Prenatal Screening

Hi! I am SO thrilled to find an active Twins message board! I am 18 weeks pregnant with boy/girl twins and have LOADS of questions. The one that is on my mind at the moment follows:

I had the nuchal translucency + blood testing screening done at 12 weeks. My chances of downs syndrome came back as 1/10,000 for each baby, so that's about as good as it gets for a 30 year old mom-to-be such as myself. However, based on the blood test, results for Trisomies 18 and 23 (I think - the non-Down's trisomies), were 1/150 and 1/240. As I understand it, those numbers are borderline "positive". Of course I proceeded to freak out, but decided to schedule a more detailed ultrasound for 16 weeks before jumping into an amnio. Apparently everything looked perfect during that u/s, so our risks went down quite a bit, though they won't give me a new probability number. So I conciously decided to stop worrying about it since the risks were so low, but of course the worry remains in the back of my mind and I can't shake it.

Upon further research and discussion with other twin moms, a lot of them didn't even receive numbers for the trisomies based on blood tests b/c they are notoriously inaccurate. My (extremely long-winded) question for you guys is whether or not you had the blood test done during the nuchal and if you got results for the trisomies other than Down's? Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to live in a time where SO MUCH information is not so readily available... Ignorance might truly be bliss.

Thanks in advance!

 

I choose not to have the blood tests or the nuchal done. I don't like to worry about things I can't control.

 

I did the tests at 12 weeks because I thought I was only having one baby. When I found out later it was twins, the lab reran my numbers based on twins, but the peri cautioned me that the tests are notoriously inaccurate when there is more than one baby. The singleton numbers were all fine, but the twin numbers for trisomies were similar to yours, borderline positive. The peri said that had they known it was twins, they would have advised against the tests. My girls are now 22 months old with no birth defects or other issues.

 

:welcome: to Twinstuff and congrats on your twins. :Clap: I didn't have any of those tests with either of my pregnancies, so I can't help you with that. Try not to worry about it. :hug:

 

I was also advised not to have the blood test...the results are for a "pregnancy" not for each baby. Plus my NT scan didn't warrant any further action, everything looked good! Good luck!!!

 

I opted for the screening and, like you, got a 1/190 (for Downs) with the cut-off being 240 (I think). Of course, the next step would be a 3 hr appt w/ lots of tests, u/s's and scary worst-case-scenarios w/ a peri and ultimately (with my go-ahead), an amnio. I had a long, frank discussion about this w/ my ob and decided to not test any further. She is very supportive of my decision and was very encouraging.

I didn't want to risk my potentially-healthy babies health with an amnio (yes, I know the odds are slim, but...) just to find out something that has already been fated to me. The tests would not change anything in my pregnancy, only my preparedness for a handicapped child. My ob has fabulous u/s equipment and while she couldn't make any guarantees, felt confident that they would be able to detect physical markers in subsequent u/s's if either baby was in fact Down's. This was enough reassurance for me. I guess it depends on what type of personality you are. I'm a big-time planner and would like to know if I do need to prepare for something like Down's, BUT.... I also don't believe that needless, constant worry is good for me or the babies. Besides, since I am 40, this will be my last pregnancy. My body (and mind) handle pregnancy well and I want to enjoy every minute of this exciting ride. If further questions about the babies conditions arise later in the pregnancy I'll deal with them then. I definitely won't do an unnecessary amnio before the babies are viable. But my u/s tech and ob do a pretty thorough check at each appt and so far everything about the babies looks picture perfect. :wub:

I couldn't agree more about "knowing" too much! After talking w/ friends and family about the tests in general, I couldn't believe how many women got "bad" test results and have perfectly healthy children. Bottom line is that it's a very personal decision that really does depend on your personality. That being said, aside from the fact that I got to find out I was having twins really early, I wouldn't have opted for the genetic screening if I were to do it again. Once I made the decision to stop the testing, I felt as if a great burden had been lifted from my shoulders and I'm now back to focusing happy thoughts on making healthy babies.

Good luck...and try not to worry too much! :hug:
Eve

 

I also decided not to take the tests.

My sister-n-law took it for her singleton and her initial tests came back negative. Her FHP test came back positive but since her initial ones were negative and at the 20 wk US there were no signs of any developmental issues, her Dr. said not to worry and didn't even do the amnio. Her baby is now 2 and as perfect as can be.

 

Thanks for all of your replies. I spoke to my genetic counselor and she seems to think that there isn't much to worry about. The chances of one of the babies having an issue with trisomy is much lower than the chances of something going wrong with an amnio (and those chances are really low too). We have another u/s at 20 weeks (2 weeks from yesterday!) and if everything looks perfect then, we are in excellent shape. Apparently 80-90% of non-down's trisomies show up in u/s.

Thanks again. I guess the occasional freak-out is to be expected when one is pregnant with twins!

 

QUOTE(ajg18 @ Mar 4 2009, 01:03 PM) [snapback]1214479[/snapback]
Thanks again. I guess the occasional freak-out is to be expected when one is pregnant with twins!



Welcome to Twinstuff and congratulations on your pregnancy :clapping:

It IS hard not to freak-out, but it is totally normal :hug:

Hope to 'see' you posting more throughout your pregnancy!