I am 11 weeks pregnant and am 36 years old.My ob is suggesting I should go for a nuchal translucency (NT) test.I have already gotten an appointment for after 2 weeks.I already have a Masha Allah healthy 4 year old and I declined the NT test when I was pregnant the first time.Our reasoning was if it was a false positive we will be worrying for the entire pregnancy and if God willingly if it was a positive that we wont be doing the more invasive CVS or decide to terminate the pregnancy.We took our chances.
I am pretty sure I don’t want to go ahead with the scanning this time too .Though my obs says that incase its needed they don’t have to do CVS for confirmation,as other DNA based testing (non-invasive blood tests) are now more readily available and is covered by insurance too etc etc (eg.,MaternT21 test).
I wanted to ask the parents on here,what did you guys do,esp when age was a factor?Did you decide to not get it done or if you had it done what were the results?
Its really upto you if you want to get it done. Whatever the result is, surely most of us wouldn’t have chosen to terminate the pregnancy. I got it done both the times in my pregnancies. Age wasn’t a factor. I was given an option and chose to do it for my own satisfaction.
I did the MaterniT21 testing because I am in my 30’s now and doc recommended it.
Husband was severely against it.
I did it for my own satisfaction and to make sure I was ready for anything that came my way. The result was negative Alhumdulillah but like I said…it was something I needed to do for my own peace of mind. And I did.
My chacha has Downs and so my OB put me down for it both times. I honestly didn’t think much of it. Because of my chacha, I know people with Downs can live a long healthy life mashAllah and so I suppose I had no fear of it. I was glad it was done so I could have had time to prepare for it had it been the case.
Thanks for the replies.
I had forgotten to add that my husband is strongly against it,so that is another factor.When I say that if God forbid there is something it will give us time to be mentally prepared.His POV is that even if that is the case,I will spend the next few mths worrying more and that wont do any good to our family and the unborn baby.It all comes down to a personal choice I guess.
For those who replied,if you don’t mind my asking,did you decide to go ahead with the MaterniT21 after the NT test?If so,did the NT test show some out of normal range results?I understand it is personal info,and it is perfectly ok if you decide not to answer.
im almost 32 wks with my 2nd baby and in the over 35 group. I chose to do the NT and a subsequent fetal anatomical survey (an US) but declined amnio, cvs, materniT21 and genetic counseling. My NT and fetal survey sonos were normal. Im scheduled for my 3rd and final US (growth scan) monday!
My OB has no issues with my choice(s) nor my perinatologist (though his nurse was surprised :D). My husband had left the decision up to me to go either way … he believes more strongly then I, in leaving it all unknown … but was with me for each of my scans.
my ob does NT test on all women , regardless of age. i think in NY, it is done on all because i have plenty of friends in their early 20’s who also had it done as recommended by their doctors. im 27, no history of down syndrome in my family or my husbands, and i had it done as well. it’s just an ultrasound. they also do blood test for certain things at the same time , i think its AFP, alpha feto protein. and calculate the risk of having down syndrome combined with bloodwork plus ultrasound. it just calculates risk for down syndrome, it is not a diagnostic test. they usualy do amniocentesis or CVS for diagnosing chromosomal problems. But these days, there is another blood test available which can give 99% accurate results for certain genetic and chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome.
i had the ultrasound and the blood test for AFP i think, (not the materNT or harmony). it came back negative so i didnt have to do further testing.
