cant help but still be worried! I will let you know the rest of the results as soon as i get them.

Thank you all so much for your support, you dont know how much it means to me!!