Please or to access all these features

Antenatal tests

Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Nhs Down’s screening results. Worried!

66 replies

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 09:52

Here are my results

1 in 390 chance of DS

And 1 in 32000 of the 2 others.

As states on the letter they ate both low results. Anything under 150 is considered high. So I should be happy? But people have results in the thousands mine is 390 which isn’t high to me?! They said the neck measurement was fine on the scan then I had the bloods..

I’m pretty worried. I wish they never mentioned the number to be honest if it just said low risk I wouldn’t focus on the number!

Nhs Down’s screening results. Worried!
OP posts:
Hobbes39 · 05/05/2019 09:56

How old are you? The NHS screening will give you a default high(ish) result if you are older. I paid for the harmony test privately to find out my risk as I'm over 40 so would almost certainly have come back high risk regardless of any other markers.

aweedropofsancerre · 05/05/2019 09:59

I hate these screens. My last pregnancy I was told my baby had a 1 in 4 chance of having DS. I ended up having an invasive procedure and he was fine. The result was based on age and a number of other factors. For you if you simply think about 390 woman standing in a group out of that group one of those will likely have a baby with DS. If you’re anxious, do as the PP said and do the harmony test.

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:02

@hovves39 I’m only 28!

OP posts:
user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:03

@Hobbes39 I’m only 28!

OP posts:
ReganSomerset · 05/05/2019 10:04

That's a 0.3% chance OP, try not to fret. If you're that worried you could pay for the harmony test, but that's not conclusive either.

MooFeatures · 05/05/2019 10:06

There’s a 389 in 390 chance that your baby won’t be affected.

A 1:5 risk would sound incredibly high, but when you flip it and think that’s still an 80% chance of not being affected then the level of risk gets put into perspective.

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:06

I wish I never had it. If it didn’t show the number and just said low risk I wouldn’t of questioned it.
As it still says it’s low risk. It’s just why I’d my number so low compared to others. I want to know the reason why. They’ve told me everything looks fine, fluid measurement is normal and scans look good. But yeah I’m tempted to have the other harmony test now...

OP posts:
Frightenedbunny · 05/05/2019 10:07

Try not to worry op, it is low and the neck measurements are low too. If there were any medical concerns they would have called you back x

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:07

It actually works out 0.28 percent chance to be exact but yeah I wish they never put the numbers

OP posts:
Hobbes39 · 05/05/2019 10:08

As @aweedropofsancerre said - a 1:390 risk is still v low, but if I'm honest at your age I would have expected the 'default' risk level to be lower than that, so if you have the money for peace of mind I would do the harmony test (approx £400). You have a less than 0.3% chance of your baby having downs, but I'd want the reassurance if I could - I think it's such a shame the NHS can't afford to offer the harmony test as standard.

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:09

Yeah any worries they let you know within days it’s been a 2 week wait for this letter.

It’s not like the nhs will do anything as it’s not under 150

OP posts:
user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:10

I don’t know, as towards 30 things start to increase: but there’s no mention of it should be lower for my age on the letter./ so only option would be to pay

OP posts:
AtrociousCircumstance · 05/05/2019 10:13

Harmony test. Your baby is probably completely fine but just to put your mind at rest.

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:14

But isn’t the private test not 100 percent either?

OP posts:
AtrociousCircumstance · 05/05/2019 10:18

It’s 99.99999 or something Smile

AtrociousCircumstance · 05/05/2019 10:19

From the website:

Q: How accurate is the Harmony prenatal test? A: Using a DNA-based technology, the Harmony prenatal test has been shown to identify more than 99% of pregnancies with Down syndrome. By comparison, traditional blood tests can miss as many as 15% of pregnancies with Down syndrome.

Hobbes39 · 05/05/2019 10:36

I looked at all the accuracy stuff extensively. Basically - it's as accurate as you can be without doing an amnio - it's 99.9 % accurate for a negative result (ie if it says you have a v low chance, then you can relax). If it comes back with a v high chance, then there are reported incidences of this not being accurate, but it's still v rare. I got 1:10000 for each of the harmony tests so I feel pretty confident my babies are in the clear. I turned down the NHS screening for this v reason you are going through as I knew I would likely get a worrying result. I'm sure you will be fine tho, but it's worth the money if you have it for your peace of mind.

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 10:56

But I spoke to the midwife they said it’s fine.. so it’s suppose to be reassuring but it’s doing the opposite effect, mainly because of the internet..

OP posts:
ReganSomerset · 05/05/2019 11:00

Apparently your odds of dying in a car crash over your lifetime are 1 in 98.

traveltips.usatoday.com/air-travel-safer-car-travel-1581.html

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 11:48

Oh... well that’s less...

OP posts:
ReganSomerset · 05/05/2019 12:23

It's about 1%. And yet it's still considered low risk. If you are really struggling then take the harmony test. But I know it was £400 I didn't really want to spend.

GlamGiraffe · 05/05/2019 12:36

I'd already had a panorama not test which proved inconculsively that my baby had nothing wrong. The NHS still did the screening, came up with results telling me something was drastically wrong , then they all went into utter panic and just sent me home. If was really stressful. I eventually got through to a senior midwife who firstly said they had majorly exaggerated the risk that something actually WAS abnormal and in my case shouldn't have done the screening as I'd already had it .
The likelihood of abnormality given your results is incredibly small however I know how distressingly can be to be given the results. You should ask your hospital to book you in for NIPT with a harmony test to he conclusive. It tests the babys dna from within your blood and is safe for baby and easy to do.

MountainEagle · 05/05/2019 12:40

I had the Harmony test despite being low risk. I felt it would give me peace of mind because I knew I absolutely couldn’t cope with being that 1 in 390.

Weathergirl1 · 05/05/2019 19:09

I doubt the NHS will pay for NIPT testing given you're out of their 'high risk' category. It's really going to come down to whether the risk level is bearable to you (which is a completely personal decision) and therefore whether there is added cost-benefit to you paying out for a private NIPT. I think your situation sadly illustrates the fact that the information provided in advance of screening is pretty poor and it makes me quite angry!

user1485276096 · 05/05/2019 19:24

The Nhs won’t do anything unless it’s under 150 don’t think people are reading it!!!

They say it’s low and as far as they are concerned it’s fine.

I’m paying for my own NiPT next week

OP posts: