sequential screen anyone have one

i kinda feel like my dr. is pressuring me into having one even though i am only 22 and i know the older you are the more likely to have a baby with a type of defect that they test for. so has anyone ever had a sequential screen and how do they test? do they just draw my blood or what?

 

I think all drs. "push" these types of testing. We denied all testing with both my pregnancies, the results would not have made a difference so we saw no reason to do them. I know my peri was shocked when I denied this when I was pregnant with the twins. He acted like I should do it since insurance paid for it.

 

the dr. made me feel like a bad mother :bad: because i didn't want the test done. thanks for the reply i feel better now

 

I chose to have the AFP testing done even though it would not have changed anything for us. I declined the Cystic Fibrosis testing because neither one of us has any family history of CF. I chose to have the testing done just so I could be prepared (educating myself about disorder/disability) in case there was anything wrong with one of my babies.

 

Ours wasn't called sequential screening but we had the USA (United Screening Approach) which consisted of a blood test at 12 weeks and then another at 16 weeks. I was also screened for Cystic fibrosis, Spinal Muscle Atrophy, and we also recently had the AFP. They were all blood tests and results came back negative. My doctor did not pressure me to have any of them but let me know that the option was available. We don't know much about my husband's genetic background and we both felt like we wanted to be better prepared if anything came back positive or abnormal. I think it is totally up to you and I don't think you're a bad mother for not wanting them, and I don't think anyone is a bad mother for wanting them. To me it was a sense of security and feeling prepared for any health challenges that faced us with the babies. My babies are small right now, so some of the tests were more recent to rule out potential complications. It was a relief for us to hear good results.

 

:hug: I'm sorry the dr. made you feel like that. I don't know why they do that. I know mine did question me several times when I declined it as well. Maybe they assume everyone just goes along or should go along with everything they suggest?!

And you are certainly NOT a bad mother for not having the test done. There are many wonderful Mothers that have declined that test and other tests as well.

You do what you feel is best for your family!!

 

I declined the testing as well. I read that it's not as accurate with twins and it didn't make a difference either way. Our doctor didn't like it, either, but it's not his choice.

 

This might sound silly, but I absolutely positively hate having my blood drawn. I'm okay with shots, because I don't mind something going in, but the idea of blood coming out makes me light headed. I have actually passed out when having my blood drawn more than once.

So there was no way I was going to take any sort of blood test that wasn't mandatory!

 

I used to not be too interested in genetic testing since I would not consider termination. BUT my best girlfriend in the world had identical boys three years ago. She did the nuchal test and the results were 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 (it is not thought to be related to maternal age, either, as Downs can be). They had open heart surgery at 4 months, recovered beautifully and are completely fine today.

Her case completely changed my view on the testing. 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. She has said more than once that she is so thankful that she had the information she did in advance - your brain is a little whacked out, hormonally, right after having a baby even if everything is perfectly normal!

All that being said - you are right that the odds are stacked heavily in favor of no problem whatsoever - I do not think it is foolish to forgo testing; I did with my first baby.

 

my husband passes out when he gets blood drawn. last time we went i had to get blood drawn. and down he went. so i guess its a normal thing

 

I've never had any of the testing done and these are babies 6&7 for me. My dr actually doesn't think its worth the stress because of all the wrong results.

 

I've had 2 amnios with my two past pregnancies. One came back fine and the other not so much. I think it helped us to know ahead of time and get ourselves prepared with what could be the outcomes. I know I'm very much a planner and hate surprises, so everyone said they were surprised on how well I handled things with #2 - well being prepared helps.

With the twins, I declined the blood test, had the NT and because of my history and issues - this time we did the CVS and both babies came back fine.

It's definitely a personal choice by the parents - no one else can make the decision for you.