Just found out I'm a sickle cell/thalassaemia carrier

[glidingpig]

Just had a letter through from the hospital saying that after testing my antenatal bloods, they need DH to go in and give a blood sample for sickle cell/thalassaemia screening. Which would mean they'd found I was a carrier, though no one's told me anything more specific, just that DH needs to go in.

Bit dazed - this is my second pregnancy, why wouldn't I have found out about this first time? Is there a chance the test could be wrong, or that they just didn't test last time (five years ago and different health board)?

It is quite unlikely that DH is a carrier too, right? We're neither of us in high-risk groups, the only heritage either of us knows about is thoroughly northern and pasty white.

Mind's running all over the place. I'm meant to be studying and can't focus at all.

It must be a lot to take in but if your DH isn't a carrier (which sounds unlikely) all will be fine.
My hospital only tested me because of my background, I don't think they test white British couples routinely but I guess this might vary throughout the country.
Which one are you carrying? Thalassemia can be found in Mediterranean

They only very recently started testing everyone for it (rather than specific high-risk groups) which is probably why you didn't find out last time. I'm also pg with DC2 and got tested this time, but not last time.

It's highly unlikely that your DH is a carrier, so try not to worry to much about it, and good luck with the pregnancy!

Thanks guys. It really will most likely be fine, need to get my head back on straight. I didn't realise they would have tested for anything new this time compared to my first pregnancy, so think I was just drifting along assuming there'd be no surprises from the bloods!

Abbey - don't even know exactly what I'm carrying yet, they haven't said! Hopefully I'll get to chat to someone about it at some point.

You should be fine - it's really unusual for someone of your ethnic origin to be a carrier and the likelihood of your partner having it too is remote. Sickle cell trait (I.e. Bring a carrier ) generally causes no problems whatsoever. You only see problems at really extreme environmental conditions, so unless you're planning to climb Everest, or doing extreme training, you're grand.

Sickle cell trait causes no problems with a baby in utero - if you child inherits one copy (1:2 chance) just like you'll, she'll be unaware unless she gets tested.

The worst case scenario is that your partner is a carrier too (very unlikely) and the child inherits both genes (1:4 chance if you are both carriers.) even then, sickle cell disease doesn't affect the baby in the womb, treatment would need to be started at 3 months.

So don't worry, the odds are vastly stacked in your favour! The most interesting thing is that you've probably got an exotic ancestor somewhere in that pasty northern family line!

Either way, you might have some extra resistance to malaria, should you ever go somewhere where malaria is a problem.

DH is a carrier for a genetic disease associated with Ashkenazic Jews (not Tay-Sachs). He's Ashkenazic, so that's no huge surprise. We found out when he got tested before we started trying for DD. They tested me and found out I'm not a carrier (I'm not Ashkenazic), so no worries there, at least not until our DCs are old enough to be thinking about having kids of their own. I am planning to tell DD and DS about it when they are old enough that it might be an issue, and encourage them to get tested to see if they are carriers. We're raising them Jewish, so there's a not-insignificant chance that they will end up with Ashkenazic partners.

I told DH I'd been warned off climbing Everest and he hooted with laughter. I'm the biggest couch potato going.

It really isn't likely to be a problem, is it? I have got my sense of perspective back now, and think me and DH are on the same page re. what we'd do in the unlikely event, so my flap is over. I think it was mostly because I'd come home from buying the very first thing for the baby, after not daring to believe in it for most of the first trimester, and my dickhead inner voice started going YOU'VE TEMPTED FATE YOU FOOL. Pregnancy emotions, wtf.

I'm not a doctor just a person on the internet but I think being a carrier isn't a problem just having the full blown thing. Once you find out which you are a carrier for you might want to tell relatives so they can flag it up if they become pregnant for example with someone in a higher risk group they could get checked beforehand. It sounds unlikely any of your family will have the full blown disease though

I think being a sickle cell carrier can be a problem if you want to do serious athletics or join the military. (Not sure if this applies to thalassemia). But if you intend to continue in your couch potato ways, that shouldn't be a problem. It's something worth telling your child(ren) in case they want to be athletes, join the military, or have kids. Presumably they could be tested if they did want to do anything where it might be a problem.

We told DH's family when we found out about his carrier status, because we thought it was the sort of thing they ought to know.