Second pregnancy - another low Papp-a and high chance of Down’s syndrome

[Alwaysluciddreaming]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had the same experience of me. Had my last baby in 2023. Was a high risk pregnancy with low Papp-a and high chance of Down’s syndrome (1/35 came back low on NIPT and baby does not have Down’s syndrome).

Had the 12 week screening results back for this pregnancy and again I have low Papp-a and high chance of Down’s syndrome (1/86).

Anyone else in the same boat or had similar experiences previously?

Thanks!

Could it be due to your age? That will always increase the odds at the first screening.

Low papp-a will also naturally shoot the figure up combined with age, sounds extremely stressful

I would get the nipt asap to reassure yourself but good thing is low-papp a just seems to be a thing in your body thats always gna scew your chances as being high, 1/85 is not a huge chance but i would advise to get the NIPT just incase so you can some relief from your worries, good luck!

Definitely don’t panic yet and go for the NIPT, which is much more accurate, as the Combined Test is easily skewed by age or the other proxy variables. Good luck!

Do most people get the PAPP-A results on their combined test results? Curious, because I just got a letter stating I was low chance for all three trisomies (and the chance level) but no more details than that, and it seemed a little ironic because the only reason I was asked to have the CT was for the PAPP A, because I’d already been referred for an NIPT (and had the results back) as my eldest daughter has Down’s. I have to assume the PAPP A level was very good though, as my chance was still over 1 in 2,000, despite my history and age 🤷‍♀️

Thanks everyone. I’m 37 now which is evidently contributing towards the results! Appreciate the thoughts. Will update this thread when I have the NIPT results back. Had the bloods today and it’s 7-10 working days apparently. Remember it came back in 5 working days last time.

I got the low Papp-a as part of the screening but assume they only tell you if there’s a problem!

Hi @Alwaysluciddreaming, I have had low
papp-a along with high HCG in each of my three pregnancies, and my combined screenings have come back as high risk for Downs Syndrome in all of them. All NIPT results have come back low risk and so far none of my children has Downs (I am due with our third in December), and the nuchal measurements were also all normal. I’ve started to assume this is just how my body does pregnancy! It could possibly be similar for you? My risk ratios were 1/108, 1/127, and 1/28. I was told that my age (38) elevated the risk significantly in this last pregnancy, even though my hormone levels were similar to what they were in the others. Thinking of you in the waiting and keeping everything crossed for a speedy result. It can be tough.

Just to update for anyone who may come across this thread while searching for similar! Had my results back today - 8 working days after test - and it is “low chance”. Also as a side note, my test had a technical fault the first go round and had to be done again with the same sample. Thank you to people who replied :)