Private NIPT experiences

[avah88]

Hello, I am almost 9 weeks pregnant after two losses (one blighted ovum and one ectopic).

I did have a successful pregnant before the losses and I’m lucky to have a lovely six year old. They are desperate for a sibling.

Ideally I wouldn’t tell anyone until after the 20 week scan but I think my 6yo will guess before then. I just want to be as confident as I can be that everything looks okay before I tell them, I’m considering doing a private NIPT for some reassurance. But there are so many versions of it, which one to get, the extra cost to consider, if false positives are a thing.

If anyone has experience of getting a private NIPT before or around the time of their 12 week scan that’d be great, when you had it, which one you had, if you found it reassuring or if you just started to worry about other stuff. Thanks!

I had Panorama at 11 weeks with DS. But this was abroad so it was just considered standard first trimester screening. It’s highly accurate for what it screens for and for predicting the sex so yes I’d consider it reassuring.

I had a private NIPT for both my pregnancies (around 11 weeks) and if you can afford it i would say its a no brainer! It gave me so much reassurance!! Im not sure what it was called - all I can see in all their reports is NIPT, sorry. Wishing you all the best x

I had it for the three basic chromosomal abnormalities. Downs, Edwards, Patau's. The same as the NHS but much more accurate and much less likely to have unnecessarily concerning results.
You can test from around 10 weeks.
There's also an option to tell you the sex or not.
Great experience, results in 3-5 days.
Totally worth doing if you can afford it but shop around because there's a big price difference between providers and they all use just one or two labs.
The only annoying thing was they flat out refused to take my word for the dates (window to the womb) and I wanted it earlier than the NHS dating scan, so I had to pay for an unnecessary private scan. The only risk of testing too early is there will be insufficient fetal DNA to test and therefore wasted money. Should really be my risk to take, but not a big issue just irritating.

Sorry for your losses. I had it at 10 weeks with my second due to being 40, I went to ultrasound direct, and got the results back in around a week, I still waited for the 12 week scan before we told my then 6 year old, but felt happy that we had ruled out the 3 trisomies. Mine was called the IONA test, all in all I thought they were great.

I was 41 when I got pregnant with DC2 so I paid privately for NIPT. It was called Harmony and it was fine - scan and blood test, at around 11 weeks. I got the results back within a week, saying I was low risk and that it was a boy. You can specify whether you want to know the sex or not.

I was 40 when I got pg and had a Harmony test at 10 weeks, which I had to go back for a second set of bloods as they couldn't get meaningful results. We got the results back at 12 weeks and it gave a 1 in 2 risk of Patau's. I had the 12 week scan by then which showed a high NT so it was clear that there was an issue. I had a CVS to confirm (needed 2 attempts to do it) and then a surgical TFMR under GA at 14 weeks. I'm still glad I got the early test privately, as I've heard of delays with the NHS 12 week scan, and then it might take a few more weeks to sort out an NIPT on NHS and then CVS or amniocentesis, so by the time you get to decide on a TFMR it can be much later than 14 weeks and then you could be looking at having to deliver. Same result in the end but I think it would have been a more traumatic experience without the early testing.

More reassuringly, I got pg again within 4 cycles and had a Harmony test again, which showed a low risk and that pg went without any issues.

My midwife recommended I had the private NIPT due to my age.
I went to Window to the Womb who took the sample and sent it to Concepto Labs.
Results took just over a week and came back via password protected email.
The results are more accurate than the 12 week NHS screening as it actually looks at fetal DNA in your blood.
If you have it done before 10 weeks, results arent as reliable as it may not be abke to pick up as much fetal DNA.
I had mine done at 10 weeks and all came back with a low probability.
I still had the NHS screening too which was also a low result.

Prices do vary though so shop around. We paid about £350.

We did the Concepto / Window to the womb ones too.

We did the three basic ones because if you read the research (I did), there can be issues with false results with the extended panel. That’s an issue with whichever lab you use.