Harmony prenatal test - anyone know about it

[RTchoke]

today I am having a new kind of prenatal test called Harmony. It's non-invasive and seems to just be a new kind of blood test plus the regular nuchal scan but it's much more accurate than the traditional nuchal blood test. Apparently it's nearly as accurate as a CVS but without any risk.

I'm the only person I know who is having this test and nobody else seems to have heard of it let alone have been offered it. I just wondered if others have and knowledge of it and how accurate it is.

Yes, in think in your position I'd go for the NHS hospital jbrd. How are you feeling at the moment? (sorry if that's a dumb question!)

Jbrd sorry to hear your test failed. Hope all goes well with the amnio next week.

It's clear that the test does not work for a small percentage and that must be v disappointing. For the 95% though it does provide a very reassuring and clear result. I would highly recommend. Apparently they have started NHS trials at the Prof's hospital King's so hopefully it will be more widely available soon. Midwife was clearly aware of it and keen for it to be extended.

Best wishes all!

I read through this thread and searched the internet for places that do the Harmony testing in the UK - I am in Bristol and I knew that Spire Hospital in Bristol do it but they also charge 650 pounds. My midwife just informed me (and I called to confirm) that St Michaels hospital in Bristol also do the test for 495 pounds!! They only do them on a Monday and Tuesday. Hope this info helps someone - unfortunately for me my midwife told me on Weds morning...and i leave on holiday on Monday so I have to pay Spires extortionate amount!!

Hi, Ive read through this thread and I am looking to go to FMC for a Harmoney scan... Its early days, I'm only 7 weeks 5 days pregnant through IVF.... I've had a normal scan earlier this week to confirm there is just the 1 fetus.
There appears to be 2 options for Harmony test, 10 weeks or 11-34 weeks. Which is best do you think or is one more accurate than the other?

Sorry I mean blood test & nuchal scan!

Hi Chic

They have a package for £400 that includes the following: you go in at 10 weeks and they do a viability scan to make sure everything is on track and then take bloods for the Harmony test. 10 weeks is the earliest they can do it I believe. Then the bloods get sent to the US for analysis - results are usually back within 10-14 days. The Harm
You go back at 12 weeks for a nuchal scan in addition.

Sorry, posted before finishing by accident.

The Harmony test results are very clear. Either very low risk - at least 1:10000 or very high risk. As FMC is a research facility they also do the combined test with nuchal scan at 12 weeks. They may not give you the results of this as it is less accurate than Harmony and can cause confusion if the result is different.

If your Harmony result is high risk they will offer you CVS, also included.

The Harmony test does not work for a small minority (5%) where insufficient fetal DNA can be detected.

Thanks Kitty. Do you think I should have the early 10 week test or the later 11-34 week test? Does it make any difference to the result?

Chic waiting won't change the result but the £400 offer is only available at 10 weeks. The price rises to £500 afterwards. And you have to wait for the results for up to 2 weeks so sooner rather than later is better to get the results early.

Thank you ladies!

Afternoon folks!

I had a harmony at the glasgow centre for reproductive medicine and was told up to 16 days for results. I rang to day to see if there was any news if the bloods were viable / able to get enough fetal DNA and was told that they wouldnt know, they just provided the venue!

They also werent able to tell me if it was 16 working days or 16 calendar days

Can anyone advise me on this? I am going a bit frantic tbh as I am now over 16 wks and concerned how much longer this is going to be...

Hi. I had nifty but they are pretty much the same. From my own research and experience it's worked out in working days. Plus don't forget that means it doesn't include bank holidays. I was unfortunate and had to wait over Easter.

I understand your frustration. I felt exactly the same. Hope you are ok x

Hi all,

I just want to add my experience of the Harmony test at Fetal Medical Centre as I read this board before my visit and found it useful. Overall v positive and happy. My obstetrician confirmed viability at 7 weeks at scan with heartbeat so I knew my date was a week earlier than I thought from last period.

I booked for the £400 package of Harmony test at 10 weeks (blood test and viability scan) to return exactly 2 weeks later (calendar days) to have the 12 week Nuchal scan and the results of Harmony. I did overhear a lady being charged more because her dates were not in their strict guidelines for the deal.

I asked for the gender when blood was taken at 10 weeks and they made a note of this so I think you do have to request if you want to know gender result as well.

At my Nuchal scan I was given results of Harmony (a girl and all low risk) but had a very uncooperative baby who refused to be in the correct position but they were above and beyond patient and I ended up being there for 4hrs until she finally decided to lie correctly (had to jump a lot and drink hot chocolate-sugar to get her active).

I really appreciated the detail and patience in the Nuchal scan and although my obstetrician does regular little scans I think I will be back at 20 weeks for another more detailed scan.

I'm really anxious. I had my nuchal scan with NHS and I got a 1:55 risk factor (I'm 31, nuchal 2.7 but bloods were bad) The few days after I couldn't eat or sleep and just kept crying. I didn't really understand all the stats and information I'd been given. Yesterday decided to go to the Fetal Medicine Centre where they re-did the nuchal scan and bloods (and looked at other markers on the scan). They gave me a new risk factor of 1:1213. They seemed confident but I'm still so scared. (1:1213 still seems high after my first DD's risk factor was 1:9800) Also I'm dubious how the NHS and the centre can give me such different risk factors, and whether I can trust the FMC? I decided to go for the Harmony test but waiting these next 2 weeks is going to be horrific and I'm terrified at what the results will say :-(

Should add, I left the FMC far happier as they were so thorough and explained all the information and scan so well. The doctor was lovely. However, I feel so unsettled after NHS midwife phoned me today and said she was unsure about FMC results and that at our hospital trust they are very accurate with their risk factors and that of 120 women each year who get a 'high risk' result, 40 of them do have babies with problems. So that has now completely unsettled me.

The midwife shouldn't have said that to you. The FMC are highly respected and there equipment compared to my hospital are leaps and bounds ahead. My midwife and in fact any midwife I've spoken to during this pregnancy hadn't heard of the harmony test. But my NHS sonographer had and knew the sonographer who had done my nuchal she told me the FMC results are far more trust worthy than the NHS

Ditto what gumwalloe has said. I work in antenatal screening at the techniques and screening tests they do at ultrasound at the FMC have a higher level of accuracy than those presently done on the NHS.
This also works the other way around of course - ie, you can get a low or borderline risk NHS results and get a 1:2 at the FMC...

Thank you so much madrigals, gunwalloe,diege for your comments. Thats so helpful and really reassuring for me to hear right now. Appreciate you posting. I've felt my nhs screening midwife has been almost encouraging me to think the worst and hasn't given me much hope (even in way she explained stats &kept saying sorry for the bad news etc) Also, interestingly the FMC didn't get a different nuchal reading or blood result to the NHS had done (so the NHS weren't wrong) It seemed the FMC just weighted the factors going into their screening test completely differently.... so bloods became less important after they'd incorporated all the physical soft markers from the baby. If FMC are correct and more accurate, then does it suggest that in down's screening those soft markers are more important? My DH was really impressed that the FMC aren't driven financially as, after my new risk factor was given the doctor said did we definitely still want to go ahead with the harmony test. I'm really praying everything will be OK.

hope, re the physical markers as a indication of Downs (or not) they are not seen as more important as such, but add a greater level of accuracy to the 'risk' calculation. So factors such as direction of blood flow, nasal bone etc, don't take precedence over nuchal fold for eg. but if all 'good' will work in your favour. Certainly the blood thing they do on the scan, if 'bad', is rarely seen on healthy babies.

Interestingly, the age-risk calculation that FMC do is 'harsher' than the nhs. So my age along calculation with the NHS at 43 was 1 in 50, at the FMC 1 in 35. I had the harmony there last year with my last baby (dc 6!) and is was all clear. My nuchal/bloods/markers calc was 1 in 700 iirc and tbh if I hadn't been having the harmony already (it was free then with the nuchal as part of a research trial) I wouldn't have bothered with those odds.
On the point about midwives, with dc1 12 years ago I had a 1 in 169 risk with the 'triple test' (bloods only, which is all they did then). All was well, but the mw (head of screening at a very well known maternity hosp) told me that with those odds (actually less than 1%) there was 'obviously something wrong' (there wasn't) and I do remember the power that that sort of bollocks has when they are 'expert' and you are so vulnerable. I am convinced that all will be well with you and your gorgeous baby

Ladies I just wanted to say that in a large part due to all of your posts here, I went to the FMC today at 10+2 for viability scan and Harmony test bloods. I was very impressed. butterry i have gone for the same package you did. It seems like a pretty good deal and I felt like I was in excellent hands.

I've had a couple of (fraught) early scans at the local EPU due to bleeding at 5+4 so the moment I got to see that bean jumping about on the screen was pretty special. I was impressed with how thorough the doctor was and he explained to me at every point what he was looking at and measuring.

I'm due back in exactly 2 wks time for the harmony results and my nuchal tests, trying not to think about it too much. Whatever happens I am confident that this combination of tests at this venue will arm me with the best possible information, and that's a great comfort to me already.

Hope your wait is nearly over, I am wishing you all the best, and healthy pregnancies to all X

Ladies - I found this thread back in April and booked into the FMC to have the Harmony Test. I was scheduled to have the combined test on the NHS last Friday and the Harmony results today.

On Friday - I went to the hospital for the test and the sonographer was rather grumpy with us when I mentioned that we were having the harmony test at the FMC as well. She advised us (quite agressively) to not have the calculation done for the combined test. I was quite taken aback to say the least. I told her that I wanted all the information. She argued that if the results were high and they were low with the harmony - no one could tell us why (indicated my size with a bmi of 37 would go against me) - and what would I do in that situation. I told her I would probably be happy with the Harmony results. She said, ' then why get the results from this test' - so I replied (quite annoyed at this point) 'Why wouldn't I?'. In the end DH tried to smooth it over. I can appreciate that every scenario is important to consider - but to be honest I had considered every scenario, and all I wanted from the NHS was the information, and the power to make my own decisions, and to be respected regardless the decision I make. In the end, my combined result was fine - 1:3500 and the Harmony came back with 1:10000 and that it is a girl - which is a very pleasant surprise as I was convinced it would be a boy!

I should mention that I had another somewhat unpleasant experience with the hospital for my booking appt. The trainee midwife made a mess of taking my bloodwork. Never again will I let a trainee do that - and I have veins you can't miss! So I think I'm probably a bit sensitive at the moment with regards to the particular hospital... some staff were just fine...

In my personal experience, if you consider all the scenarios with two sets of results and are still adamant to get both results, then you may wish to keep your trip to FMC private and not tell the NHS. I did get the impression that it wasn't that it was NHS policy to not give the results of the combined test if the Harmony was being done - it was this sonographer's personal opinion. Which frankly - annoyed me more.

I wish you all very much the best of luck with your results and cannot praise the FMC more. Their equipment and staff are simply marvelous - the experience felt like the difference between night and day compared with the NHS. I now actually feel real excitement and the ability to just relax! Worth every single penny to me.