Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Hey Ladies.

I am a healthy 30 year old, 14 weeks pregnant with my second baby.

My doc has been "pushing" that i take the Panorama blood test to find out for genetic problems with the baby. You also find out the sex of the baby with this "simple" blood test.

I am on the fence about taking it, I have made the appt. but will back out if I don't want to do it. I am just concerned that i will receive a false positive result for some awful genetic disorder, and then i will be left in a awful situation....

Have any of you had the test, would you do it again?

If the baby had downs no question i would keep the baby, but some of the genetic issues cause still births, death upon birth....awful stuff..

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Hello! I'm 34 and healthy and my dr also encouraged me to take the panorama. She framed it as if we have access to information, why not be informed. I believe the test is quite accurate and I think there is less of a chance for false positives with it, but you can double check that with your dr. I had reservations, like you, but my OB convinced me. I felt like if I didn't do the test, I would be left wondering whereas I could have so much information. I opted for information. GL with whatever you decide!

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I would call your insurance before you do it. Most insurance companies don't cover it if you are under 35. I know a lot of women on this board complained about being charged a lot of $$$ after it.

I called to make sure before having it done, but because I am 35 for one month when I am due, I fall into Advanced Maternal Age and they covered it. But they flat out said they wouldn't when DH said I was 34, until they compared my due date to my birthday and realized I would be 35.

But the test was good for me. It gave me reassurance that nothing is wrong and since DD was upside down and had her legs crossed for my 20 week anatomy scan, we still wouldn't know we were having a girl if we hadn't done it.

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Do genetic disorders run in your family? If so, then i would take the test.
I'm 31 and PG with my second (also 14 weeks) and my doc told me it was unnecessary. So o declined it.
Definitely check woth your insurance first. My friend did it just to find out the gender earlier and sge paid $200 out of pocket.

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I'm 29, pregnant with #1, and have no genetic disorders in my family and I had the test done. For me, it was about peace of mind. Plus, it was a simple blood drawing and I knew within 2 weeks that my baby boy was healthy (got the results before my NT scan). My doctor told me that if my insurance didn't cover it that I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket; which I didn't - never received a bill.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Message edited 12/3/2014 7:27:35 AM.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Agree with the other ladies. Check with insurance first. I wonder why your dr. is pushing you for the test when you are so young! I am 40 and had the Verify test done (it's the same blood test, just different company) and for me, personally, it gave me peace of mind that the baby is (knock on wood) OK so far between the results of the blood test and the NT. We opted for this non evasive test because we are not doing an amnio.

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Mine was Maternit21 too, but we checked about insurance on all of them before deciding which one to do. I also did my HW and the Maternit21 has the most accurate results.

I think a lot of people do it just for gender and I think that is why insurance is so strict. I know one girl said she didn't have to pay out of pocket, but I know a lot of people who got large bills for doing the test. And sometimes the bills came as much as 6-9 months later.

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

i took the test...they are very accurate. i would totally do it again.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

My insurance covered it. I turned 35 about 2 weeks ago, but was 34 when I had the test done. I think many insurances are covering it now.
I don't think there's much risk of false positive with this test, unlike some others. I think the results are definitive.
We did it for peace of mind. We didn't use it to find out gender (we are team green). I would absolutely do it again.

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I took the maternit21 test. my doctor brought it up at one of my appointments and didn't push it but encouraged it and mentioned its a good way to detect ( early in pregnancy) if there are any signs of genetic disorders. I took it, but to be honest, immediately afterwards I regretted it. I thought, God forbid there is something wrong, there really isn't anything you can do. there is no intervention or any sort of medicine to reverse a genetic disorder. so that would mean I would be worried and anxious for the remainder of my pregnancy rather than be happy and look forward to the birth. and then I would have thoughts enter my mind like the fact that there is options. well, I really don't want there to be options. once that baby is in my arms, I just want to love it- regardless of any disorder.

anyhow, everything turned out to be fine. the baby is healthy, thank God!!! but I did sort of panic after the fact and I just thought it was unnecessary. ignorance is bliss sometimes.

and I am team green!

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Call your insurance. You will wind up paying $$$$ if it's not covered, and my guess is it wouldn't be covered because you're only 30. I'll be 35 when I deliver DC#2 so I had it done, but I would never have considered it for #1 since I was younger. The 12 and 16 week tests were enough at that point.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I would do it only if insurance covered it.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Definitely check with your insurance company first. If it's covered, I'd probably be inclined to say why not since it's so non-invasive. Did you do the NT scan?

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

Is this the same as the Harmony test?

Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I am 30 and none of those blood tests (Panorama, Maternit21, etc.) were covered by my insurance. They all would have been lots of $$$ OOP.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

My dr only recommended it for over 35. Also my insurance wouldn't cover it ($1500) unless over 35 yo though my office does cap it at $350 for study purposes. Its a personal decision but I would opt for it only with advanced maternal age OR history of chromosomal abnormalities in the fmily.

Re: Panorama Test- to take or not to take?

I'd also question why your dr is pushing you so hard to get it? All tests are voluntary, so I wouldn't want a dr to push me to get anything.