Prenatal test's showed there is a high risk my baby has down's syndrome

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My 12 week scan showed a high risk of down's syndrome. My bloods combined with the scan gave an even higher risk (1 in 6 chance of down's). I have had the CVS test and am anxiously waiting the results. Has anyone got any advice/been in a similar position. I am just scared out of my mind.

Wishing you all the best of luck. Remember, 5 out of 6 babies in your situation will be born entirely healthy. Stay positive.

for information and support you could contact the Down Syndrome Association UK - they have information packs they can send to parents who receive a pre natal diagnosis. They also are more than happy to chat with you over the phone regarding more information about Down Syndrome.

booklet you can download

that booklet talks about receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome and what can happen if you decide to continue the pregnancy. If you google Down syndrome you can see there is a wealth of information - not always correct but a lot of parents who are parenting children with ds who are more than happy to share their experiences.

DSA - UK website

Wishing you all the best - remember what Geepers said you still have a huge chance that your pregagnacy will be unaffected. I went through a similar experience last summer and I can empathise with the stress. All I can say is take it one step at a time, you've only be given an indication that that there is a risk of DS you still have more chance that the pregnancy will be fine.

Take care and good luck.

Thank you all for your thoughts, advice and support. You're right in that I need to stay positive and take it one step at a time. It's hard not to think the worst case at those odds though. Thanks eidsvold for the info. I have had a look at the web-site and have read the booklet on-line. I don't know a hugh amount about Down's syndrome, so want to make sure I know more so that whatever I decide should the results come back positive, I make the right decision. What is making this all a bit harder for me, is that we have some close friends that were told their baby had a chromosomal problem from the scan/further tests. They went ahead and had a beautiful son Luke. He struggled with his health for 2 and a half years and has just lost his fight for life. We went to his funeral 2 weeks ago, so all a bit raw at the moment. I will keep you all updated with our results.

Update - tests came back negative for Down's. Just waiting for 2 weeks time to get the rest of the results. Can't describe the relief I feel right now.

Brill news on the initial results.
If you need support in that 2 week wait, you can always contact ARC (Ante natal Results and Choices). It's a great charity who are there on the end of the phone, ready to talk, listen, get more info for you, etc on all manner of ante- natal testing. Should anything pop up in the results in 2 weeks (VERY unlikely) they will be there to support you through the next steps, whatever you decide.
That's such sad news about your friends son, no wonder you feel very scared. Wishing you the very best of luck though and a wonderful pregnancy. xxx

Gosh, 2 weeks is a long time to wait! These things really should be quicker surely?

A good friend of mine had a 1 in 10 risk with both her pregnencies. Both girls were born with no problems whatsoever.

Hope you are managing to keep busy and not dwell on this too much: not easy, I'm sure.

Just re-read and had missed the negative result for Down's. That survey denying baby brain was rubbish.

Still think 2 weeks is too long for someone feeling vulnerable to have to wait for any test results though.

Hi there,

Im new here and am an expat living in Hong KOng. I am 39 years old and pregnant with a much waited for baby. I had my 12 weeks scan and told me the baby looks great, Nuchal Thickness is fine, noseplate etc, size. They then told me my bloodwork showed 281 when it should be 300 and this puts me into high risk. They said I will do another scan in 3 weeks (30th August) and if everything LOOKs okay then it should be fine. They said its potentially a false positive due to testing criteria and my age. I can barely sleep Im so worried..any advice really appreciated. x Lovdy :)

Read the book 'Gentle Birth, Gentle mothering' by GP Dr Sarah Buckley. She puts all the tests into perspective with medical info and stats and raises real concerns that our technologising of pregnancy is ruining what should be the time of our lives - pregnancy. The OP highlights the problems of these tests.

She also questions why we test for Downs, and quotes a report from a British Ethics boards: apparently when a load of ethics boards around the world were questioned on whether we should be testing for a condition (which they purposely concealled the identity of) which has the characteristics of Downs, the British one said it was unethical. Guess it would help if I found the quote to make my point clearer wouldn't it!