NT test and amnio

Hello! I'm new to this site. We are expecting di-di twins. Just got the result of the NT test two days ago. Both babies have thick NT. Baby A has .39 mm with 1:5 risk for down syndrome. Baby B has .59 mm with 1:<5 risk for down syndrome. Dr. suggested doing amnio. I didn't want to do it but with such high risk, we wanted to know. I've been crying every night. Dr. also suggested selective termination if one is affected. Has anyone received the same risk assessment and turned out that both babies are fine? I'm so depressed. Please help!

 

I have no advice for you, but I wanted to send you :hug: ... I'm sorry for what you are experiencing.

 

I would only suggest an amnio if you would 100% terminate if they (or one of them) had Downs Syndrome. Before you consider that, talk to some parents who have children with Downs Syndrome to see if that is something you could handle. You could also call the local school district to see if you could sit in on a class that has special needs students. Make sure you research it thorughly. I'm around a lot of children with Downs and know that my opinion has changed in the past years. My 7yo is mentally handicap, not due to Downs though.

Can they do any other testing (like checking features with a 3d u/s) that is not as invasive?

That is strange that your Dr. would suggest termination even if only one baby has it. It's such a personal decision! :hug:

 

My best girlfriend in the world had identical boys three years ago. Her nuchal test was WAY off. She was given 1:28 odds for identicals with DS. Termination was not an option, but she did do an amnio so that she and her family could be prepared for the worst case scenario. Amnio was normal. Nuchal measurements were so far off, however, that the peri was convinced there was a problem. With further testing they discovered that both boys had an A/V heart defect - one that is present in something like 75% of DS cases, which was why it was picked up in the nuchal measurement. They had open heart surgery at 4 months, recovered beautifully and are completely fine today.

The fact that she and her husband knew what the twins' problem was - rather than waiting to find out after birth - saved a lot of mental stress. They were able to spend significant time researching the defect, interviewing multiple cardiologists, surgeons, etc. and have the luxury of time to make necessary decisions on a treatment plan. In addition, she was monitored very closely by a pediatric cardiologist in addition to her OB and peri.

I can't remember what her nuchal measurements were, but I can ask her if you are interested for comparing.

I'm so sorry you are having to make some hard decisions!

 

Hi, I am new on this too. I did have this same test done on my last pregnancy (it was a single pregnancy) and my baby also had an irregular measurement for the NT screen. I was told my baby had a 1 in 2 chance of having Downs Syndrome. I had CVS done on the same day because I wanted to be prepared if there were going to be problems. My results came back perfectly normal on the baby. His chromosomes were fine. The NT test is just a screening test, if you are very worried about it then get the amnio done. It will give you peace of mind and it will tell with you with almost 100% accuracy if there are any problems. Good luck!

 

Just wanted to point out that 80% of babies with a risk assessment of 1:5 end up not having DS. So, yes, most babies are fine.

Is it too late to do a CVS? Those are much safer than early amnios. If you just got your NT results in, I'm guessing you are about 13 weeks?

 

Thanks cat mommy. I'm 12 weeks 3 days today. We were considering CVS but it's more complicated with twins because there's a possibility of getting the samples from the same placenta. The twins and their placentas are right next to each other so it's more accurate to do the amnio. Just have to wait for 2 more weeks, I've scheduled to do the amnio on 11/23. Meanwhile, I'm going out of my mind. Spoke to my dr. today to ask for chance that both babies are going to be fine, just to give me some hope. She doesn't want me to keep my hopes up esp. Twin B, but there's a small possibility that both babies are going to be ok.