Is harmony test worth doing just for reassurance?.. help...

[Em0203]

Morning all!

So I have been looking into harmony and kinda feel like I want to do it but feels silly to just do it for reassurance?...
I had a result back of 1:2139 for Down’s syndrome and had low PAPP A levels. I feel uneasy about this and wondering whether to pay for harmony... would anyone recommend it just purely for reassurance? Xx

Hello 🙂
I had the harmony done recently but declined the nhs blood test (just had nuchal translucency measured).

I would have been happy with your low risk NHS result I think. But age is a factor for me so my baseline was around 1:250 for the nhs screening.

If you can easily afford it and it’ll give you peace of mind then it’d be fair to consider it- as the results are more far accurate, and low risk means 1:10,000 with the harmony results. But honestly, I would be really pleased with your current results.

Thank you so much @saturdaysauv that’s helpful! I know I should be pleased with the results but for some odd reason I can’t shake it from my mind ! I’m only 24 but the results have come back as they have due to a low PAPP A level. Which worries me. Is harmony more accurate? Can I ask what your results on harmony were? We’re you pleased with them? Xx

I had it because my age put me in a higher risk category (38) but I don’t think I would pay out that much money if my risk was as low as yours. It is very accurate (I think around 99% for Down’s) but it cost us about £400.

I wanted the reassurance of the more accurate test. If you can afford it then go for it. It is quick, simple and gives you peace of mind. More information can't hurt. Our basic Serenity test also covered Edward's and Patau's as well as DS.

Is harmony more accurate? Can I ask what your results on harmony were? We’re you pleased with them?

Yes- it is more accurate. Because it looks at the fetal DNA rather than hormone ratios and scan markers it is far superior is terms of both identifying where there is an issue where NHS screening may not, and also providing reassurance where a 'semi-scary' NHS result is given. As the PP says- the Harmony test will identify 99% of cases of Downs Syndrome.

Two results options are- low risk (1:10,000) or high risk. They don't do a sliding risk scale like the NHS results for the simple reason that if they find any evidence of chromosomal abnormality (for the 3 trisomies tested- other chromosomal defects aren't tested for) then you are given a high risk result- if there is no evidence of chromosomal abnormalities found on the relevant chromosomes you are given a low risk result.

fetalmedicine.com/harmony-test

More info can be found on the link above- I had my testing done at the Fetal Medicine centre in London and they describe the process on their website.

Sorry! To answer your final question- yes, I was happy with the low risk result I was given (1:10,000) and declined the NHS blood test to avoid the 'semi scary' result that I knew was likely.

I did consent to the NT measurement regardless as that can be an indicator of other genetic issues not covered by the Harmony screening.

That is so so helpful @saturdaysauv and I am so so glad your results were what you were hoping for. It seems a much better way to do it where they only do 1 in 10,000 and high risk. Although my NHS one came back low risk.. it’s easy to compare my 2000 number to other peoples 20,000 number haha. I think it will defo put my mind at ease and stop me worrying for the future months. So my NHS one showed my PAPP A levels come back low which is apparently a hormone in the blood or something - And this is why my NHS one came back as it did. So from your post I am assuming the harmony one doesn’t take into account the hormone blood levels but just DNA etc xx

If you think you'll spend the rest of your pregnancy in a what if state or continually worrying about it then as long as you're able to afford it, it would be worth it so that you could enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

I had the harmony test as my NHS test results were 1:165 - mine came back clear of abnormalities xx

My risk was even lower than yours and I still paid for Harmony. Think it was about £300. It was worth it to give me peace of mind and freedom from stress during my pregnancy. If I hadn’t had it I’d have worried myself sick for months.

This is such an individual thing imo. Here is my way of thinking around it - I'm 23 weeks pregnant currently. It depends on how stressed you're going to be. We declined be NHS test after deciding after long conversations and research that it didn't matter to us whether the baby has downs or not, and that we'd rather not find out our likelihood is high, to stress for months and then he turn out not to have it! I think it's more important to invest in your state of mind. Spend the time looking at "well if the outcome is x, or if the outcome is y, what will our life look like?" Because realistically, you're likely still going to love the child just the same and life will change with a new child drastically with or without special needs - you may come to some peace of mind through that (and hundreds of pounds cheaper!) best wishes

Do you know what your actual nuchal fold measurement was? If that wasn't raised then you are more than likely absolutely fine!

We said we would pay for harmony testing if we came back with a result from the combined testing that we weren't happy with. We didn't actually work out what kind of odds we weren't happy with, however! In the end, our risk was 1 in 100,000.

I think in your situation I probably would have paid for the test, particularly if I was worried about it or going to stress about it for the weeks and months ahead - sometimes peace of mind is worth paying for. Also we were and have always been quite clear that we would terminate if our child had Downs or another serious chromosomal disorder, so for us it mattered that we knew to the best of our ability so we could make the decisions we needed.

I don't think you ever really regret doing it in a financial sense because the relief that everything is OK outweighs any annoyance at spending the money unnecessarily, if you see what I mean.

Thank you so much for all your helpful comments. It’s lovely to be able to seek advice on here. I think I am going to go for it. Although my NHS one wasn’t particularly high risk.. I feel I’d rather have the peace of mind and reassurance and peace of mind is something that is worth every penny. I am going to speak to my other half tonight again but I think if it stops me worrying then it’s worth it!!!

I had 1 in 8 for Down's syndrome with my first pregnancy. I ended up choosing a cvs (100% diagnostic) rather than harmony and results came back clear.

I'm currently pregnant and decided to not even attempt to have the nhs screening done and I went straight to harmony and got 1 in 10,000. It simply was not worth the stress of potentially getting a high risk result again.

If I had done the nhs test however and got your result I would be v reassured by it. If you feel you will worry and you can afford it then get harmony but you have a good nhs risk result.

The NHS one is only 70% accurate so if you want peace of mind then go for harmony

Hey, I am 33 weeks and also had low papp a (0.4) my risk was low at 1:4000....I couldn't afford harmony at the time but looking back I wish I had done it for peace of mind throughout the whole process. From what I know though, low papp a in isolation is not a massive deal, it's more concerning when your HCG level is high. All my low papp has meant so far is I get extra scans and so far everything has been great

Thank you for your reply @Hopehope20! It’s so lovely to hear you are 33 weeks and it’s all going well for you! I am going to ring the place tomorrow to book the harmony! I’m just so worried it’ll come back as high risk.. even though the NHS one came back as low but I just wasn’t satisfied with the result lol... let’s leep our fingers crossed I guess xxxx

@Em0203 I think it depends on what you will do with the result. We declined testing as we decided that whatever happened we would deal with (easy said as 2 low risk mid 20year olds). If you and your partner have discussed and would terminate a pregnancy due to chromosomal abnormalities it is worth doing, if you wouldn’t terminate personally I wouldn’t see the point of doing the harmony, as it would just make you worried for the rest of your pregnancy!

Best of luck with whatever you choose 😊

Hi @Em0203 I've just had the harmony, I did it instead of the blood test. I am 35 so knew would be higher result and the Harmony is much more accurate so my midwife said if I have the harmony don't have the bloods for the chromosome likelihood's as they are less accurate. It came less than 1 in 10,000 chance. I have my 12 week (will actually be 13) next week and I'll feel better when I've seen everything is forming ok too. Also bonus you can find out what you're having with Harmony much earlier if you want to know. We did :)