Older mums and high risk

[Nathsmum]

Hello ladies, so I’m 39 and am pregnant with my 3rd ickle bubba, had my bloods back and have been given a 1:2 chance of a downs baby. Obviously I’m a little nervous and whatever the outcome me and my partner will decide at the time but I’m so confused my NT is 1.9 and my hormones have come back fine so the midwife said they are doing on my age , had a cvs yesterday just to confirm but just curious anyone else been in a similar situation ☺️

Is that a typo? Your downs risk is 1:2?

No not a typo I’m at the highest risk scale 😕

its literally 50/50 as everyone midwife and doctor keeps saying

That’s not just down to age, that’s an absurd thing for them to have suggested. Yes your risk is automatically higher after a certain age but it doesn’t bring it down to 1:2. I’m 37 and mine was 1:2xx.

This is exactly my point I’m so
confused they didn’t give me any other information I must have issues with my Papp or something and all I’m doing is worrying , was your risk 1:2 ? Did u need further testing if u don’t mind me asking? X

I had DC2 at 39 and my risk is definitely not 1:2. I can't remember what it was but it's deemed as low and I didn't get offered further diagnostic tests.

What are they offering you? I remember you can get diagnostic tests to know the definite answer. There's also a genetic sequence tests which is just your blood?

I don’t think there referring to everyone at age 39 will have that risk but for me they said it’s not my hormones or NT measurement so a likely hood it’s against my age just seems extremely high , there must be something else wrong but they haven’t told me , got no markers and nothing obvious on scan it’s just really worried me x

You can get a 1:2 result. Here is some info.

"In the UK, the National Screening Committee has suggested a cut-off level to differentiate between screening test results with a higher risk that the baby is born with Down's syndrome and those with a lower risk.

The cut off is 1 in 150. This means that if your screening test results show a risk of between 1 in 2 to 1 in 150 that the baby has Down's syndrome, this is classified as a higher risk result. If the results show a risk of 1 in 151 or more, this is classified as a lower risk result. The higher the second number gets, the lower the risk becomes".

Had a cvs yesterday so waiting for the results from that and then they will discuss it with me , I just feel rubbish the midwife’s seemed to think the worse and seemed so sorry . I rung yesterday and they couldn’t tell me anything else it’s so confusing

Thankyou cornishgem I have seen some other threads where mums have got 1:2 but usually there NT is higher or hcg is high I feel like I haven’t been told something 😢

I imagine rather than thinking the worst, they are preparing you for the fact that there's a 50% chance. But then there's a 50% chance the baby won't. If you were given those odds with a lottery ticket you'd be happy! Try and keep positive until you have all the facts. The midwives do tend to err on being realistic - when I was taken in with a massive bleed, they were quite upfront about telling me to prepare myself for miscarriage.

That’s true Thankyou , just feel anxious and impatient I suppose seems like forever till Monday 😕xx

I also didn't bother with the NHS screening as I knew it would probably come back higher risk because of my age. I just had the NIPT testing at 10 weeks, but there's no way they can give you a 1:2 chance based on age. At 40, on age alone it's generally 1:100. Even at 45 it's 1:50

I would never have it again it’s just worry, and I totally agree , I believe it maybe my Papp score but if so tell me what’s the harm now im
already panicking 🤦🏻‍♀️

I had a risk of 1:18 at age 40 with low Papp-a (0.24) and a NT measurement of 1.8.
I had a NIPT and came back as very low risk 1:1000000 or something. Baby ultimately did not have Downs but there was some issue with growth which I think low Papp-a can indicate. To be fair you wouldn’t know it now the way he keeps growing out of clothes!

i had some issues with my daughters growth the placenta wasn’t quite right but she turnt out great so I’m hoping this is the same case , I just rung the hospital again as I just can’t stop worrying and she said my age is a massive factor as well as genetics and everything else they test but my scans are all clear bring on next week xx

No my risk was 1 in 200 something, I put 2xx because I couldn’t remember the exact number. And I have low pappa.

I think that maybe the midwives are preparing you for the fact that you do have a 50 per cent chance. It’s hard for them to know what’s caused this so I imagine they’ve just latched on to the age in the absence of another reason. It’s always tempting to seek answers and causes but you probably won’t find out why and need to ensure you’re happy with the options for what happens next. Sorry, it sounds really tough.

But it does piss me off if medical professionals are giving the impression this is business as usual for a 39 year old.

when I was pregnant with my DD at 32, she had a NT of 1.9 (so well within normal) and our overall chance was 1:1900 - yet she still popped out with that extra chromosome! It was a shock, but she is our superstar!

Age will always confound the combined results test as it’s such a blunt tool. Has anyone offered NIPT or do you want to go straight down the diagnostic route?

Feel free to PM me if you want to know anything about life with an Extra-Girl (or Boy!)

Fabulous photo @curliegirlie

Sorry @Nathsmum I’ve just read you’ve just had a CVS. Good luck whilst waiting for the results, and in the meantime there are lots of brilliant resources on the Downs Syndrome Association website, lots of different stories from different families and family members on Positive About Down’s Syndrome, and if you’re on Facebook, Don’t Be Sorry and I am River are great pages to follow.

Mine came back high risk at 1:84 and they said it was down to my age (43). Imagine my shock when my subsequent pregnancy came back low risk at 1:949 (aged 45)! Good luck, OP.

Thankyou so much and
thankyou for the webpages will have a read :)

It’s crazy how it’s worked out but I see that age is sometimes a factor and sometimes not literally a number of things Thankyou for your response x