NIPT - which kind?

[firsttimepregnanthelp]

Is it better to get the cheaper NIPT or the £1500 one? I know the latter checks for more things - how necessary is this? Is it just a money maker playing on the anxieties of vulnerable pregnant women? And is it better to wait more than 10 weeks for results to be more definitive? I am not medical at all so don't really understand any of this.

Can I ask why you’re looking to have an NIPT rather than the combined screening via NHS (assuming you’re in England?) because the answer to that really impacts my answer.

The level 2 NIPT is a more comprehensive version basically, it checks for more things so whether it’s worth it really depends on your concerns and why you want the test in the first place. Level 1 is typically the “main” ones, Downs, Edward, Patau, for most low risk pregnancies this is totally fine and if you’re happy to just check for those things and accept that you don’t know everything, that’s absolutely fine.

Level 2 includes all of level 1 and then the extras, things like microdeletion syndromes, rare autosomal aneuploidies and others. Some people who have a family history of genetic conditions would opt to go for the level 2, or if they just want to check everything they possibly can.

The reality is none of this testing is “necessary”, you don’t NEED an NIPT, you don’t even NEED to have the combined screening or any at all. None of it is necessary, they are all just options to choose from depending on how much information you would like to have. In both of my pregnancies I had the standard combined screening and nothing else, I was comfortable with that. I have a friend who had the combined screening and after high risk results then had an NIPT, but did not have the amnio, she was comfortable with that. Everyone is different, only you can decide how much information you feel you need.

@Lollytea655I’ve heard lots of bad things about the NHS testing - how it is unreliable etc and also the NIPT can be done earlier. I am quite anxious so on one hand would like to check everything I can but on the other id there is no family history it might not be necessary?

There’s really nothing massively wrong with the NHS combined screening- if you come back as having a high chance then they will put you through further tests for example.

Remember the NIPT isn’t certain either, it is not a diagnostic test, all it does it return a “high chance/low chance” result and you would still need a CVS/amnio to confirm any result.

It is totally a personal decision. Just because there is no family history doesn’t mean your baby does not have one of the conditions screened for under level 1 or level 2, but there really is no 100% guarantee with either level of test. It’s up to you to decide what you are comfortable with but I would say if you are really struggling with your anxiety I would seek help for that now x

Also to say again- none of these tests are necessary, absolutely none of them are actually needed.

The level2 wasn’t available when I had my kids but we did NIPT (which was new at the time) as early as possible

DH and I were both of the opinion that if there was a chromosomal abnormality we would terminate and I felt it would be (much) better to know at 11 weeks than 15 or 16 (nhs combined test followed by NIPT with a wait in between for results and booking)

so maybe you could think about what you would do with the information the test would give you…?

I got an NIPT test on the NHS as my combined screening showed a high chance for Down’s syndrome, I had the results back within a week at 12 weeks pregnant. If you get a NIPT too early there is a chance it won’t have enough DNA to give a conclusive result.

Thanks everyone @throwawayusrnamei would terminate if there was a chromosomal abnormality and agree that it is better to find out sooner rather than later. How early did you do yours? I’m thinking maybe 11 weeks as hopefully there will be enough DNA in my blood by then. They say ‘from 10 weeks’ but I would like to avoid inconclusive results if possible

@firsttimepregnanthelpyou should be fine at 10 weeks. If you have a normal bmi then estimates say you should have about 10/15% foetal dna in your blood and the NIPT needs around 4%

@rainycoldboooh that’s good to know, thank you 😊