Hi everyone. I've been lurking on this thread for a wee while and found it useful so thought I'd post in case hearing about my situation helps anyone down the line.
Pregnant with first baby, based in the Southern Trust. I was 34 at my 12-week scan (but turning 35 soon) and I expected some mention of a quad/combined test option along with the other blood tests at the booking appt. But no mention was made and I only realised once I got home that I had to push for it. I've read online that they maybe offer the test to women over 35, but I don't know if that is even how things work in my trust, it seems so variable.
Anyway, tried to ring maternity outpatients to ask about the getting the quadruple test, but the number was always engaged and I didn't want to ring the assessment unit or any other number and bother them, so I decided to wait until my 16-week appt to ask the midwife then. Our plan was to book a private NIPT and pay the £400 if there was no testing offered to me after I asked.
Get to the 16-week appt (which was actually closer to 18 weeks) and I ask the midwife about fetal abnormality testing – she seems a bit surprised and doesn't have much information to give me. She says she thinks there's a cut-off for the quad test and that, being 17+ weeks, that I'm almost certainly past it.
But she rings the maternity dept on my behalf to find out either way, and she is told that the quadruple test is done between 16 and 18 weeks, and they book me in for an appt at the hospital the following week when I'm 18 weeks.
It wasn't clear to me whether I was literally booked in just for an appt to get the blood taken, or whether I was going to speak to someone about why I wanted the test. The midwife suggested it could be the latter. But when I went for my appt, it was purely about getting the blood drawn. The midwife went through what the test was for, etc. and how long the results would take. It was very straightforward and totally non-judgmental.
I was told results would take 2 to 3 weeks. The blood gets sent to Cambridge for testing. I got the results letter 10 days after my appt, saying I'm low risk for having a baby with Down's syndrome.
The risk wasn't crazy low like 1 in 15,000 like I've read elsewhere on here, it was 1 in 527, which seems to roughly match my age risk. So, I'm happy enough with that – I pushed a little for more information and now I've got it, and I'll just have to let whatever will be be after that.
Anyway, sorry for the big saga, but information about antenatal testing in the NI health service is really scant online, and I felt a bit self-conscious about pushing for testing when it wasn't freely offered at my booking appt. So maybe this info can help someone else in NI or in the Southern Trust specifically.
Best of luck in all your pregnancies!