If you've had children

[Speedy70]

Did you have an amnio done?

 

[cattitude]

Did you have an amnio done?

No. No need unless there's a suspected problem.

 

[kwillia]

Pregnant twice. no amnio. I would think the only time you'd want to do an amnio would be to screen for potential genetic problems if you are considered high risk.

 

[Christy]

I did not. I'm glad I didn't. My sister did the test with both her pregnancies and both popped abnormal, so she spent much of her pregnancy stressing. Both babies turned out perfectly normal.

 

[Speedy70]

I would think the only time you'd want to do an amnio would be to screen for potential genetic problems if you are considered high risk.

That's correct.

 

[Christy]

No. No need unless there's a suspected problem.

It is common to be asked if you want the test early on so you have the option of aborting it if there is suspicion of abnormalities.

 

[Christy]

It is common to be asked if you want the test early on so you have the option of aborting it if there is suspicion of abnormalities.

If it's the same test that I'm thinking of. :shrug:

 

[pixiegirl]

If it's the same test that I'm thinking of. :shrug:

I think you're thinking of a triple screen???

 

[cattitude]

If it's the same test that I'm thinking of. :shrug:

Yeah, that test wasn't around when I was pregnant. It was with my sister..can't think of the name of it but it has a lot of false positives.

 

[kwillia]

That's correct.

That leads to the next set of rhetorical questions for a woman facing such a test... What does she hope to learn? Will the info provide benefit from knowing about a potential problem up front or is it just a "nice to know and I don't want to wait until birth to find out"?

There are some problems that can be prepared for and possible treated if the docs know ahead of time... but if that's not going to be the case, I'm not sure what the benefit of knowing a few months earlier really is... like Christy pointed out, it could very well just lead to added stress in the pregnancy and sometimes it's for naught.

 

[cattitude]

That's correct.

So, does Kwillia get a prize.

 

[Speedy70]

I had the nuchal translucency done last week and got my results yesterday. They expected my numbers to be higher for my age, but they weren't. Something in my blood work is off. However, my numbers still indicate a less than 1% chance of an abnormality, such as Downs. It's been suggested to consider the amnio.

 

[cattitude]

I had the nuchal translucency done last week and got my results yesterday. They expected my numbers to be higher for my age, but they weren't. Something in my blood work is off. However, my numbers still indicate a less than 1% chance of an abnormality, such as Downs. It's been suggested to consider the amnio.

If it's the test I'm thinking of, if they are off at all on your conception date it will skew the test results.

 

[Speedy70]

If it's the test I'm thinking of, if they are off at all on your conception date it will skew the test results.

No, my dates are pretty accurate.

 

[bresamil]

I had the nuchal translucency done last week and got my results yesterday. They expected my numbers to be higher for my age, but they weren't. Something in my blood work is off. However, my numbers still indicate a less than 1% chance of an abnormality, such as Downs. It's been suggested to consider the amnio.

I honestly think the amnio's don't give the detail you're looking for and I can give an example why.
A friend had an amnio because she was 37 - all clear. Several months after the baby is born they find out he needed heart surgery and also is classified as a "Downs" baby. There is no family history on either side of these problems. So the amnio did not tell them anything in advance.

 

[Speedy70]

If it's the test I'm thinking of, if they are off at all on your conception date it will skew the test results.

The NT screening is where they combine three factors to give you a ratio of your chances. It's not a diagnostic test.

The 3 factors are:

The thickness of fluid on the back of the baby's neck (if it's thick, then it's high probability of Downs)
Blood work
Age

The scan showed that the fluid was very thin. The doctor said the fluid amount for my baby was quite normal.

 

[kwillia]

I had the nuchal translucency done last week and got my results yesterday. They expected my numbers to be higher for my age, but they weren't. Something in my blood work is off. However, my numbers still indicate a less than 1% chance of an abnormality, such as Downs. It's been suggested to consider the amnio.

You need to ask yourself if you would terminate the pregnancy should the results be positive for Downs... and if your answer is a definate "no" than you need to ask your doctor if there is any benefit from knowing ahead of time and how accurate will the results be.

 

[jenbengen]

No. We knew too many abnormal test results that ended up being nothing. A lot of people decline the test unless they know they are at a high risk of something specific.

 

[Speedy70]

No. We knew too many abnormal test results that ended up being nothing. A lot of people decline the test unless they know they are at a high risk of something specific.

I've read about so many woman who get a bad result from their NT screening and go on to have perfectly healthy babies. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

I've truly stressed myself over this.

 

[Ehesef]

That leads to the next set of rhetorical questions for a woman facing such a test... What does she hope to learn? Will the info provide benefit from knowing about a potential problem up front or is it just a "nice to know and I don't want to wait until birth to find out"?

There are some problems that can be prepared for and possible treated if the docs know ahead of time... but if that's not going to be the case, I'm not sure what the benefit of knowing a few months earlier really is... like Christy pointed out, it could very well just lead to added stress in the pregnancy and sometimes it's for naught.

I have some friends of the family that had an amnio done and found out that their child would have Down's Syndrome. Because of this, they were able to prepare better for the child and have specialists on hand during labor and delivery.