1 in 21 risk of downs after Quadruple blood test - low UE3/estriol

[Heb1986]

Hi

First time writing on here - normally frantically searching for people going through similar things!
At my 12 week scan everything looked ok except the baby was lying in a way that meant they couldn't do the NT measurement so I went back at 14 weeks for the quadruple blood test which came back yesterday as a 1 in 21 chance of downs. My HCG was slightly raised at 1.85, as was the Inhibiton at 1.72. The 3rd was relatively normal, AFP maybe? But the one that's worrying me is Estriol/UE3 which was very low at 0.34. I was beside myself yesterday as this is our 3rd pregnancy this year - we had an ectopic in April and a miscarriage in June so this felt like our time for things to be more straight forward.
I spent HOURS googling and looking up different studies that have been done on low UE3 and all seem to suggest a high chance of pregnancy loss intrauterine, chance of downs, or high chance of major growth issues which can result in miscarriage/stillborn. I have opted for the amnio on Tuesday and should have the results within 72 hours - I know it carries a risk and always thought I would opt out of more invasive testing but it's funny how things change quickly when you're faced with it.
Basically, has anyone else had low UE3/Estriol and had a healthy baby? I know there is a chance of this based on the studies I looked at, although the other risks seem greater.
Feeling so so worried and upset.

Hi,

I know this thread is over two years ago, but I would be really grateful if you could tell me what happened with you in the end.
I have almost the exact same levels you mentioned above and am 35F.

Thank you

Hi! I’ve only just noticed your message @C324 I’m so sorry! When we went for the consultant appointment they said the scan looked reassuring so we opted for a blood test which extracts dna from the mothers blood and determines a high or low risk of Down syndrome. It came back low risk and we welcomed a healthy little boy in April 2021. I then had a 2nd son in January 2023 and opted to have no prenatal testing as we’d found the thing so unnecessarily stressful. How did you get on?

Thank you for replying!
We also did another non-invasive blood test and then a very detailed scan for 13 weeks (as detailed as they could, since baby was still quite small) and saw no markers. Test results came back that same day as low risk for everything!
We welcomed our third child, a healthy baby boy, in February! 4.5kgs of health 😅

In all honesty, I was skeptical until the very moment he was in my arms, because it’s very difficult to just erase a prognosis like that from your mama brain until the actual birth verifies it. I agree that it is all unnecessarily stressful and had me worried for a majority of the pregnancy for no reason at all.
The initial results are definitely highly skewed in the high risk direction for anyone over age 35.

@Heb1986 @C324 I’m currently in a similar situation. Couldn’t have combined due to baby position. Had quad, came back 1:13 for DS. So now I’m freaking out. I am 38 so I’m hoping that’s what’s caused it. It’s reassuring to read both your positive outcomes. Anxiously awaiting my NIPT results

@Nemo145 I hope all goes well with you! I had a very helpful midwife that talked me through the next steps and also put everything in perspective for me. The head of the high risk department was also a very bright and compassionate lady, who answered every question I had both times I met with her.
I should mention that I suffered from HG for all my pregnancies, so my hormone levels were always very high. That was normal for me, but the test reads that as a high risk marker. Same for age…
Sending all the good vibes your way 💞