I guess that for us (I was 23 at the time) we approached the NT scan as really a fun chance to see our bubs for the first time. i felt that it would be a good bonding for all of us DH included to actually see that gorgeous heart and limbs and head moving around in there. really the nuchal test was just the sideshow to the glorious moment of seeing our little baby. I will do it again with other pg no doubt.
it was nerve racking having to get the results a few days later, no one wants to be told that there may be something wrong with bubs, but like the others have said, i also wanted to know so that i could start to think about what our options were and how far we would be prepared to go for testing. i know that i will go for further testing if the results were high risk, but again, that's a truly personal decision.
p.s. we stuck the ultrasound piccies on the fridge so that everytime we went into the kitchen we could see our baby! lovely!
I'm 34. I was always going to have the NT test, and if the risk factor was high, I would have had an amnio to test further.
My reasons for having the test were:
- if we were going to have a child with a high chance of a detectable problem such as Downs Syndrome (as I understand it, the test doesn't only test for that, but will also pick up on other possible chromosonal problems), I wanted to know about it. This would allow my husband and I to first decide whether to keep that pregnancy or not, and if we did keep it, to prepare as best we could for the particular things that life was going to present for us. For me, it would be really bad to not get the test and then to have a baby with some problem that would have been picked up by the test. Not because it would be bad, necessarily, to have that child, of course, but because we would not have had the opportunity to discuss it between ourselves and to make what we felt was the best decision for our family.
Basically, there was no way I would put myself into a position where we would later regret not having the test because we actually needed that information.
I absolutely agree that there can be very good reasons for having the test even if you know you would definitely not terminate a pregnancy with a high chance of Downs Syndrome.
- secondly, it's another chance to get a look at the baby, to see that it's there and growing and healthy. And this is a wonderful thing
I did some reading about the amnio procedure, and my conclusion was that it matters a lot who does it. In this case, all doctors are not equal. So if I needed an amnio, I would have asked my OB to refer me to whoever she thought was the most highly skilled person in my city to do it, and we would certainly have cheerfully paid whatever it cost to do that. My understanding is that this would dramatically reduce the risk of amnio-induced miscarriage, so worth paying for, in my opinion.
Unless you are willing to have an amnio or a CVS it is pointless having the NT scan as all you will get is a risk factor which tells you absolutely nothing. Not all DS cases are picked up as high risk by the NT scan or by later ultrasounds as there isn't always a noticeable marker.
I had the NT scan & came in as high risk for DS 1/37 low risk for the other one they measure. My bub had a large NT measurement & of course my age didn't help the result.
I had the amnio done by a very skilled doctor & all went well. The result said no abnormality detected. My bub was born without DS.
Had I not had the amnio done I would've spent the rest of the pregnancy worried that I was having a DS baby.
i must be in the minority in thinking that having a risk factor is worth knowing. you can have a 1 in 3000 risk and still end up with a bub with DS, but at least you know it's only a small chance.
i can't see why people feel that you should only have the test if, when you get a less than 1 in 300 chance, you're prepared to have the amnio! seriously, if i came back with a 1 in 100 chance, i'd accept that there was a 1% chance that my child may have this problem - it's all about how much you're prepared to rely on "chance". i just find it really disappointing that everyone is saying "if you won't have the amnio don't bother with the scan". that's essentially saying that no one deserves to know their RISK factor if they're not prepared to have further testing! an amnio is invasive and risky. WHY should I, if i have a 1 in 100 chance of having a child with DS, that i would love no matter what, risk that childs life and have just as high, if not HIGHER chance, of miscarrying, just to tell me whether or not that child has dodgy chromosomes
it's all about knowing the risk. if you're someone that needs absolutes, then fine, ONLY have the scan if you're prepared to have the amnio. but really, we ALL have chances that something is going to be wrong - isn't it better to know you have a slightly higher chance of a DS child than to go through this blindly
this is just MY OPINION - but i really think those on the amnio bandwagon need to look at it from a different perspective. HIGH chance of DS doesn't necessarily mean you HAVE to have an amnio - it means you have to be prepared that you might have a child with a disablility! big difference
I was 29 when pregnant with my first DS. I didn't have the test done because I felt I was in the LOW risk category.
At our 20 week US we found out that our DS had a bilateral cleft lip and possibly palate as well.
This sent me into a spin big time and was sent for further ultrasounds. Whilst having a secondary scan they suggested having an amnio to rule out other possible syndromes associated with a cleft.
I did have the amnio but only because I wanted to know what we were dealing with and if my babies quality of life was at risk. Only then would I make the decision to terminate.
My results came back clear and I carried on with my pregnancy without the concern of anything going to be wrong. He is a beautiful bundle of joy!!!!!!!! I was very scared tho to have the amnio but the statistics of me misscarrying weren't that great so I felt it was worth it!
Having said that even if I had the early screening test you are talking about it would not have picked up the cleft....that is something only the 20 week scan picks up!
I will in future have the test tho and only because I would want to be prepared like we were for the cleft...not because of termination.
I told you my story just to shed some light on the stigma these tests have. It is utimately up to you and what you would do if the worst case senario came back...ask yourself if you would like to know or not????
Oh and by the way his palate was not involved at all so we were prepared for worse case senario and it was the best news when he was born that it wasn't as bad as expected!!!
xoxoxo
Good luck with your decision tho..it is a hard call but your gut feeling will tell you what you should do!
Briggsy's Girl, as you said everyone has their own opinions and no one is right or wrong when it comes to something like this - comes down to personal choice. And every person is different.
Some people think why spend the pregnancy stressing thinking that something is wrong with your bubs - when essentially the testing isn't fool proof itself, there has been lots in the media this year about the inaccuracy of the NT scan.
Yes the amino will give you an absolute yes or no - but this comes with risks - so people think, why do the scan when I wouldn't do any further testing? Why spend the pregnancy thinking something is wrong, when essentially there is a very good chance that everything is fine. Especially as OP is only 27.
I would personally prefer to go through the pregnancy not knowing something was wrong - this is my personal opinion though. I would love my child no matter what and feel confident that I would receive information required by the correct services if my child was born with down syndrome.
A lady from another forum, had her baby back in July. Was not considered high risk for DS and her little man was born with DS. It was as shock for her, only because she had the test and was told it was 1 in 3000 chance - but there is always still a chance. Someone has to be that 1 person.
It is good that we can discuss this though - and hopefully make people better informed about their choices.
i agree we all have the right to choose - i guess i'm just getting frustrated at the assumption in so many posts that you shouldn't have the scan unless you're prepared to have amnio - and the DS confirmation = reason to terminate
was trying to put a different perspective on it....
I am 25 and pregnant with my first. I chose not to have the bloodwork done, but did have a scan at 12w2d (today ) to look at bean before we announced it to our families.
We would not abort (personal reasons) but mostly we were just content to wait and see what we had been given, and if our child has DS, then so be it. We would embrace and love the child like any other.
What you do in the end is up to you. Remember that you can stop whenever you like, a scan without amnio is still informative. Good luck making your decision .
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) to look at bean before we announced it to our families.
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