Seekin Advice

Hi V.,
A good friend of mine had the same results as you. She got herself all worked up about it and was a nervous reck. Her baby had absolutely no problems what-so-ever. Good luck to you!
J.

V.,

My response is basically the same as the others, although I think I can provide more detailed stats for you.

My Dr. did a Quad/or pent screen (testing for more abnormalities). It is just that a screen. According to my perinatologist, false postive rate is 25% (research I had done ranged from 5% to 90% depending on the source). I tested Postivie for Downs and trisomy 18 (another more severe chromosomal abnormality- most of these babies don't survive birth). I got my results 3 days before my appt with the perinatologist for the level II Ultrasound and genetic counselor (I am 38 so more testing is recommended). I cried for 3 days, eventhough intelluctually I knew that there could be an error with the test.

On the ultrasound they check for certain physical bench marks, for whatever abnormality you tested positive for. Nuccal ligament, feet, how they hold their hands, distance between the eyes, heart, etc. My US was fine. We were given the option on amniocentesis. For me whatever the outcome of the anmio I would carry this baby to term. How I would deal with a special needs child I don't know. (My husband would want to terminate if there was a problem, but I won out). We decided not to do the anmio, due to complications that can occur up to a week after the procedure. You need to rest for 24 hrs afterwards (for me not an option). The Dr. was very supportive, they said there is nothing worse than doing an amnio, because you suspect a problem, have a miscarriage (0.5% chance with this procedure)and find out the baby was normal.

I can't give you the full out come yet because I am due the end of Jan. I go for another Ultrasound in 1 1/2 weeks.

Some reasons for false positives
carrying multiples
Error in you due date.

I don't think mine was explained.

I have heard from people who have normal and Downs children that the Downs child brings them the most joy.

For me with the stress I went through if I got pregnant again, I would NOT do the screen tests again.

Same here, high false postive rate!! I then got two level two ultrasounds and everything looked fine. I too refused the amnio because I was going to have my son no matter what. You should really only do it if terminating the pregnancy is an option to you. I have a 27 year old friend who did give birth to a downs boy one month before I had my son. 27 years old!! It is more common now for some reason. I have to say that being with him makes me realize how it is not nearly as horrible as you think. He is physically behind and needs PT, but mentally, he is having no problems! He was signing at one year old which my son just never caught on to. He really isn't very different and is just the sweetest most loving boy in the world. So, even if your turns out to be accurate, don't think of it horrible. You will have some extra things to think about, but it really does turn out fine. Good luck and I would just say to relaxe. Do the ultrasounds and just plan on meeting your wonderful baby later!

I too had a positive triple screen. Just like everyone else has said...it has a huge "positive" range. We went for our level II and she was turned funny so they could not give us a positive that she was ok, but we ended up with a Wonderful, healthy daughter! So rest easy until then. I'm glad that they have screenings to help those that truly need help, but it really scares the be-gebes out of most of us!

I was 36 yrs when pregnant with my now 12 mo baby. I tested pos. for that test too... and the level II showed he was normal. He is very normal.

Don't worry.

Hi V.,
First off, Congratulations on your pregnancy! The triple screen is just a screen. It has a very high rate of false positives. My second son had an elevated triple screen and they were worried about spina bifida. He turned out completely and wonderfully normal. I'm not saying it's always a false positive, however it is just to help screen for certain problems so they can do further testing to make sure that everything is fine.

Don't worry too much. I think a good idea is to research it a little bit and get a list of questions to ask the high risk OB. Take care and feel free to contact me if you need anything else!

N.

Relax! I also, had this very same thing come back. In my family though there has been history of genetic defects. We did all the extra test and screenings and saw genetic councilors. Everyone who is having a baby may have a downs child. You can pass the screening and have a child with downs. When my son was born, he showed NO sign of having it, but he did have a heart defect. After more test were run, they told us he will most likely have to have open heart surgery to fix his problem. Turns out, he does have a chromozoninal defect, but its fine! He'll be a year Jan 5, and he is doing wonderful, beat all odd's so far. So the doctors had us freaked out from 4 months until he was about 7 months old. Ranging from downs to open heart surgery. Relax, nothing is ever definate. I know your freaked out about this, I was was until I saw him, and knew he was fine. The issue with his heart, it was genetic, because both grandmothers have heart problems. So my advice, is to just relax, thats what's best for your baby and you. This test coming back as a false positive is normal (sad to say but it s).

Hi!

I pretty much have the same answer. I was 22 yrs old with my son and I had the same results. After the level 2 ultrasound my % dropped. they recomended a amino- but I declined because due to religious and personal views I was going to hae Jake no matter what. I had 2 or 3 more ultrasounds through out the pregnancy and he was born completely healthy. I am 25 with this pregnancy i declined the screening. all it did was stress me out last time. Get the level II u/s and at least they can tell you if all is at least developing normally. dont worry or stress out!!

JEN

Hi V.:
My 2nd little one will be 1 on Nov 30th and the triple screen test with her came back the same. We then went to the second dr and had a level II ultrasound which only lowered the chances slightly. (our daughter was born normal and completely healthy) One bit of advice our high risk dr said to us was first if you don't plan on doing anything about having a down's baby, then don't risk an amnio. Also, if there is an issue and the baby does abort itself, it will in all likelyhood have been a healthy baby. I knew someone who had the amnio and lost her baby so I chose not to have one. I had one for Sara at 36 weeks 5 days to see if she was ready to be delivered (because of issues with my first pregnancy) well that amnio put me into labor and she had to be delivered that night (I had a previous vertical c-section) At that point I was sooooo glad I had not had one previously since obviously my body wouldn't have been able to handle it.
My point being, you need to think long and hard and feel confident in the high risk dr and know where you stand about the issues so that no one convinces you to do something your not comfortable with doing. What's right for you is what's best. I went to a high risk dr in Tampa by USF.

The triple screen test has a very high false-positive rate. It's just a screen to let them know if they should persue more accurate testing. Chances are your baby is just fine, but they will want to do more testing to be sure, just in case.

If they recommend amniocentesis, you have to weigh the pros and cons of such an invasive procedure. One pro is knowing for sure that your baby is okay, or knowing there is something you have to be prepared for. A reason to consider not doing an amnio is the very small risk of miscarriage (less than 1% risk). You will have to decide how much testing you feel comfortable with and if knowing the results are with the risks.

I also had the Quad screen and the results showed it was a positive test for Down's syndrome (1 in 37 chance). I chose to go ahead and have the amniocentesis so that my husband and I would know for sure what our future held. This is our first child and at 34 years old I was thrilled to be pregnant. I decided for me, I would rather know what to expect than to have a cloud of worry over my entire pregnancy. Thankfully the amnio showed that the results were another of what seems to be a very common false positive. We are now the parents of a beautiful and healthy 3 month old. I do not regret having the amnio, it wasn't bad at all, and because of that test I was able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy. Even if the results were different I would have rather had the rest of my pregnancy to prepare myself rather than to just wait and see. I truly felt that the stress on me of not knowing had more of a chance of causing my child to be unhealthy than the risks associated with the amnio.

Just try to remain positive!

There is a false positive rate of 50% with this test. You can have a level 2 ultrasound to rule out the downs, without having to have an amnio done. When they find out everything is fine, you'll be back with your regular dr.

HTH!

S. Mills
Touched By An Angel
Childbirth Services, inc.
www.angeldoula.com