High HCG and Low Papp-a

[leah3]

Hi all!

Im about to be 14 weeks pregnant with my first baby. All was going great until I got a call from the hospital on Monday to say my baby has a higher chance of having DS (1 in 25!) after a lot of ringing back and asking for more info, I was given these results

GA - 12w2d
HCG - 4.9!!
Papp-a - 0.35
Nuchal Fold - 1.5mm
Age - 26

Im particularly concerned about the high HCG. Has anyone else had similar results? I’ve had the NIPT done and waiting for the results but it’s taking forever and I’m losing my mind!!! Thank you

Hi OP. My results were very similar to yours, as I was 33 my risk was 1/15.

We had CVS as NIPT not available and it was negative. Due to low Papp-A DD had 4 weekly scans for growth but she was absolutely fine. She's a healthy 7 year old now,

I think the high HCG is why I was very sick with her, compared to almost nothing with first DD.

High risks flagged on bloods rather than high NF are much, much less reliable,

I had similar results and completely understand your worry OP. I had the NIPT and all is fine, (she’s now a healthy 12 week old). The wait for the NIPT results was awful and I was googling non stop. I found nothing would really reassure me though and the best thing was to try and do things to take my mind off the worry, hard as that is.

I do however think the Nuchal Fold being normal range (mine was exactly the same as yours by the way) is very positive and likely all will be fine!!

Same as pp I had 4 weekly scans due to the low Papp a which was nice really! And I was also extra sick during the pregnancy!

@WaterBottle123 @Purplepot290 thank you so much to both of you for responding. I suppose my high HCG could be a reason why I’m still feeling very nauseous! You’ve both made me feel better, much appreciated 🙌🏽🤍

That's true @Purplepot290 the scans were nice :) I could see DD's full head of hair at 36 weeks

RESULTS ARE ALL CLEAR, over the moon!!!!

That’s great news Leah these stories are Giving me hope x

36
pappa 0.38
hcg 3.8
nf. 1.9

🙏🏻

@Sleebob hey love! Your results look pretty good! Did you have any further testing done?

@leah3 Sorry should have said … I was given a 1-12 risk waiting to hear results of NIPT. I’m absolutely past myself with worry xx

@Sleebob completely understand! It was honestly the worst week of my life. I was so convinced it would be bad news. I can’t even tell u not to worry because it’s impossible not to. But I’d say you’ve got really good odds! Please do let me know how u get on? I’ve read soooooooooo many stories on here about people having high risk results and I’d say over 90% of them came back low risk in the end. Fingers crossed for you love! P.S, did you opt to find out the gender?Xx

❤️❤️ I’ve not told anyone not even family so these messages mean allot. Thanks so much I will let you know how I get on x when are you due @leah3 x

@Sleebob exactly the same with me! Didn’t tell my family or anyone. I was constantly trying to find others in the same situation so I know exactly what you’re going through love. Fingers crossed for you! I’m due 30th Oct, how about you? X

31st! Xxx @leah3 how strange !

@Sleebob ahhh amazing! Please keep me posted when your results come in! Xx

@Sleebob how did you get on love?

Hi @leah3 all low risk! Never been so relieved in. My life x

@Sleebob ahhh brilliant!!! Best call of my life when I got the all clear. Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy 🤍

Hi all,

I'm going through that is the moment. My NT was 2.1 which seems on the higher side to me but I was told at my scan this was in range and fine.

Bloods showed
HCG as 2.1
Papp-A as 0.74

I'm 33 and they have given me 1:45 chance of Downs. I am so worried and scared. This is an IVF pregnancy after 5 years of secondary infertility and I just feel so thrown by this.

I am booked in for an amnio on Monday when I will be 15 weeks. Should get the results back by Weds/Thurs.

Great to hear your good news stories. I did speak to a clinic yesterday about the Harmony test to see if I want to go down the non invasive route. They told me that in their 8 yr experience of offering the harmony test, more often than not when its bloods skewing the results, rather than the NT measurement, it leads to a low risk result. Don't want to get my hopes up but taking a little comfort in that.

@edibletreats hey :) I’m no doctor of course but your readings look fine to me. I was told Papp-a is only considered low if it’s below 0.40. My bloods were wild and still was all okay. I can’t tell you how many stories I read of people getting high risk from NHS and then all being fine in the end. Rarely, I saw it end in an official diagnosis. And trust me, I must have read over 100 stories like this! I know 1 in 45 sounds high but it’s a little over a 2% chance. I won’t even say try not to worry because nothing I did could reassure myself. But I saw so many people with a 1 in 3/4/5 chance and all was fine :) fingers crossed for u

Thanks @leah3
Just to say I did get the PAPP A wrong as I was trying to write from memory. Its actually 0.27.

I have spent the last two days reading every thread on here too and really hope I am one of those who it all works out for in the end!

@edibletreats please do keep us posted 🤞🏼

I had the amnio on Monday on just got the call now to say I've got the all clear. Will continue with aspirin until 36 wks and additional scans post 20 weeks but I'm over the moon. Its been such a stressful week, I feel like I can finally breathe!

@edibletreats very happy for you! 🤍

Just had my bloody results and going for my nipt test on Monday. I feel like I’ve hand the wind knocked out of me and I’ve been stressed out since. Haven’t been sleeping and finding it very hard to eat. My partner is also struggling with the results and the worry everything over us. It’s like we went from enjoying the pregnancy and now we are walking zombies with the unknown ahead of us .

Hiya!

I couldn’t scroll past without replying as I know from experience how awful this is. With my first baby I had super high HCG and his nuchal fold was 3.2mm (such much thicker than yours). We understandably came back high risk for Down’s syndrome. I had the NIPT test done and it was the worst 10 days of my life waiting for the results.

Happily everything came back all clear and I now have a wonderful little boy!! He walked at 10 months and is ahead of himself in every way.

With my second baby the same thing happened again! High risk for Down’s Syndrome. I had the NIPT again and just as before everything came back clear, he’s now 7 months old and crawling around at my feet.

I asked to see a consultant as I was concerned this had happened twice in a row, and he reassured me that some women’s bodies just react like that to pregnancy! And often if you have one baby with a thicker Nuchal Fold your other babies will have the same. He described the 12 week screening as a huge, wide net - this allows them to catch all of those who need extra tests but it also means they catch a lot of other people too, who don’t need extra tests.

I hope this reassures your, try to stay busy and distracted xx

Just wanted to add my experience to the list for other people to find in future. The wait for NIPT results is so traumatic and seeing other people’s stats here was the only thing that kept me sane:

We had a completely typical 12 week scan with an NT measurement of 1mm, so were shocked to get a higher risk for T21 (1:83). Im 31 but my Papp-A was on the low side (.43) and HCG was super high (5). I was convinced it was going to
be confirmed but just, thankfully, got the all clear (took 3/4 working days on the NHS).

I still need an extra scan at 16w with a consultant to check baby’s growth, but so relieved that the NIPT was ok.

Hope this brings some reassurance/hope to others going through it!