Down Syndrome Testing?

Not with any of my 3. For me, it wouldn't have mattered either way - I'd love them unconditionally regardless.

I (at 39) didn't because they told me a positive was not a guarantee of Downs and a negative wasn't a guarantee of no Downs. Huh???!!!!

Kuddos to you for not doing it! I had testing with my first 3 kids, my 3rd daughter has DS, did not get picked up by the testing. ( no amnio but by the blood work testing they do). We did not find out until after she was born. Did not do the testing with my 4th. I figured what was the point? I can honestly tell you, my daughter with DS is far more easy going then my other 3! :) btw, a Down syndrome fact, in 90% of pregnancies where the baby has DS, the baby is aborted. :( Its heartbreaking to hear when I think of how a like my daughter is to her sisters then different!

You know what? For a lot of people, testing has nothing to do with lack of love. It has nothing to do with there being a chance of not keeping the baby. I would have loved my baby no matter what, but I want to be prepared for what I've been given.

We did. If I had been a higher risk, I would have done the amnio. It's about preparation. It's quite dangerous to not have the delivery room prepared for a special needs baby. I would want the correct Dr, the correct equipment (etc.) ready. I also don't like not being prepared myself. A special needs baby, is VERY different and the challenges are unique. I would want to be prepared for how to handle that. I would not feel OK leaving a hospital having no idea how to really take care of my child.

One of my old friends had a DS baby. She did not get any of the testing done. She sat in the hospital having no idea how to care for this child, what it would be like in the future, or what their life would be like at home. On top of that, she was mourning the loss of an idea. Of a healthy family. MOST woman will be sad to get the news of a special needs baby. That does not mean they don't instantly love the baby. I have never met a person who wishes for a special needs child. When you imagined your child, did you imagine a baby with special needs? Probably not. I would NOT want to be hit with all that at once.

I did do it and heres why: The testing they did for me was not dangerous to the pregnancy (didnt have to do amnio), so there was no risk of losing the baby. I also figured if the chances came out high for DS then I could do some planning, caring for a special needs child can be taxing and may need a lot of planning (my first born did end up having some special needs but different ones). I figured if I at least had a heads up I could be more prepared. Our results came out to be like a 1 in 7000 chance or something like that so I didnt do any planning, but if the chances had been better than I wouldve liked to get prepared.

I have declined with all 3 of my pregnancies even though I as 37, 39 and will be 42 for my last delivery. I did not want an amniocentesis because of the risk and a positive on the screening test would have made me crazy since I knew I wouldn't do further testing. I will deal with reality when I have to if there is a problem. The rest of the time I would rather live in ignorant bliss.

No, I didn't have that test done with any of my six children. I have a daughter who had downs. I loved her just as much as all the others. Unfortunately she passed away. We had the level two ultrasound done with her because I was, dare I say, OLD. It detected no major health issues. She is my fourth child.

I did not. There's no family history and neither my husband nor I were in a high risk category. Other than that we knew there was no chance of terminating the pregnancy based on Down Syndrome so there was no reason to have the test done. If we were to have it done, though, it would have been solely to prepare emotionally for the possibility of having a special needs child.

I had the test and was told our daughter would have Downs, I did not care and asked to be retested upon the advice of friends the 2nd test was normal. I thank God I did do the test over since I am a worrier I would have worried myself to death and caused a great deal of stress on my baby. I would have kept the baby no matter what and if asked again to do it over I would not have done the first test.

Hi N.-

I declined the screening as well...

With my last pregnancy...twins...one with cardiac anomalies detected on ultra sound...I did consent to an amnio to see 'if the twin with the cardiac with the defect was compatible with life...and when to intervene on behalf of the 'good' twin'

They ruptured megan's sack (the 'good' twin)...and that resulted in premature birth of BOTH!

All is well now...but I have often thought that less is 'more'.

Best Luck!
michele/cat

Nope and for the same reasons as you. Plus I knew it didn't matter that I would keep my baby no matter what. I only had one dr in my last pregnancy give me a hard time about it.

For me information is important so yes I did... I had it with both of my daughter and my current pregnancy. It was the neck measurement and the nose bone visibility. They try not to do amnio tests when non-invasive measures are easy to perform these days. I don't seen any harm in having more information about my pregnancy. If I were told the likelihood was higher, I would be able to prepare better and research the needs of the child I will love no matter what! As with anything, if I can do what is best for my child I will and I feel this was best for my child.

We were offered it with our triplets. We were told it would be done through Amniocentesis. We said we'd think about it and do some research. We looked up what involved the test and found that it wasn't safe. They have to go into the amnio sac to draw out fluid. For us, if it caused a problem with one of the babies it could have effected the entire pregnancy. We could have lost 1, 2, or all 3 babies. It wasn't worth it for us to know. If it happened, it was already done so we couldn't change it. So we did not take the test. Too risky for us.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I did not have it done with either pregnancy because of the fact that I would not have terminated the preg. either way and I too would have been a worried mess the rest of the time had results not been good (or inaccurate .. I had a friend who had that happen too). Some say it allows you time to "prepare" if it's so but I don't know if that's possible until that precious baby comes along and you see what they need.

Nope, didn't, wouldn't, won't have that test done.
Same reason as you...my child is my child and I love my children. :)

Nope, for exactly the reasons you stated. I knew I could handle ANYTHING except losing another baby so I declined all the screening tests that would increase my worry without changing/helping anything.

I did the test, but only for my one pregnancy after 40 (I had 4 before that, and denied the test otherwise), and would have kept the pregnancy no matter the results. I personally would just want to be prepared with specialists, emotional support, etc. Plus, if for some reason something could be done -- via surgery-- before delivery, I would want that. But my DD was ok. If I ever got PG again, I would do the same -- because of my age.

My first pregnancy I declined the test (same reasons as you). My second pregnancy I felt so ill that I had the test done to put my mind at ease and it did. My third pregnancy I declined the blood test but then the ultra sound showed an abnormality - doc said IF I had had normal blood work they wouldn't even worry about the u/s findings, so I regretted not having the blood work done (they only do that testing during a specific gestational timeframe).

But then I did some research on the testing (better late than never?) and was horrified by the inaccuracies. Like you, I know women who've had false positives. I don't know anyone with a false negative, but the test has a high false negative rate as well (at least it did last year when I looked into it). It actually angers me that so many women are tricked into trusting such an inaccurate test - a worthless test, I would argue.

I was 40 and went straight to the amnio. I would have aborted if there had been any question of an anomaly. While parents will absolutely love any child - I also considered - who would take care of my child once I die (many trisomy babies live into their 40s nowadays), how could I put a child through painful and frightening cardiac and gastrointestinal procedures (many have heart and intestinal problems which can require surgery and long term care and eventually are fatal) and what strain would this put on my marriage. While most women on this site will tell you of course they would keep the child, well over 90% of trisomy pregnancies are aborted. So you should make the decision that is right for you and your husband/partner, not the one that is right for us on Mamapedia.

I did. I had a CVS done at 14 weeks. They tried to do it at 13 but could not get to the placenta. The neck measurement was just a little higher than the high range. I am not afraind of DS but I also am a carrier for a blood disorder and when I researched to see what the problems with DS could potentially be-especially for higher level of DS-and added in the issues with the bleeding disorder..... I was praying I would not have to make the worst and hardest decision of my life. If DS was present and my son had the disorder or my daughter was a carrier, there would really be no life. The child could bleed to death on a pin drop. Living in a hospital not really knowing life could be a great possibility. Of course, there is always the other side and that is why I had it done. If DS was present, I needed to know. I cried when I got the great news. And it is a boy. There is still a chance of the genitic issue but I think I can handle that. We are hoping we won't have to of course--50/50 chance. I also had a fetal echo done and the heart is doing great as well. No defects found so one less worry. When he is born they will not use a vacuum and if it gets to a point, a c-section will take place but I had no problems with my daughter and don;t expect any.