Risk for Ds-level 2 Ultrasound

I was in a similar position with my last baby the summer before last. I felt the amnio would be too risky for the baby, so the Dr. mentioned a new test MaterniT21. It is a simple blood draw test that does not affect the baby at all. Through that test they can determine whether or not certain chromasomal abnormalities are present. We were given a 1:12 ratio after the quad test, and after the MaterniT21 test we were told that baby was fine.

If the u/s was OK, I have a feeling things are fine. I wrote last time that my DIL had the nuchal fold. Life was hell. They found out day before they were leaving on vacation. Amnio was set up. However, they came back and had the MaterniT21, I think it is called, blood test and also had another U/S. this time no nuchal fold. Blood test came back negative for DS and a baby girl. Tis blood test picks up baby's chromosones. It will eventually replace amnio. They had already decided against amnio because no matter what, that baby was their little girl. The blood,test is very expensive
And only done , I think, in California. Insurance will usually pay as long as there is reason.

Claire Patricia was born on January 23, healthy and screaming. She is truly a blessing.

Hope this helps.

Her chance of DS was 1:10.

Hope this helps.

I am beginning to think that all these "things" like kidney issues, heart issues, small brain, large,brain , have always been a variant of normal in a growing baby. However, before all these crazy tests and U/S no one knew.
Knowledge is power. Too much can be detrimental. Ignorance is bliss.
I think sometimes that there are way too many tests done. Just my opinion though.

I agree with your husband. I honestly think that the quad test is pretty worthless. The majority of problems are found via ultrasound. If nothing was revealed in the ultrasound, I wouldn't go forward with further testing.

There's an alternative to amnio if you feel you want to know, but think amnio is too invasive. Your blood carries fetal DNA so a simple blood test (your blood, not the baby's) can now show whether a baby has DS. It's a fairly new procedure, so I'm not sure if your doctor would offer it or if your insurance company would cover it. ACOG has recently recommended that it should be offered to some pregnant women.

http://www.acog.org/Resources_And_Publications/Committee_...

But also remember that doctors always qualify their statements with "it's not definite" or something similar to cover their butts.

Congrats! What a relief to know that everything looked great at the level 2 ultrasound.

You ask - since everything looked great, what is the point of the amnio? To be 100% sure. Are you ok being 99.999% sure that the baby doesn't have DS? If so, then no need for further testing. Relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

If you are someone who must know, with 100% certainty, that the baby does not have DS, the only way to do this is amnio (and with it, a low, but real, risk of miscarriage as a result of the procedure).

Something to keep in mind is that I would not assume that your doctor is recommending the amnio, just because he said this. I think for liability reasons doctors are required to give you say this because it's true - only amnio can give you 100% guaranteed results about DS.

If you want an even more thorough explanation, I'm sure you could meet with a genetics counselor who could help.

I had to go for a level 2 US.. all truned out fine. My son is perfectly normal. I was 32 & 35 when I had my kids.

Ask yourself this.

What would you do with the info, if this child has DS??

Once you answer that question, then you will know if you want to do the Amnio or not. But, if he sees no markers, it is more likely that your child is perfectly fine.

For me I would do nothing other than research and get some speicalist lined up. You can do that after the child is here.

Story.. my friends brother and wife were set to have a baby- all markers were that the baby was Down syndrome. They almost terminated the baby.

Baby was born perfectly normal. I do not put much stock in a lot of these tests. The medical field does the best that they can, but it is not perfect. However, I would think that if there is a strong liklyhood that this child had it, there would have been more of a sign at the US.

Congratulations on the pregnancy! I think pregnancy is very stressful; on one hand so many healthy babies are born every day but on the other, scary things can happen. I was always very nervous on doctor days, because what if the heartbeat wasn't there?

Being older, I had a lot of tests and recommended tests and talk of "advanced maternal age" being a big issue. After I got over being called geriatric, I made my decisions on tests based on the following criteria: if I get the test and the result is bad, will I terminate the pregnancy? If the answer is maybe or yes, have an amnio ASAP and be 100% sure!

If the answer is you would not terminate, you have to try and put it out of your mind. Worrying is the WORST thing you can do to your baby and your body. You have to pull up the faith, stop thinking about it, and just forget about it. Don't listen to ANY of your friend's scary delivery stories, watch any of those shows or give it one more thought. Just enjoy your pregnancy, assume everything is going to be fine, and it will be. Good luck!

I had pretty much the exact same experience. Had a positive result on a quad test. Went in for a Level-2 ultrasound and there were no markers and everything looked normal. I had a healthy baby boy. I was 32 at the time. I wouldn't be too worried if I were you. Enjoy your pregnancy and good luck! :)

I 2nd what someone said below - there's a new blood test that will do the same exact thing as the amnio. My Dr is doing that on my at 11 weeks. I am 35 years old so they offered it to me.

Well, sort of similar experience... just that in the middle of my pregnancy they started getting me all worked up about things they were seeing, and I through it all I tried not to get to stressed about all the unknown.

1st it was "mild pyelectis", a little fluid in one of the lungs and the 20 week ultrasound. This is apparently fairly common in boys and also usually works itself out. Oh but it is also a marker that triples your chances of downs syndrome.

Went back for another US: and kidneys were all good, no issues there now. The fluid worked back down to normal levels. Oh but did anyone notice this measurement in the brain that is a tiny bit bigger than it should be? Yikes, no.

Went to a specialist for that: Wow brain looks great, perfect. except for that one little weird measurement that probably means nothing. Or at least definitely doesn't mean X,Y, and Z bad thing it could have meant. How about an MRI just to be sure?

Had MRI. Pediatric Neurologist looked at it: Yep, it's probably nothing. Or maybe a cyst. Which still isn't apparently a big deal. We'll probably check it out awhile after the baby is born with another MRI, but your baby should be fine.

Ay ay ay. It's like I wish they would just stop looking so closely at things.

Through it all I also felt pretty confident nothing was too off with my baby. Just that gut feeling. I don't deliver for a couple more weeks though so I guess I'll find out! I never did get any extra testing to determine downs or anything. I guess my feelings were it was not worth it to get worked up about anything "unchangeable". And that here we were nitpicking a few tiny things when there are in reality a million things that can go wrong with a human being. Like, my current kids could still develop any odd kind of health problem or malady. Parenting = worrying and constantly praying your kids stay as healthy and safe as possible. So, it being my 3rd time, all the ultrasound drama just felt like more of the same parenting worry I've already had over my kids, just starting even early.

I have no idea if this is helpful to you, just sharing my story and my own response to what Dr's were telling me. In fact I probably answered your previous question too, so sorry if this is repeat. And technically I don't know the answer to how mine turned out yet! But he certainly feels strong and healthy in there. Keep us updated on your pregnancy :)

One of the responses reminded me of a test you can get. I had the sequential screening (2 blood tests and an ultrasound). They blood test doesn't give you a definitive answer but the genetic councilor told me of a new test I could have had done if I wanted. Its a blood test (not all insurances cover it) and the lab results will give you the same results as an amnio would. I can't remember the name of the test but if you talk to a genetic councilor at your hospital, they should know what you are talking about.