What to Expect at a Genetic Counseling Apt. a Little Scared...

We ended up not doing it. Our thought was that the God of the universe who allowed us to become pregnant with a child would certainly prepare us for whatever that might bring. I tend to worry and stress about things I can't control but suprisingly this brought us a lot of peace. And, two miracles later (me being 43, having in-vitro and having a spouse with a heart and hearing defect) we have two healthy kids. Congratulations on your pregnancy-what a blessing!

I had to see one also because I was 35. They ask all kinds of questions about your family history and then try to get you to have a test done. We declined the test, because no matter what the baby was like, we would love it anyway, and nothing would have changed our mind about keeping the baby. Every baby is created for a reason, whether we know that reason or not. Don't feel pressured into having a test done, if you really don't want to.

dont panic. i had to go to genetic testing also but it was because of my age and it being my first child. they ask all kinds of family history in terms of did anyone have downs, did anyone have this or that genetic disease. do a little digging in your tree with your relatives to find our if anyone had any other type of genetic disorder other than your aunt. they take blood and do some gene typing on you. they look for markers of certain diseases. i told them i would make the decision about the amnio when my blood marker tests came back. if they came back normal i would pass on the amnio and they did so we didnt do one. all was good and baby was born healthy. see what they think about you doing amnio with your family history. best of luck!

I think that one of the questions that you need to ask yourself is "will the out come of the tests change anything, other that a bit more preperation?"

Hi, I had to do it because of my age. Its exactly as the others said. It will just help determine your risk factors. For example, at 35, they said my results came back that I had the same risks as a 17 year old of having a Down's baby. The one thing I learned during testing is that Down's seems to be completely random-you have no higher chance of having a Down's baby if you have a family history than if you ddn't have one at all.

We saw a genetic counselor when my son was diagnosed with a heart defect (I was 20 weeks pregnant). It was no big deal. They'll ask family health questions (cancer, birth defects, if your parents/siblings are still alive--if not, how they passed away). With us they were trying to determine if the heart defect was genetic, environmental, or just a *glitch* in development. The lady discussed different testing options (amnio, etc).

I was "high risk" pregnancy because I was over 35 when I got pregnant. I HATE these things! They put a lot of stress on the mother who is already going through enough changes in her life. With that said, unless you plan to terminate due to a possibility of challenged child, I really don't see the point. They sit down and talk to you about the "chances" of things happening and explain to you the genetic signatures and then they read your chart to you. By the way these are NOT 100% accurate. I have a friend that was told her daughter was going to be down syndrome... granted this was almost 20 years ago, but that child is now a very healthy young woman who is in the top of her class at TCU.

Isn't it more than what everybody has responded about? I understand the concern about "keeping" the baby and not but what if you are going in there with the understanding you will be prepared if a child has special needs - i.e. with a special needs baby medical plan in place when this child arrives so they don't have further problems. I don't believe genetic testing is about keeping or not keeping a baby only. I found out that my son had an enlarged bladder from a sonogram and we had a pediatric urologist on call at the time of birth. They could jump in the case, save time and help my son if he needed it. I like the idea of having a team of specialists on hand to help provide the very best care for a child who might have some medical issues.
Abortion and such isn't what genetic testing is ALL about - it's such a big field with new studies being done to help new babies - not eliminate them.
Don't be afraid. Take what knowledge they might provide and use it to your best advantage for your baby.
God's most Holy Blessings on you and your baby!

it's really very painless. They asked a bunch of questions and take a bunch of blood and then you get results back. I didn't even have an amnio because my numbers were so low. Its all your choice. Personally, it wasn't about keeping the baby or not - it was about finding out everything possible that I could so I could be prepared. Plus - they seem to have to best sonogram machines at those offices, so you will probably get a really good, very thorough, ultrasound. If the blood test shows a big chance of Down's, they can do a amnio to give you a definate answer. I think that would be very good information so you can research the perfect pediatrician and other specialists before the baby is born; join a support group and get invaluable information from other moms that have been there. The same goes for any birth defect or issue. I have a friend whose baby was going to require surgery after birth to repair a heart defect - she is thrilled that she knew that ahead of time so she could choose the surgeon and have the baby at Harris, so he could be easily transported back and forth to Cook's for the surgery. Information is power.

All I remember was lots and lots of questions about family history and ethnic makeup. This was before we went ahead with our amnio.

You might want to make your own family tree with related info to bring to the appt to gather your thoughts in preparation for the appt.

We found the genetic counseling extremely helpful. It gave us the information we needed about a family congenital condition that our kids will need to know in the future. Without the genetic counseling, I'm not sure where we would have found the most accurate, scientific information about how the situation may impact our children when they have children.

Genetic counseling is not about whether or not to abort a child! The purpose is to educate ourselves, as parents, about genetic issues that may or may not impact our children.