downs blood test

[*noni*e*]

i have heard recently that ppls bloods are coming back bad when the scans have been good??? my scan was 1:5000 and something would my bloods be able to make that into something worrying?

[Ngala]

How long ago did you go and get your bloods done?

My downs risk was 1:21500..

I'm pretty sure that the hospital would have received your blood results and worked with the u/s result too to get the end result. If you are worried/unsure or have any question, give the place a call or call your gp/ob

[*noni*e*]

i didn't have the blood test dr said hed only make me have it if the risk was around 1:200 i am a severe needle phobic

[wardygirl]

I went and had my pg confirmed by my GP today (well actually Itold him I was pg and he said "Congrats, where are you gonna go?", but that's another story.) Anyway, we spoke of the scan/bloodtest thing which is new since DS was born in June 2005.

Apparently, it's the combination of factors from the blood and the results of the scan which give a more accurate ration for downs. Let me get the paperwork so I can quote...

What does the screening test for Down Syndrome involve?

1. A blood test
2. An ultrasound

By combining the results of the 2 parts of the test, it is possible to identify if a pregnant woman may be at increased risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. By itself, the test does not tell you whether the baby has DS or now. It identifies women who should be offered furthr testing to determine if their baby is affected.
Part 1, the Blood test.
The blood test, also known as teh maternal serum screening test measures the amount of two different proteins called PAPP-A and beta HCG which appear naturally in the mother's blood during pregnancy. A change in the level of these proteins may indicate that tehre is an increased risk that the baby has DS. Previously a similar test was available but only after 14wks pregnancy.
Part 2, The ultrasound.
The ultrasounds can be done by a specially trained untrasonographer between 11wks 3 days and 13wks 6days of pregnancy...
The ultrasound allows measurements of the amount of fluid in the skin at the back of the baby's neck. This measureemnt is called teh nuchal transluciency.
All babies at this stage of pregnancy ahve some fluid in this area, but on average a baby with DS or another chromosome abnormality has a larger amount of fluid. The NT measurement can therefore be used to identifiy if a baby has an increased risk of DS.
...
How accurate is the test?
By combining the knowledge of the woman's age, the results of the blood test and nuchal translucency measurement, the test can identify about 9 out of 10 pregnancies in which they baby has DS. This is more accurate than each test done by itself.

I think that long winded explination can be summed up by the last line, but I didn't know that until I typed it all. Hopefully someone will find it all interesting.

HTH

[*noni*e*]

coz for my age there is a 1:1064 risk of downs then plus the scan makes it 1:5764 but i didn't have any bloods

[AnyDream]

Noni, I wouldn't worry about it too much, if you were high risk for any reason your GP would probably have talked you into the bloods. As it is, I understand the bloods only make the final result 10% more accurate anyway.

My post scan risk was down in the hundreds (not the thousands) so I'm sure you will be ok.

[ella79]

My risk due to age was 1:800.
My risk due to age & ultrasound was 1:1600.
My risk due to age, ultrasound & bloods was 1:7300.

so in my case the blood result swung the odds HEAPS in my favour. i'm not sure what formula they use is though, so i'm not sure if it ALWAYS improves the odds, or can increase or decrease them depending on blood results...

[clare076]

With Max my starting risk for downs was 1 in 650, the NT scan showed bubs had a nuchal fold measurement of 1.7mm so well within the "normal" range. After the bloods combined it increased to 1 in 278. With trisomy 13 and 18 my starting risk was 1 in 1200, after blood test results increased to 1 in 98.

Was it your GP or OB that said he wouldn't do the bloods, if it was an ob I would relax, but if it was a GP I think I would get a second opinion.

[*noni*e*]

it was originally me saying i didn't really want it as no exageration when they take blood from me i do end up kicking screaming and crying huge anxiety attack really embarassing and not much fun for anyone involved... as my gp knew this he said depending on the ultrasound we will see what we need to do... the sonographer said in reference to the same thing when i explained the situation that really with odds like that he wouldn't bother with the bloods... its really hard for me but i want whats best for the baby and am a bit confused now to be honest!!!

[MamaPan]

Hi All my risk after age, bloods and ultrasound is about 1:600. The Dr said this is good, and that I dontneed anything else, but it looks like all of yours were a lot higher??? Should i be worried?

[octavian]

Hi - try not to worry.. My age risk was 1:300, reduced to 1:5000+ after the screening tests - if they were worried, they'd have sent you for that blood test whether you liked it or not! Also, a girlfriend had both tests done and was given a 1:13 chance of Down's, went ahead and had baby anyway, absolutely fine. Her opinion was that the nuchal fold test was the most important factor- high measurement, high risk.. her nuchal fold measurement was good, but bloods actually made her figures worse..

Try not to worry!

[octavian]

Oh, also - maybe think about having some type of therapy about the needle thing - maybe hypnotherapy? Give it a go, as I can tell you from someone (due today!) who's been there, ya got more needles to go before this pregnancy is over!

Just a thought.. good luck..

[Feathertop]

If you found out your baby was highly likely to have Down's after having a blood test, would that change things for you? Would you choose not to continue with the pregnancy? If you would continue regardless, then it really doesn't matter if you have the blood test or not I would think.

[AnyDream]

I spoke to the genetic counsellor about this, she said they don't really understand what other factors change your blood results, or why some women's bloods test wildly out of the normal range when they are having normal babies. So in that sense, the actual nuchal fold test is more telling in most cases.

[*noni*e*]

thanks for all ur help guys

[Lilli]

I'm 32, I had a normal NT scan (1.6) but the blood test came back "abnormal", almost double what it should have been. Therefore my risk for Downs went up from 1:416 to 1:265, they consier anything lower than 1:300 to be a risk. I had a CVS and it was a horrendous wait of four days (usually 2 working days but because I had it all done on Friday, I had to wait over the weekend too - make sure when u go for tests it's earlier in the week). Anyway, everything was normal, in the end I think the Drs have to cover their bases - if he said, "look at 1:265, the risk of Downs is 0.37% don't worry about further testing", and then the baby ended having a condition, he may be worried about being sued. It's interesting to note that the risk of miscarrying from the CVS is 0.5% (in this case higher than my chances of having a Down's baby) - I found that out later!

[MamaPan]

Lilli really glad to hear all went well.

[Lilli]

Thank you, it was a huge scare, but feel much more optimistic now!