Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Maybe this should be on the pregnancy board, I don't know. I am not pregnant but a close friend is and last week she found out that her AFP test came back with a high genetic marker for Downs. Instead of 1/1000 it was something like 1/50.

Has anyone else gone through this, or remember what their results were? She is deciding whether to have the CV test or Amnio to find out for sure but they come with a risk of miscarriage. I am researching on the web but any personal stories would be appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

With DD #1 this happened I dont remember the numbers but I had the amnio and she is totally fine ! Just let her know with those tests 90% of positives are false positives !!

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Those tests are NOT accurate. They are just screening. That does not mean she will have or will not have a child with Down Syndrome.

An amnio will tell her 99% accurately whether it is or not.

This is why I opted out of those tests and scheduled an amnio. For me, I did not want to worry about the what ifs and I wanted to be ready for whatever was coming at us.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Mine was something like 1 / 150....the only way to tell for sure was an amnio.

They told me the baby's neck looked fine, it was my numbers that were skewing the result....We decided agains the amnio, and DD was just fine.

Just about everyone I know who had this test done had similar experiences and they all had healthy babies. In fact, my one friend didn't have it done since her doctor's assistant told her the results come back false postive / increased risk ALL the time...and almost all the babies are fine

It's still scary though, so lots of for you!

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Posted by FrankiesGirl107

Mine was something like 1 / 150....the only way to tell for sure was an amnio.

They told me the baby's neck looked fine, it was my numbers that were skewing the result....We decided agains the amnio, and DD was just fine.

Just about everyone I know who had this test done had similar experiences and they all had healthy babies. In fact, my one friend didn't have it done since her doctor's assistant told her the results come back false postive / increased risk ALL the time...and almost all the babies are fine

It's still scary though, so lots of for you!

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

My SIL had results of 1 in 19 and she opted to have the CVS and the amnio. She was fine after both procedures. I guess it all depends on what she would do based on the results. for your friend.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I really think they should so something about that test. A friend of mine had "normal" numbers and her child was born with downs.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I agree the tests are very inaccurate but would have a CVS test to find out sooner.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

My friend was 1 in 5 after her screening and her DD was perfectly normal. They choose not to test at all since it wouldn't have changed anything for them.

I had a Trisomy pregnancy so I had CVS done with both my pregnancy. I would have been so worried the whole time if I didn't. The risk of miscarriage is low if you are with a doctor who does the procedure very often.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I skipped the AFP because I was not confident in the reliability of the results. I did have an amnio but when I skipped the AFP I was not sure I would have the amnio. I know an LIFer who was somewhere around 1/50 on the AFP and everything turned out just fine.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

My results with DD#1 after the Integrated Test (including the combined results of nuchal test and 2 blood tests) were 1:5.

We opted to do the amnio since comparatively speaking, the chances of the baby having Downs were way higher than the chance of miscarriage due to the amnio. The day of the amnio at the hospital, we were told the baby was fine. Oooops...someone mistranscribed the numbers on the test. So, even though this scenario is very unlikely for your friend, ask her to double check all of the results before proceeding.

A good friend of mine chose to do the amnio with a screening result of 1:200 or around there. Everything went well and the baby was 100%

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

My test for Downs came back high too, and DS is 100% healthy. Those tests are so not accurate. With my next one, if there is one, I am really contemplating NOT having that test at all. The false positive rate is sooo high. Please tell your friend to NOT stress about this yet. 90% of the time babies are born 100% healthy...

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

My test came back high for this as well. I was told that it was due to the combo of the blood test results, the sono and my age. My age factor (39 at pregnancy) is what made my results lower than average - or so I was told.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I am currently pregnant with my first, and the same thing happened to me. I did opt to have the Amnio (not because I would have terminated), but because I wanted to be prepared for the "what if" My is perfectly fine!

I too was VERY concered with the chance of having a miscarriage due to the Amnio since I had already had two losses (not amnio related), and given all we had gone through to get pregnant in the first place, I just didn't want to risk it. However, in the end, having the peace of mind outweighed (for us at least), the tiny chance of miscarrying.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Thank you all for your quick and honest responses. I actually do feel a bit better. I will update in a few weeks once she tells me the results!

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I think my test was 1 in 150, which was just over the line--below that I would have been considered positive testing for Down's Syndrome. DS does not have Down's.

My age probably pushed my results, I was 40 when DS was born. As for the amnio, I skipped it--we decided we would have DS whether he had Downs or not, so it seemed irrelevant. I did do the 20 week scan and AFP test and figured if those results were funky, I may have had an amnio, but they were fine.

It's very hard, but tell her not to worry now. Lots of people test positive but have healthy children.

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I have a question my good friend is 13 weeks pregnant. About 2 weeks ago she got a call from her dr.'s office at 9 pm telling her that the blood tests they did when they were doing her pregnancy test (so this is almost 7 weeks ago) showed that her odds for having a Downs baby is elevated so they are sending her to the genetic counselor.

This makes no sense to me. I didn't know they checked this when they are checking your beta numbers to see if they are at the correct levels. They have her scheduled for her sonogram and blood work to check like they do normally at 13 weeks.

My friend is nervous and I don't know what advice to give her.

Has anyone had this happen to them. She is in her early 30's in great condition. How can they check this so early in the pregnancy?

Any advice or experiences?

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I did not have the AFP test b/c my OB straight out told me it has a VERY high rate of false positives AND, even then it is only a screening test so it really tells you nothing. So to help me decide he asked me whether I would have an amnio if a bad result and I said no - that made my decision for me.

My point is for your friend - she needs to do what SHE is comfortable with but, IMO that test means nothing!

Re: Need help - Downs test result when pregnant, do you remember?

I had it and I came back 1 in 100. I didnt do anything further...however we think that it could have been a marker that there was something wrong with the placenta/bloodflow