nuchal scan

[Mrsfullhouse]

Hi, I've just had the results of my combined risk test and the results have come back as 1:162, I'm 31 and my last baby, who is 13 months old had a result of 1:11500

My hospital have said the cur off is 1:150, but that feels awfully close to me.

In our scan pics you can clearly see a large nuchal fold, which on average measured 2.8mm.

What next???

I'm so unsure as to what to do, they have offered us amnio, but what if it harms a perfectly healthy baby?

We have two very small children and are just not geared up to cope with a baby with genetic problems, as much as I hate the thought of not having this baby, I feel we would be hurting the ones we already have to go forward with a pregnancy if the baby is going to need special care.

That sounds so awful, but we're so lucky to have the two we have, that I would never want to do anything that would make their lives harder.

I'm swimming in doubt and I just dont know what to do...

Is there anyone out there that has had similar odds..?
I just don't know how to make this decision??

Thank you in advance, I've been met with a stony wall of silence from my midwife and my husband is extremely emotional, none of which is helping! X

One way to think about it is that it is still less than 1% chance.

The amnio has a very low risk, also under 1% chance.

Can you afford Harmony? No risk- but pricy and private.

I think if you already know you would terminate if the child were to have a genetic condition then I suppose you have to find out.

Prior to our 12 week scan and combined testing we had discussed this issue and had said we would definitely have an Amnio if we came back as high risk and we would terminate if there were any problems. Thankfully we came back as 1:90'000 so it wasn't a situation we had to find ourselves in.

Why is your husband extremely emotional??
Does he want to continue the pregnancy without any further testing??

I suggest the harmony test and take it from there. I'd be P'd off with mw she should be talking it through with you. Its got to be worth the money if your serious enough to talk termination. Also the hospital have not raised it as a concern, hth x

Go with the Harmony - no risk then

Remember 1:162 chance of genetic problems is also 161:162 of not having any.

What makes you think your dc would be hurt by having a sibling with down syndrome?

you poor thing so stressful.

I had 1-97 with my ds I has the amnio and all was fine.

soontobesix - I think the op was saying the extra stress of any condition to her children not just downs.

everyone makes there iwn choices. thankfully we didn'thave to and certainly wouldn't judge any of them.

I totally get where you are coming from op. You need to decide if you would go ahead with te pregnancy knowing there were chromosome abnormalities. If you would keep the baby it might be better to have a test like harmony or nifty. Neither are as conclusive as an amnio however.
If you know you wouldn't keep the bevy if they found something it may be worth having the amnio.
You can contact ARC who are fab for talking through options and results.
Wishing you all the best of luck.

Soontobe did you mean that to sound so judgemental?

Do you feel better thinking of it as 0.6% chance of Downs versus 99.4% of no Downs?

I'm older than you (37) but otherwise similar - prior pregnancies were 1:10,000 but this is 1:200. Nuchal measurement a bit smaller though at 1.8 so suspect it's my age plus the bloods pushing it up.

We decided as risk of miscarriage from amnio at 1% is double our risk of Downs that we wouldn't proceed with tests. We decided we would rather deal with being in the very unlucky 0.5% if it happens than risk losing a perfectly healthy baby. The 1:200 was much scarier than the 0.5% vs 99.5%.

Thinking of you while you decide what to do.

There are no right and wrong answers to this as you know, just what is right for you.

We had odds of 1:97 for Downs and soft markers which had a high correlation with other genetic conditions. The combination of multiple soft markers in addition to the bloods/nuchal measurement left me feeling no uncertainty about opting for a CVS.

In the bluntest terms, although I would have been devastated either way, I felt like I could cope better with a miscarriage than a lifetime with a child with a serious genetic condition so the risks weren't equally weighted for me.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, I know it's horrible to have that uncertainty weighing over your head, I was an emotional wreck for weeks waiting for results.

I am 37 and we had a 1:59 risk. Having already lost 3 babies and knowing someone who had lost one through Amnio I decided to have the Harmony test at the FMC at Harley St. Was negative and I ended up with a more than 1:10,000 risk. Was well worth it. Xx

Sorry your feeling so stressed. Noone can make the decision for you, nor should they. You need to do what's right for you in the circumstance you find yourself in.
I have four children. With number 3 I was told my chances of DD were 1 in 617, which didn't seem to bad to me, but it was only a statistic after all and I was the one in 167 who had a baby with DS. Mega shock when she arrived and major panic as I wasn't sure how or if I could cope or how my husband felt about it. Suddenly realised that my baby was just that my baby and nothing else mattered. Sure we've had a few issues along the way but then its not all plain sailing with any child and the only impact she has had on the rest of the family is to make them more caring, considerate and accepting. Fifteen years on I wouldn't change a thing and child number 4 with a risk of 1 in 200 was born without DS.
Despite my experience I feel very strongly that you shouldn't worry about what other folk think, just be at peace with your own decision..there is no right answer.. just the one that will work for you.

Soontobesix, that was a harsh comment when the OP is clearly in distress. Having a sibling with a disability does impact on siblings, especially as the parents get older, I think that's what the OP meant.

If you a sure you will not continue with the pregnancy then I think you should have an amnio, I don't have any personal experience of your situation but can completely appreciate your feelings and imagine the dilemma you are in. The harmony option sounds great if finances allow.

I would have a harmony test if you can afford it. Good luck whatever you decide to do

No Ginger I meant it as a question.

I would have a harmony if funds allow.

If funds do not allow perhaps ask to see their amnio results (I believe the more skilled & experienced doctors have a much lower rate of mc than the less experienced ones).

I must say when I was waiting for the results I was feeling much much less confident about what my decision would be if we had a positive result for Downs. I would have always said I would terminate but if it had come to the crunch I'm not sure if I could have done so (I didn't feel the same about the other genetic condition we were high risk for)

Soontobe, can you not see how it came across?

Op, you could try the nifty test, it was 295 which is a lot cheaper than harmony and gave us huge peace of mind as our area doesn't offer nuchal scans. I used a company called thisismy in manchester (but they are in other cities, too). they test for down's, edwards and a third syndrome(forgot name, sorry).

all the best!

Ginger no, working through exactly what the impact having a sibling with Down syndrome would or would not be could be very helpful to making a decision.

Soontobe, I'll tell you exactly what the impact can be like.
It's not always positive and happy families.

I can imagine it isn't as a parent of s disabled child , however it can be positive.