Worried despite good test results

[Smurftastic]

I seem to have pregnancy anxiety. I'm almost 16 weeks pregnant with my second child and my combined screening results came back as 'low risk' with 1:1500 chance of Down's and miniscule risk for Edward's/Patau. I'm 34 and baby's NT was 1.6. All good! Why do I keep worrying? My first baby at 30yo had a higher risk of 1:600 and a NT of 2.4.
We decided to pay privately for non invasive test for reassurance. She's now a very smart and healthy 3yo. We could afford to pay for the test this time around too, but should I just not feed my anxiety? There are so many other things that could go wrong that no tests can help with, I feel like even if I do this test I will worry, just about something else.
It probably doesn't help that I read how plenty of women seem to have babies with chromosomal abnormalities despite 'good' results! Also I understand that Down's Syndrome is not necessarily the end of the world but as I already have other caring responsibilities it's something that would cause a lot of trouble to my family. Please tell me I'm unreasonable and should stop worrying!

Personally I wouldn't worry so much about that now. Even if you could afford the extra tests, would it change the outcome of the pregnancy for you? If not then there's not much point worrying about it until after birth, even if you did have issues you will manage as people do.

I get worrying, I worry all the time. 18+6 with baby number 6, 10th pregnancy to pass 6wk but only 5th to make it past 12wk. Pregnancy is stressful especially at this point where movements are easily missed, I'm stressing more as my last was twins and I felt lots of movement at this point.

I think a part of me is just expecting something will go wrong; everyone I know either struggled getting pregnant or experienced miscarriages. So far I've been lucky, just expecting my luck to end I guess. I'm sorry about your miscarriages, it must have been very tough ... my first one was born 3 weeks early, I'm worried about prematurity too. You name it, I'm probably worried about it.

Your post resonates so much with me. Same age, similar gestation with DC2, similar results and same anxiety.

Like you I feel like my luck is about to run out so my brain latches on to any possible risk and convinces me it's going to happen. It's exhausting. I even look at DS1 and want to cry thinking how perfect and healthy he is and how impossible it is that we will be this lucky twice.

For Downs my risk came back 1:900 and it was quite a bit higher than I expected. I worry about a couple of other things as well and have contemplated paying for tests to make me feel better but have so far resisted the urge. I read somewhere that it just validates the anxieties more and for me I know once those tests are done I'll find something new to worry about.

I'm trying to help myself with healthy eating, exercising, yoga and meditation to keep the anxiety at a manageable level. We probably won't have anymore after this and wish I could just relax into it and enjoy my last pregnancy. You're not alone!

My downs risk came back higher than I expected to
I'm 27. Nt measurement was 1.3mm and I got 1:1500 for downs .
With my age and nt I imagined a lot lower
I've had no further tests but nothing abnormal was found at my 20 week scan .
I'm now 28 weeks and feeling baby move a lot and have decided to put it to the back of my mind

@Septbaby I'm already worried this one will come early as well, had some people tell me they'll struggle at school if born end of August! The thing is, I don't want to feed my anxiety. I had some other things happening in my life that were quite stressful, I think I'd probably use not concentrating on what could go wrong and instead think about what's going right. It's just so difficult! I thought about trying yoga or meditation but I'm not sure where to start? I think risk for 34yo is about 1:400, so yours is lower than the average anyway... so is mine, but it doesn't stop me worrying.

@jupitermars1345 My first pregnancy risk was higher than average for my age, this one is quite a lot lower. I think at 27 your risk is lower than the average if it's 1:1500 too. When I read it back to myself it seems ridiculous to worry about!

@Smurftastic I would really recommend the app 'headspace' for meditation. You can have the limited version for free or pay for the full app. They tailor 'courses' to your needs and also have lots to help with getting to sleep etc. Was recommended to me by health care professionals and is the first time I've paid money for an app it's so good!

I think maybe a harmony test to put your mind at rest might be worth it. Some things you just need the reassurance on or they will eat away at you.

@Choclover89 thank you, I think my husband said something about headspace as well! I'll give it a try.
I think I might as well do the NIPT, we can afford the £400 and we're stopping at 2 children anyway, so won't ever have to do it again (if everything else goes well with this pregnancy).

Please ignore the people that said an August baby will struggle in school 🙄

I was born in August, as were quite a lot of others in my year at school, and none of us found it any more difficult than people born earlier in the school year.

The presumption that children will struggle at school if born in August is total codswallop. It is all down to an individuals intelligence level not what month of the school year they were born.

Only morons say such stupid things

Trust me, having a summer baby is the least of my worries. In fact we planned to have a summer baby! I just want a healthy one. Funny it's my August-born friend who suggested it being bad ... it didn't even cross my mind before.