AFP Test results...HELP!

So I heard from my doc today about our AFP Test results. The neural tube defects came back negative, but he said that number for down's came back a little higher then expected for my age. He said there is a 97% chance that there is nothing wrong, but he recommends doing an amnio. I don't know what to do...I'm almost 18 weeks so we would have to decide today whether we're going to do it or not. I know that there is a high number for false positives in multiples. If we did it and found out that there was something wrong we're not going to terminate so what's the benefit of knowing???? Has anyone else been in this situation???

 

I personally would never do an amnio, but that is just me. We declined all of those test with both my pregnancies, but my cousin had 3 soft markers for her DS when she was pregnant with him and her OB told her to be prepared for him to have Downs, and he was born 2 years ago, perfect, no Downs or anything. Sometimes there are false positives.

 

I didn't even have that test. I was supposed to have it right after my ultrasound. They said it wasn't worth it once they saw it was multiples. I wouldn't do an amnio either and I can't tell if it's because of the needle or knowing that I would worry for all those months possible for nothing.

 

My husband and I decided to not have an amnio as our chances were pretty slim to have a baby with down's after they looked at all the markers. It seems the your chances are really low so that may be enough to put you at ease. We just didn't want to chance a miscarriage as we had been through so much to get pregnant. But..with that said..it's SUCH a personal decision. It's great to gather other's people thoughts and talk to you doctor about it and then you and your partner make your own decision. Take care!!

 

You need to do what is right for you - what was right for us was to have the double amnio when that test came back higher for Down's. I would have been worried the rest of the pregnancy otherwise. They first did a level 2 ultrasound, that looked for markers for Down's, and didn't find any. We still did the amnio just so that we would know and could prepare. With Down's, there can be some potential urgent newborn needs, from what we looked into, and we wanted to have the right doctors there is we needed them.

If you do have an amnio, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Good luck in whatever you decide to do! :hug99:

 

As you said there is a very high chance of FALSE positives with twin pregnancies!!!!!!!!! My doctors office had me do a very detailed ultrasound (took almost and hour and a half) along with the test to help rule out any numbers that may have been off. Did you doctor have you do that with the blood test? If you wouldn't do anything with a positive amnio result my opinion is it wouldn't be wouth the risk. But I totaly understand the NEED to know.

 

Our test came back negative for neural tube defects but a 1 in a hundred and something chance (don't remember the exact number) one of the boys had downs. My OB warned me before I took the test that it would probably come back postitive because it was twins, they were boys and twins tend to give a higher level which in turn makes the test come out positive...did you know that is also how some women find out that there are twins if they didn't already know? Anyway my OB gave me the opition of a level II or amnio which she did not think was necessary...I took the level II and my boys were fine!

 

results came back a lil bad for mine too. we had an u/s done to check everything. i would never have an amnio done. too risky for me. good luck and try not to worry too much. we have a friend from church who was told her test results were SO high they might as well abort. she refused and carried the baby to term. that baby is a perfectly healthy 3 year old now, with zero problems

 

My doc also warned me (false positives are 20% with twins) but my chances came back 1:7200 instead of 1:300. Personally I don't agree with the "name" false positive. It isn't a positive, it's an elevated risk. If you have a 1:100 chance, 99 children will be fine. So that's something you need consider. What numbers did you get back?

 

I talked to my doc again and he said he comes down to whether or not we would terminate and we already decided that we wouldn't. So he said in that case then there's no point of doing it. He said the chance is 1:44 but the percentage is a little over 2 % which means there's a 97% chance that there will be nothing wrong. I just don't really see the point in doing the amnio if we aren't going to do anything about it

 

I didn't even have the AFP done this time, just the nuchal scan, because my doctor said they aren't reliable in multiples.

That said, I did have an amnio with my 2nd son after the 20 week u/s showed a cyst in his brain that could be a marker for Trisomy 18. In that case I had to know what we were dealing with since it's usually fatal.

I think you have to do what you are most comfortable with.

 

I would never do an amnio, it is an unnecessary risk. There are women who have done them and miscarried only to find out there babies are fine. My feeling is we would never terminate the pregnancy so why bother taking the risk, we didn't have any of the tests for this reason. I didn't want to worry the whole time if the tests came back indicating any problems. It is a very personal decision, but I would think seriously about whether you would end the pregancy if you found out there was a problem, if you wouldn't I wouldn't risk it. Good luck with your decision.

 

QUOTE(Shadyfeline @ Mar 18 2008, 12:16 PM) [snapback]675116[/snapback]
Our test came back negative for neural tube defects but a 1 in a hundred and something chance (don't remember the exact number) one of the boys had downs. My OB warned me before I took the test that it would probably come back postitive because it was twins, they were boys and twins tend to give a higher level which in turn makes the test come out positive...did you know that is also how some women find out that there are twins if they didn't already know? Anyway my OB gave me the opition of a level II or amnio which she did not think was necessary...I took the level II and my boys were fine!


Yes, that's how i found out i was having twins! They called me in for an emergency U/S because the test results were all wonky. I fortunately knew in my heart that it was twins before i even got there so I wasn't to worried. After they confirm it was 2 babies they adjusted the results and it matched up fine. If you are going to stress over it your whole pregnancy I would do the amnio to ease your mind or to prepare. There is very little chance of miscarriage but it's all up to you. Good luck

 

I agree is the previous post as the study results that came out last year show that it's a much MUCH smaller risk to do an amnio than it used to be. Just make sure if you decide to do one that you have a dr that does a lot so has a lot of experience. I had 2 with our singleton and it wasn't that bad. With our twins showing up at 25 weeks and our singleton showing some signs on the ultrasound of heart issues, we just wanted to be prepared. It was good to know ahead of time what we were up against. Everybody is different though so you just need to do what is right for YOU. Good Luck!!!

 

Due to Twin to Twin Transfusion I had to have 9 lbs of amniotic fluid drained when I was 28 weeks. I didn't have any of it tested, we just had to get some of the excess fluid out of there to save my girls' lives. My peri told me there is a risk of miscarriage and premature rupture of membranes anytime you insert a needle into the uterus. I was a nervous wreck. I declined all genetic testing because i would never terminate. Good luck with everything!

 

I agree that the risk of miscarriage with amnios is getting smaller and smaller. I think average is 1:200 but some doctors can do as well as 1:600 or even better.

It's a personal decision not to do one obviously. However, some people would like to know to prepare themselves (and possibly to prepare doctors and staff on call during your delivery) even though they wouldn't terminate the pregnancy. That's another thing to consider.

Good luck and hope it's going to be fine, most likely it will be. Whatever you'll decide.