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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Harmony test - to do or not?

21 replies

secretlyhermione · 07/04/2019 10:31

Hi all. I'm in my twelfth week of pregnancy and have just done the scan and blood test that checks for down syndrome. We should get the results next week but from the scan everything looked positive with low risk. We spoke to our doctor about also doing the harmony test and he said to wait for the test results but that if they're as positive as the scan there wasn't really need to (I am low risk as well). Then again a lot of friends of my age range have also done the harmony just to be extra sure. It's a private test that checks for other DNA abnormalities. Have any of you done it and what was your reasoning for doing it? My partner and I are confused as to whether we should do it or not. I'm the type of person that would like as much information as possible and this is also or first pregnancy so we're willing to do it. Thoughts? Would be great to hear what others have done and their decisions for doing so.

OP posts:

cowchickenduckdog · 07/04/2019 10:51

Hello, I'm low risk but like you I wanted to know as much information as possible so I had it done just so I know for sure what I'm potentially getting into. If you can afford it I'd do it as if you're anything like me you'd be wondering if you didn't. They can tell you gender too so I'd decide on whether you want to know that or not. We didn't want to know as other half wanted a surprise so we asked them to not tell us that bit but still check the sex chromosomes for abnormalities. Best of luck xx

Darkstar4855 · 07/04/2019 12:35

I did it but I was 37 at the time so there was a higher risk for me anyway. I wanted the extra reassurance of a more accurate test.

Pleasehelpimfreakingout · 07/04/2019 13:51

I'm doing it at earliest opportunity if I get that far. Then the 12 week measurements can be ignored (if done at all). I didn't do harmonyast for my last pregnancy, and all was well but I did get a low risk for down's that was literally just a few above the number for high risk! All very grey. I wasn't worried but now I'm 35, I know the chances of a higher risk number are great, as they will factor my age in. So I just want to avoid that uncertainly and potential worry

So, if your mind hadnt been put at rest by your results, then I'd suggest going for harmony. Good luck!

Vitalogy · 07/04/2019 13:54

I thought this was going to be about Eharmony. I'll get my coat.

Vitalogy · 07/04/2019 13:55

*good luck

Shmithecat2 · 07/04/2019 14:03

I did the Maternit21 test (similar test) when I was 10 weeks pregnant. I was 40 when I had my son and we may have terminated the pregnancy if any positive indication of T21, 18 or 13 had been present.

Waffle12 · 08/04/2019 18:55

Hi. We had the harmony test at 12 weeks. I am 38, and I was convinced the NHS test would come back high risk-no rational reasoning for this other than my age. Plus we had a mmc in august which I think has added to my paranoia!

Anyway I am so glad we did it. NHS test came back as 1 in 1400 which I know isn't a high risk, but with my 1st daughter when I was 33 it came back as 1 in 45,000 so I was disappointed this test was such a different result. The harmony test came back very low risk for everythhng- 1 in 10,000. I can honestly say it helped put my mind at rest in terms of the risk of the 3 syndromes- and as a bonus we got to find out the sex.

People were a bit shocked when I told them how much the test cost, but we don't live extravagant lives, and we felt the test was worth it for a bit more reassurance either way.

Jinglebells321 · 08/04/2019 20:04

Following this with interest.

I'm 37 so risks of anomalies is higher but don't know whether or not to wait for the 12 week scan results first to see if we need to pay for some additional reassurance.

HayleyHaystack · 08/04/2019 20:32

Yes we did the NIPT test at 16 weeks. We were low risk at the 12 week. It was never a question for us, we could afford to do it and as there is zero risk to the baby it was a no brainer to be as prepared as possible. Plus there’s enough to worry about in pregnancy anyway. Our test included a scan which was lovely to see the baby again and we had some extra reassurances before the 20 week scan. The results came back 5 working days later and it came back as very low risk - 0.01%.

Would 100% do it for next pregnancy.

hellotoyellow · 08/04/2019 21:00

I'm only 32 but had it - we were worried about false negatives and the cost to us was not much to find out more earlier. Plus we found out it was a boy. BUT I did feel a little silly when my combined risk was lower than the Harmony....

StoryBookorTwo · 08/04/2019 21:07

We were going to have it done just for extra reassurance as expected everything to be low risk but as it happens we were high risk at our scan.

It's good for peace of mind but it does only test for three of the more common trisomies (inc T21 Down Syndrome) - it can't rule out other chromosome conditions or genetic conditions and there are occasional false results as it's placental DNA (which can occasionally defer from fetal)

That said, I would do it again on next pregnancy (even if we hadn't had the high risk result last time) as it is usually very accurate for what it does test for

PetraRabbit · 08/04/2019 21:25

I had it with my first pregancy. I was 41 so it seemed sensible. It helped to reassure us. I knew someone who'd discovered her baby had Down Syndrome at birth and it made me cautious. Since then I've known of two more couples (one both in late 20s, the other with a mother of 30 and a father mid 40s) who "passed" the combined NHS tests with very low risk but had Down Syndrome babies. The NHS tests do not pick up all cases and I think these couples really suffered with the shock of finding out at birth. I'm pregnant again at nearly 44 after miscarriage with my second pregnancy and although I'd soul search much more over terminating my last chance child, I'd want to know.

DappledThings · 08/04/2019 21:28

I had it twice because my hospital offers it for free if your initial testing gives a risk higher than 1:500.

Results came in less than a week both times. Would I have paid for it? I don't know. But it was very reassuring.

SushiForBreakfast · 08/04/2019 21:35

I had a MMC and then what looked to be a successful pregnancy. I am 37 and I have an older partner and so I paid for the Harmony test for additional peace of mind...

I took the Harmony test at 9 weeks pregnant so it was considerably in advance of any NHS combined screening etc (which is usually conducted at the 12 week scan.)

As an extra bonus (but this was NOT the reason for me choosing to do the Harmony test) we also got to find out the sex of our baby.

RubyBoots7 · 08/04/2019 21:41

We paid for the harmony and had it around 10.5 weeks if I remember correctly. We made the decision based on age and we'd gone through ivf so just wanted answers as soon as possible so we could plan. Really glad we did. We didn't then have the NHS combined test.

Personally if you can afford it and have any doubts or increased likelihood due to age or whatever then I'd pay for it. It's far more accurate than the combined test.

Starlive23 · 08/04/2019 21:43

It was a bit pricy when I had it done but the peace of mind was worth it, I really would have the Harmony test again and would highly recommend it

Original poster

secretlyhermione · 09/04/2019 07:45

Hi everyone thanks so much for all your responses. Really interesting to read that many of you did do it and felt more at ease after. We're still thinking about it, given ere very low risk from the combined test. Still very unsure what to do!

OP posts:

ShowOfHands · 09/04/2019 07:56

It wasn't available when I was pregnant.

Interestingly, two friends who have had it and were low risk have babies who have genetic anomalies with significant impacts on their quality of life and long term care needs. Neither could have been picked up through prenatal screening. So while it may offer some reassurance, if I were having my babies today, I wouldn't pay for it I suspect.

AlecOrAlonzo · 09/04/2019 08:22

I had it with my last pregnancy. I came back as high risk after the 12 week test. I was very upset. The NIPT was a safer option than an amnio. All was well. It was expensive though and I wouldn't have had it done if I hadn't needed it.

TheCraicDealer · 09/04/2019 08:32

They don't offer any DS screening here. Eighteen months ago my DSis was waiting in a maternity ward before having DN and witnessed a scene where two young women from antenatal classes bumped into each other and one told the other her little girl had been diagnosed with DS at birth. A few weeks before we had the harmony I saw a group of young women sitting with their babies/toddlers with DS in a cafe. So although my maternal risk factors were good those instances were very fresh in my mind. I'm glad we did it (definitively found out the sex which was a great bonus), but had we had the screening that you guys get in the rest of the UK I'm not 100% sure we would have bothered if they'd come back low risk.

purplemama1990 · 09/04/2019 09:07

Like TheCraicDealer said, they don't offer DS screening at all here in NI, which I suspect is likely due to abortions being illegal over here. But I'm glad they don't do it to be honest, I don't really want to know what the risk factor for my child having DS is. My sis in law who lives in England also chose not to even do the DS screening at all, and I would probably do the same. I guess different people want different things, and it's up to you whether you want to know the risk or not. But a high risk factor doesn't necessarily mean they will have DS, and a low risk factor doesn't mean they won't.

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