I accidentally posted this in first trimester, so apologies for doubling up but I am desperate to find help
My wife had an ultrasound at 12 weeks and all the measurements were normal but we were called because the Papp a is very low and so is the free beta hcg
We have been given a 1:62 chance of Downs, a 1:9 chance of Edwards syndrome and a 1:42 chance of Patau syndrome (trisomy 21, 18 and 13)
This is not good news obviously but the odds are still stacked heavily in our favour so I was still quite up beat despite the high risks
However, after our "counselling session" where all my questions were avoided, I was forced onto the internet to seek the answers for myself
The papp a is only 0.08. This is extremely low. The hcg is only 0.2 - also extremely low
I have been horrified to learn that even if the chromosomes are normal, there is a high risk for foetal death, intrauterine growth retardation, cerebral palsy etc
We are now extremely depressed
I cling to the few stories I have found where people ended up having a normal baby despite having low papp a
It looks like it is going to be a hell of a roller coaster ride with scans every 2 weeks to measure the baby. I have read horror stories where poor ladies have watched as the foetus didn't grow and eventually died. This is heart breaking.
I have learned that the papp a is really a screening test and may not mean we will have a miscarriage or retarded baby but again it increases the risks. My understaning is that there is a 1:4 chance of a sad outcome but this is just from internet research which may not be true
I have not found any stories about outcomes for babies with a papp a less than 1.
Does anybody know whether we can have a normal baby with a papp a at 0.08
The blood test was repeated and the second test was the same. Extremely low papp a and hcg
If the baby has a chromosome abnormality, I guess there is a certainty to this and it makes our choice clear. Edwards and Patau babies are extremely deformed and 90% only live 5-15 days. We would terminate the pregancy. We are undecided about a Downs baby
We are scared about having a mentally retarded baby should it survive a preganancy with IUGR
Does anybody know whether you can have a happy outcome with such low placental hormones? Our medical professionals gave us nothing. I am a little angry about the complete lack of information provided to us in our "counselling meeting"
I left thinking that if the baby didn't have a chromosome abnormality, we would be fine and I chose a positive mindset
Since researching papp a on the internet, I am extremely despressed. It seems as if our baby will die or be born retarded. This is extremely upsetting for my wife and I.
I found a clinic in the UK that treats these babies for thrombophyllia with low grade warfarin. I have found other references to aspirin for anticoagulation. This clinic reports good outcomes but we should have started this before 12 weeks apparantly. My wife is about 14 weeks now. I am extremely angry that this information was witheld from us
My wife is scheduled for a CVS in 2 days. We had to wait a week which I gues is reasonable however, with such a low papp a we felt perhaps there would be a better outcome for the baby if this had been done 2 weeks ago when the results came in. We waited a week for the counselling and then another week for the CVS and it seems a window of opportunity may have closed to treat the baby with anticoagulants for thrombophillia of the placenta.
I guess I am looking for something to cling to......some hope........
Can we have a normal baby with a papp a at 0.08 or is it doomed?
- worried dad
