1:60 downs risk

[lktoday5]

I'm just wondering if anyone can help me with this and calm me down. I've just had a call from the screening MW with a 1:60 downs risk. Apparently the Nuchal measurement was fine and they dont look at the nasal bone (and didnt tell me if one was present at the scan) so it's coming just from my bloods and age (I'm 35). I'm provisionally booked in for a CVS next Thursday but wondered if anyone else can help or give advice or has been through this?

Hi, there was a on thread on this yesterday so if you scroll down you might find it. Also have a look on the ante-natal topic.

I am 38 and was given 1:50 so I know how you feel. I was absolutely devastated to be told this, even though I know the odds aren't so bad. My result was based on my bloods too, NT was fine. Anyway, in the end we decided not to go for the amnio (wasn't offered CVS) and just wait it out. From what I have read on MN, the CVS procedure seems to be very straightforward and you can get the results very quickly. There is a slight risk of miscarriage, as I'm sure you've been told, but I haven't come across anyone on MN who this has happened to. I think the decision to proceed with the test depends on whether you would consider a termination, and whether you could live with not knowing. At first I thought I had to know, but I actually after a few terrible weeks the fear subsided and I have come to terms with things. Good scan results (nasal bone present, no heart problems, normal growth) have also helped me to be positive. Of course the scans are not definitive, but then neither is any test 100%.

Anyway, although I know it is shocking to be told you are high-risk, the odds of DS for your baby are actually very low, less than 2% in fact. My advice is to follow your instinct. If you feel the test is right for you, just do it and take things from there.

Hugs xx

hi there i can understand how worried you are at present, i am 39 and had a 1:6 chance of downs. i found out over the telephone the day after boxing day :( i felt sick and worried as i have other children too. i went for my detailed scan and the gentleman said he can see nothing obvious, but the only way to be sure would be by having an amnio, i asked how long would it take for the appointment to come through and he said we can do it now i went wooow i wasnt expecting that today he said go away and think about it for 20 mins . so i did and decided to go ahead , as the odds were higher than the 1;6 odds. time dragged by as we waited for the results and i must be blessed as all is well, so there can be hope at the end of the tunnel. try to keep calm and take each day at a time hope everything turns out the way you hope xxxx

1:60 sounds really high but as Ring says, it's less than 2%. I can't tell you what to do.

I would caution against having any further tests until you know what you would do if the news came back as 'bad'. And what you would do if the news came back as good but then you lost the baby as a result of the procedure. This did happen to a friend of mine, so I'm not trying to scaremonger but I think that people need to be aware of the real risks.

Until you know what your plan of action is in every eventuality, it's almost academic, knowledge for the sake of it.

I hope your way becomes clear soon and that whatever you decide, it's the right decision for you. What everyone else thinks is irrelevant. x

Hi LK - how did you get on yesterday?

I hope you got the outcome that you were hoping for. Take care.

Mine was 1:10 based mainly on age but also NT scan and then bloods. 1:60 really isn't that high.

If I were you, I would go to this guy. We hadn't had a holiday for 10 years but spent all of our holiday money we had save up on the CVS procedure. He was the guy who invented it and has never lost a baby yet to miscarriage (well, in 2005 when we had the procedure done). Worth every penny.

I had a similar result with my first pregancy and my main problem was that I just couldn't stop crying - I'm usually quite sane! I booked myself in for the amnio because I felt that I couldn't deal with feeling like that for the rest of my pregnancy. I turned up for the appointment but decided not to go ahead with it in the end (after crying for about half a hour). I had decided that I would keep the baby no matter what so the test was more for me rather than my baby. I know everyone feels differently about this though. The other thing that worried me was that apparently the risks of miscarriage post-amnio has nothing to do with technique/expertise of the doctor, it's just completely random.
It was awful at the time but I did manage to calm down quite a lot for the rest of my pregnancy after going to speak to the doctor and nurse. Everything was fine in the end and I hope it is for you too.

The other thing that worried me was that apparently the risks of miscarriage post-amnio has nothing to do with technique/expertise of the doctor, it's just completely random.

I am not sure I quite believe this. When we went to see Prof Nikolaides a few years ago, one of the other doctors there told us that Prof Nikolaides had never lost a baby after a CVS. The fact that he does about 50 a day and has done so for well over a decade, doesn't really fit with the 1:100 miscarriage rate.

I firmly believe that the skill of the doctor is the most important factor. This is why I would always go to him, even though he is expensive. I just would not take the risk going elsewhere.