High risk for 'Down Syndrome' 1:221

[Nia]

Hi fellow pregnant moms,


I am due to have my second child by March 2019. Just had the first trimester screening (scan + DS test) which came out with 1:221 chances of my baby having DS. The doc advised us to go ahead with Harmony test which is 99% accurate. But my question is what will change if we get the tests done? I want to accept everything as God's plan and I truly have faith that everything will be fine. I have had a healthy first pregnancy and just because i'm 33 now doesn't mean this wont be any smoother.



Has anyone been through this? I have decided not to go ahead with the test (after a dialogue with my husband) and accept what is to come. The 20 week scan apparently can rule out DS as the nasal bone is formed.



I wish someone understands where I'm coming from. Please do reply mommies.

 

[night owl]

What you do next depends on whether you want to know for sure or not, you don’t have to
have any further screening tests if you don’t want to, all screening is optional, the odds you’ve been given make it a very slim chance baby has it, the harmony test is completely safe and non invasive and will tell you for sure, however if it doesn’t change anything about how you will proceed with the pregnancy then don’t feel pressured into having it, just FYI though the 20 week scan can’t rule out DS even if the nasal bone measurement is fine, that’s only a potential indicator of DS, the only thing which can tell you for sure is the harmony test or an amino,

If you’re not worried and happy to just wait and see, then you don’t have to have any further screening, if you are worried and would like to know for sure, have the further screening

Good luck xx

 

[Nia]

Thanks for your reply. DO you have any personal experience that you can share?


Just wondering from your reply. Please do share if you would like to.


Thanks much!

What you do next depends on whether you want to know for sure or not, you don’t have to
have any further screening tests if you don’t want to, all screening is optional, the odds you’ve been given make it a very slim chance baby has it, the harmony test is completely safe and non invasive and will tell you for sure, however if it doesn’t change anything about how you will proceed with the pregnancy then don’t feel pressured into having it, just FYI though the 20 week scan can’t rule out DS even if the nasal bone measurement is fine, that’s only a potential indicator of DS, the only thing which can tell you for sure is the harmony test or an amino,

If you’re not worried and happy to just wait and see, then you don’t have to have any further screening, if you are worried and would like to know for sure, have the further screening

Good luck xx

 

[night owl]

I don’t have experience up to now but I’m about to have my combined NT and blood test on Monday when I will be 12 weeks, I’m the type of person who likes to know as much as possible so I’ve been doing a lot of research on it and reading other people’s experiences in preparation! The information leaflet I got about the combined screening (blood and NT scan) says you are considered high risk if it comes back 1:150 or lower i.e 1:149 so you wouldn’t even be considered high risk here and wouldn’t be offered additional screening unless you asked for it, where are you located if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Nia]

Hi. I am situated in Adelaide, South Australia. In fact, the leaflet I have says further tests are recommended if you are 1:250 or less. Strange that for the same diagnosis, they have different cut offs. Where are you located?


In fact, my doc advised Harmony and upon reading more, I learnt that a lot of pregnant women were advised further tests at 1:150 or less..


I wonder why it's different here.


Will have to look into this. Thanks for chatting up. Clears a lot of things. These forums are so helpful.



Do let me know where you are located.


Regards,
Nia

I don’t have experience up to now but I’m about to have my combined NT and blood test on Monday when I will be 12 weeks, I’m the type of person who likes to know as much as possible so I’ve been doing a lot of research on it and reading other people’s experiences in preparation! The information leaflet I got about the combined screening (blood and NT scan) says you are considered high risk if it comes back 1:150 or lower i.e 1:149 so you wouldn’t even be considered high risk here and wouldn’t be offered additional screening unless you asked for it, where are you located if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[night owl]

I’m in Liverpool in the UK, it’s funny how there is different interpretations of what is high risk depending on where you are, but your odds are really quite low when you think about it so I wouldn’t worry too much

I think personally if I come back high risk then I will get the harmony test just so I can know for sure and not spend the rest of my pregnancy driving myself mad wondering about it! Xx

 

[Nia]

Okay! Thanks for sharing.


I thought the same - when the doc advised me I was positive I would go ahead to get clarity, but clarity won't change much. I will just be better prepared to handle the situation.

I personally feel there can be nothing wrong. I'm trying to stay positive. Hoping for the best yet I'm prepared for anything unlikely as well.


I guess it is different for countries on the basis of where the frequency of occurence is more. And here in Australia, they are still creating a lot of awareness about DS to prepare parents better.



Do share your results. Am sure all will be well. Is this your first baby?



Regards
Neha

I’m in Liverpool in the UK, it’s funny how there is different interpretations of what is high risk depending on where you are, but your odds are really quite low when you think about it so I wouldn’t worry too much

I think personally if I come back high risk then I will get the harmony test just so I can know for sure and not spend the rest of my pregnancy driving myself mad wondering about it! Xx

 

[night owl]

Yes i will for sure share my results, I’m 34 and it’s my first baby, had a miscarriage earlier this year so I’ve found all the worrying hard, I’m looking forward to my scan on Monday and hopefully getting a low risk result as that’s one less thing to worry about! Good luck to you and keep us updated with how you get on x

 

[WinterWolf]

Honestly, I think the main reason we in Australia have a lower risk threshold for recommending further testing is that our medical system isn't as strained as the UKs. We're very lucky we have the resources to do further testing. The harmony test is expensive so I can understand you not wanting to go through with it. Bear in mind though, you'll be wondering "what if" right up until baby is born if you don't get the test because the 20 week scan can't rule it out. I couldn't deal with not knowing myself..

 

[night owl]

Honestly, I think the main reason we in Australia have a lower risk threshold for recommending further testing is that our medical system isn't as strained as the UKs. We're very lucky we have the resources to do further testing. The harmony test is expensive so I can understand you not wanting to go through with it. Bear in mind though, you'll be wondering "what if" right up until baby is born if you don't get the test because the 20 week scan can't rule it out. I couldn't deal with not knowing myself..

Sounds like you’s get better medical care over there, i completely agree with you winterwolf I was even thinking about just getting the harmony test anyway regardless of what my screening comes back as, it’s still something I am thinking about, I will see how my NT scan goes on Monday x

 

[Loula]

This time last year I was given that awful news that I was high risk of having a child with downs. I was a 1:91 risk.
Me and my partner both knew what we would do as we had spoke about it on the off chance.
We were called into the hospital to chat to the screening nurses and they ran through our options which mostly was an amnio. I was against that as I thought what if I lose this child and they don't have downs. For me harmony was the way to go and we had to go privately. It cost us £400 for the blood test and a scan and it was the best thing I did. 5 days laterwe had our results which were low risk. We also tested for all other condition s and got to find out the gender at 14 weeks. Feel free to ask anymore questions as I felt so alone during the time as no-one else was going through itx