Good outcome following terrible nuchal blood results - reassurance for others

[monkey32]

I just had to post my experiences this week after what have definitely been the four most stressful days of my life.

I am 12 weeks pregnant with DC3. On Monday I had my nuchal scan and blood tests. The scan was fine with a reading of 1.4mm but the bloods results were absolutely awful. My hCG was 4.1 MoM which was over four times the level it should be and literally off the scale. My PAPP-A was 0.4 MoM which was half what it should be. High hCG together with low PAPP-A can be an indicator of down's.

My bloods results on their own gave me a risk of down's of 1 in 4 and combined with the nuchal reading a risk of 1 in 20.

I had a cvs on Wednesday which was not exactly pleasant but more uncomfortable than painful.

I have just had my results and am delighted to report the baby does not have down's, edward's or patau's syndromes.

I just thought I'd share my results with fellow mumsnetters to reassure people that bad bloods results can definitely have a positive outcome.

So glad to hear everything is fine, congratulations!

I'm on DC3 too. At my NT scan a few weeks ago my PAPP-A was 0.2 and my hCG was 1.91. Combined with my otherwise great scan with 1.6mm I was given 1 in 60 for DS. I went for a further scan at the Fetal Medicine Centre in London. No soft markers thankfully, but bloods there were 0.29/1.73 ("terrible" according to the lovely doctor I saw!) My bloods alone were 1 in 8 and they adjusted my overall risk to 1 in 34 :-(

Unfortunately CVS wasn't wise for me as I had to have major surgery a few days later (permanent transabdominal stitch to hold the baby in due to having a mangled cervix). I didn't want to take the risk as we'd personally never terminate for DS (not judging anyone who does, btw). Can't really have an amnio later on either because if we lost the baby as a result I'd have to have a classical c-section with all the implications for future pregnancies on top of everything else.

So we're waiting it out with maybe an amnio at 30 weeks just to be prepared. We will obviously love the baby regardless but it is nice to know beforehand. Stories like yours make the wait easier so thank you very much for posting :-)

Just out of interest, did you have any beta HCGs drawn in early pregnancy and were they high?

Sparklies, I am sorry to hear you didn't have the best bloods results either. But I am sure you are taking a lot of comfort and optimism from the great nuchal reading and good scan. I decided I preferred bad bloods to a bad nuchal reading as they are much more an unknown quantity.

I didn't have any bloods drawn in early pregnancy so am afraid I don't know whether my hCG levels have been high all along. I've been suffering from dreadful morning sickness though so it wouldn't surprise me if they have!

I wish you all the very best for the rest of your pregnancy and I'm sure any further scans will offer you more reassurance.

Thanks monkey, that's very reassuring. I'm 35 and have just had bad blood results (Hcg 2.75 nad PAPP-A 0.54) but a good nuchal of 1.6mm. I have been given a 1 in 68 risk of Downs. Am having an amnio in two weeks and am very nervous. I have been very sick this pregnancy and was too with DS (but had no triple screening then) and wonder if that's why my HcG is high.

Hello

I had background downs risk of 1 in 155 (I'm 37.5) brought down to 1 in 100 through blood and nuchal results. Nuchal was 1.8mm so not bad but HCG was 3.8 and PAPP-A 0.8. Patau and Edwards were both v v low risk.

I've had awful awful morning sickness - I've heard that is common with high HCG but not sure if it's a proven cause. I had fairly bad morning sickness with DS but as I was younger I didn;t bother with the nuchal teat (not available on the NHS in my area so went private this time).

I have an amnio booked in a couple of weeks and I'm nervous due to a slight needle anxiety. I may yet cancel the appointment.

I keep focussing on 1 in 100 meaning 99% chance everything fine.

pipoca, of course you are nervous but I really think your odds are looking good - well certainly much better than mine and I was ok so I'm really hoping you will be too. I really think a good low nuchal reading is a key element. I too have been and still am very sick with this pregnancy and the correlation between high hCG and morning sickness certainly seems to make sense in my case.

gingerwench, I think your case sounds pretty reassuring. You have a pretty low risk. I really wouldn't worry about the amnio, if it is anything like the cvs you wouldn't even realise it was a needle if you didn't know, if that makes sense, ie it doesn't really feel like blood tests/other jabs. Also, you are lying completely flat so unable to see which is always a bonus.