Harmony Test

[Jasmin2309]

I am coming up to 12 weeks (first time) and have my first scan/screening this weekend. However, I've been told about the harmony test and wondered whether this is something I should invest in (£500!). Does anyone have any experience with this? I am 39 so because of my age and various other factors I wonder if this is preferable to the what I'm being offered on the NHS. Any views?

Congratulations. I was pregnant for the first time last year at 38 and chose to have the harmony test. It helped that at that time the Fetal Medicine Centre had an offer which reduced the cost but I think I would have done it anyway. I was conscious that my age related risk made it more likely that the NT test would give a risk factor within the zone for offering an amnio. I didn't want to find myself weighing, say, a 1 in 125 risk from the NT against a 1 in 100 risk from the amnio of miscarrying a healthy baby and having to make an impossible decision about the amnio on that basis. I figured that that agonising decision would be easier if based on the greater certainties offered by the harmony result. As it turned out, the NT result (which we got from the FMC at the same time) was good, but I'm still glad we had the Harmony even though with hindsight we hadn't needed to. Hope you get a reassuring result too (whichever route you choose).

I think it is preferable if you can afford it.

I am 37 and declined the NHS first trimester screening on the basis that ceara said - weighing the NT risk against the risk of amnio.

My 12 week scan was fine but at my 20 week scan anomalies were discovered which might point to a trisomy (although the most likely thing is that the baby has swallowed blood from a bleed in early pregnancy). I have now had the Harmony test (results due any day) but sort of wish I had had it earlier so that I would not be going through this worry at this stage (I'm 23 weeks now).

Also the Harmony test is more accurate than the NHS screening - and it is actually looking at the fetal chromosomes as opposed to markers/levels within the blood. I got the impression from the fetal medicine midwives and the consultant that it may well come into the NHS if it can be validated and if it can be afforded (no one in the UK has the machine yet to run the tests, which is why the samples go to the US).

It might be worth having the NT test offered by the NHS first and seeing what the risk factor is, so that if you are still worried you can then have the harmony?

Look up NIFTY tests, they check the same things and are often a couple of hundred pounds cheaper :)

The cut off at which they suggest amniocentesis on the NHS is a risk of 1:150 from the NT test. I think the background risk at 39 must be close to (it's 1:100 at 40) that but I agree that it might be worth waiting for the NT test result first and then doing Harmony before risking an amnio.

I went to the Fetal Medicine Centre in London for the Harmony Test at 10 weeks (I think it is slightly cheaper if you do it before 12 weeks - 400 as opposed to 500, and it includes the nuchal translucency test). I had a viability scan at 10 weeks, plus the Harmony blood test, and then got the results back on the day of my NT test.

It is fantastic if you want reassurance. The blood test comes back with more precise results than the NHS tests - there are definitely fewer false positives (so fewer unnecessary CVS/amnios) and I think fewer false negatives as well. You can also find out the baby's sex through the blood test, if you're interested. The scan was also more detailed than the NHS scan (according to both the FMC and the NHS sonographers). When I went along to my hospital for the 12 week scan, they said the FMC went into a lot more detail than they did and so there was no point scanning or testing me again.

The waiting period for the test results to come back was a bit agonising, but the FMC were great and very patient with my anxious phone calls.

I had the harmony test after my 12 wk blood tests came back as high risk for abnormalities (aged 34 and second baby). The scan had been fine for measurements etc. Interestingly the woman at the Harmony clinic seemed a little perplexed as to why the midwife had recommended I have the test as the scan was 'textbook' great measurements for everything. However I had my bloods taken and had the test as I wouldn't have been able to relax through my pregnancy without the reassurance by that point.

Results came back fine exactly ten days later which was a massive relief. It was money well spent imo.

Hi - I'm 39 and now 25 weeks with baby 3. I was given the harmony test on the nhs at king's college hospital. They are doing a study there. Anyway, my odds after the triple test were 1/1250 or something like that (pretty good if you factor in my age) but because they were doing a study they offered me the test (they're offering it to anybody with higher risk than 1/1500 I think). It came back quicker than I had expected and I now have odds of 1/10000 of chromosomal abnormalities so I found it very reassuring. Obviously I was lucky because it was free for me but it was something I was particularly concerned about this time round (because of my age) and it made me feel a lot more relaxed. I think you should have it done if you are feeling anxious. It should make the rest of your pregnancy less worrying. Good luck!

I had the NHS screening and got a 1:5720 risk (low) back. Had it been a high risk we would then have had the harmony test. DPs best friend is a genetics consultant and basically told us this is what he would recommend (I am 41 by the way so my underlying age related risk was something like 1:90)

Definitely shop around as there was a huge price difference between the two places I looked at. I went with the FMC in the end (I think they are doing a reduced rate to try to boost interest so they can get more statistical data as it is still a relatively new offering).

Also, there is something called the NIFTY test which may be worth looking into: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/a1933658-Anyone-else-had-the-NIFTY-test-as-an-alternative-to-the-Harmony

We went for the Harmony package at the Fetal Medicine Centre and it felt like a really good idea. We haven't had an NHS risk ratio, so only know that the NT was within the normal range plus the 1/10000 harmony result. The doctor at the FMC took her time to get all of the measurements at 12 weeks, the scan seemed to last about 45 min, which was longer (by quite some time) than out 20 week scan, but possibly because our baby wouldn't keep still at 12 weeks.