Is a private NIPT worth it?

[WhatIsntInAName]

I guess just that! I'm 32, first baby. NIPT seems a lot more accurate than the combined screening but £400/£500 is quite a lot when theres a maternity leave to save up for! Is it worth it? If so, the ones offered in my area are Harmony and PrenatalSafe - anyone with any experience with these?

If you’d be inclined to do an early reassurance scan and/or a private gender/sex scan then you don’t need to do those if you do NIPT since you’ll get a scan with the blood test and they can tell you the sex far earlier and more accurately, so that goes someway towards justifying the cost. I had Panorama at 11 weeks with mine but wouldn’t recommend if your UK based since bloods have to go to the lab in CA so you’ll be waiting a while for the results. It’s great to have that reassurance so early.

When I had my first I was 33 and I didn't get a NIPT test privately. However I am 36 this time and because of the increased risk with age I have booked one for next week. It will also be a chance for a scan and for the more accurate gender result as PP has mentioned. I am having the harmony one but no experience yet as not had it x

I’m interested answers to this too. I’m thinking of doing it as I’m older and so more likely to have issues.

Check what your NHS Trust offers. Mine does the combined screening and then if results come back high risk they do a NIPT. So only advantage of private would be to get the results a couple of weeks earlier.

I’m currently mulling this over as well. First baby and I’m 31 so no real risk factors but if the worst happened, I’d prefer to know sooner rather than later.

We can afford it using money normally ear marked for holidays that were now not going on (and finding out the gender early would be an added bonus).

I guess it depends if the results would change your course of action. For me it would, so I would rather know at week 10, rather than have NHS scan, waiting for results, have more tests, wait for results by which point you could easily be 14 - 16 weeks along.

This is most similar to my situation. Risk isn't high but should something be wrong, I'd rather know all the facts and have the ability to choose my course of action as early as possible.

We're not really fussed about finding out the sex, it would just be for abnormalities. Everything with the NHS has been so slow! I'm 11 weeks and haven't got my 12 week scan appointment yet so I'm worried I'll even get to do the combined test at this rate. If it was more like 95% accurate I probably wouldn't be considering the NIPT, but 80% just seems a bit low. But then I think of the cost, it's almost a months mortgage payment!

Don't get me wrong, I could afford it. We have savings. Just questioning if everything is good use of money since finding out.

@WhatIsntInAName definitely! I have no real reason to get it, and we could use the £500 in so many other useful ways, so it’s not pocket change.

But yeh, I'm swaying towards going for it, given how slow the process is otherwise so I can start thinking about plans if it’s bad news. I think I also will tell a few people I'm pregnant once I’ve had a scan and the results, so going for it means that convo can happen a bit earlier.

I do wonder though if I'm just over thinking and I'm paying £500 that I don’t need to… so tricky!

If you would definitely terminate the pregnancy if the baby had a chromosomal difference I would say it is worth it. if you would continue the pregnancy but would just want to 'know' then probably not worth it.

I did- but that was because I had early miscarriages so knowing that there was a low chance of abnormalities was very important and reassuring to me. I didn’t have any pressing financial matters like maternity leave to save up for either.

If anything comes out of your combined, you’ll have further tests on the nhs. If you have money best spent elsewhere, it is a big expense.

I did it because I’m older (41), I didn’t do it with my first born, then I would’ve just waited for the NHS screening test as they offer a NIPT if that comes back high risk.

I have booked mine with Ultrasound direct. Theirs are £400 and they are a nationwide company so might be worth a look for a £100 saving x

I think it depends on you. There is no good medical reason for it. I had a baby with chromosome abnormalities, caught by the NHS in the combined screening, confirmed via CVS, also on the NHS If I had had NIPT, it would have been caught maybe 3-4 weeks earlier. If it had been caught on NIPT the next step would have been confirmation via CVS (I don't know if the NHS would do this on the basis of private NIPT results, but I suspect so). My baby would not have survived to birth so I terminated the pregnancy when it was confirmed. On one hand, it would have been great to have had a shorted pregnancy, particularly because I was so ill. On the other hand, this is an extremely uncommon experience, so likely you will get clear results and could get them for free on the NHS, albeit a couple weeks later.

Given all this, I think what you are getting is:

1. Earlier results, by a couple weeks 11 with NIPT, ~13 for combined screening results on the NHS, which, if you are as low risk as is likely, is probably where your testing ends. Both private and NHS take ~1 week to process.

1. Finding out sex at 11 weeks instead of 20 Witt the NHS or 16 with a (much cheeper than NIPT) private scan.

1. Slightly better testing, though this is relatively marginal. You are only getting the difference between really quite effect combined screening and very good NIPT results. If you get high risk results you can get CVS on the NHS which is absolutely definitive. You are advised not to make a termination decision on NIPT results alone.

1. It's my understanding that combined screening throws up a reasonable number of false positives (meaning you show as high risk but aren't), particularly for Downs. So, private NIPT can save you from getting a high risk result for Downs (say, 1:6 or even 1:25) then getting NIPT with the NHS and finding out there is no problem. As you can imagine, this is an emotional experience that can last a week or two. However, it doesn't impact the final outcome of your pregnancy

Is this set of benefits worth £500 to YOU? If yes, then do it. If no, then maybe don't. FWIW, when I was pregnant after my loss, I did it and it was 100% worth it and I would have paid much more for it if need be, because it helped me believe that my pregnancy was viable instead of pointless. I thought about it in my previous 2 pregnancies and on balance it didn't seem worth it to me with the information I had available at the time I was making that decision.

I didn't and I wouldn't have even thought about it if it weren't for this forum! I think sometimes reading about everyone's anxiety is anxiety inducing (especially as pregnancy already is!). I thought that I'm 34, low risk I'd just stop reading about it and it stopped me worrying. Had a really clear NHS scan at 13 weeks, they're pretty sure on sex from that and really low screening results.
I totally understand why lots of people get it when they've been through all sorts of things or have risk factors, but if it was really ideal for everyone there would be a recommendation to get it coming from healthcare, surely?