Low Papp-A

[Kiaora57]

Hi all

Ive read quite a few threads on here regarding people being told they have a high risk pregnancy with a low papp-a result. I am 42 and was told the combined result came back high risk of DS of 1 in 103 And also a papp-a result of 0.38 I had the further blood test with a low risk result.

we are really worried about these results I am also feeling a bit embarrassed about being pregnant at an old age. Im not sure if im still high risk I keep reading about this 0.38 result leading to a miscarriage, still birth or premature delivery how true is this and has this happened to anyone.?

thanks

Hi Kiaora57.

I am sorry to hear you've had some unexpected news. I went through exactly the same thing recently.

I hope your pregnancy is going well?

I message in the hope of giving you some reassurance.

I too had a low PAPP-A score (I don't recall the score) but, it was low. Myself and my partner were both 36 at the time and this was our 3rd pregnancy, sadly we lost our 2nd early. I know we was scored 1:47 chance of DS and chose to get tested to know for sure. Our son was totally fine- our ages definitely altered our screening score!!

I remember reading research papers, reading through every mumsnet posts, asking my auntie who's a midwife what it all means. Going through a pregnancy during a pandemic is stressful enough, but hearing and not fully understanding what the low papp-a score meant totally took away the experience of being pregnant.

We ended up having growth scans every 2 weeks, our midwife was concerned about our son's stomach circumference and I was measuring tiny! Our son was born 6lb and a 1/4 oz. We planned for an elective c-section (after my first delivery of our first son)

At 2 weeks old HV was concerned our son's head circumference had a major leap and wanted the GP to check- turns out hubby's family all have big heads haha. At his next HV appointment he caught up on his weight and length.

10 weeks old Theo started rolling, 5 weeks old now and he's sitting. He is an absolute chunk! An absolute delight, so advanced and strong- way bigger and stronger than his older brother at that age!

Please enjoy your pregnancy, enjoy those kicks (I don't really remember many with Theo.)

Don't be embarrassed about your age, your baby will be raised through your life experiences- like our boys (we were also later than our friends)

Enjoy your pregnancy, have a pamper night, soak in a bath-hold that bump, read stories and enjoy the bonding. Go to those appointments and try not to worry. Please don't be like me crying myself to sleep. I worried myself sick...for no reason at all.

Please fell free to private message me x