Down Syndrome!?!?

Question

I am 17 weeks pregnant and 18 years old...my pregnancy has been pretty normal...little constipation their...throwing up here lol...but other than that nothing crazy to report...Its time to do the down syndrome blood work to find out if my baby might have this disease...It is my first pregnancy and as I said it seems to be normal...plz tell me what you all think of my chances are for my baby to have down syndrome...I am soo nervouse...I do the blood work tomorrow...plz...DONT BE RUDE...and I know your not doctors I want opinions..I know I will love my baby regardless..but just want to know what you guys think my chances are..Thanks in advance...

no Down Syndrome doesnt run in my family..the only thing that runs in my family is diabetes and high blood pressure..thankfully I just have the blood pressure problem..but it is controlled with walking and eating right..

Answer 1

Down Syndrome is a birth defect caused by a chromosomal abnormality, not a disease, and has nothing to do with heredity. Down Syndrome does not run in families. Statistically, about one out of every 800 babies are born with Down Syndrome regardless of how old the mother is. Although, as the mother ages it increase the risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. Being pregnant causes women to worry about a lot of things and this is perfectly normal. I was 38 when my youngest child was born. She was a surprise baby born after I had been on The Pill for 11 years. My husband and I opted not to have any prenatal testing done despite the fact that I was pregnant without knowing it for 17 weeks so I continued to take The Pill in addition to high blood pressure medication and migraine medication. Abortion was not an option for us and we were prepared to love the baby no matter what. You can be sure that while I tried to remain calm and optimistic, there was always that hint of worry at the back of my mind. She is now a perfectly happy and normal 9 year old spoiled rotten by 3 doting older siblings and a brother-in-law.

Answer 2

The test for Down's Syndrome is an optional test. With your age it is very unlikely that your baby would have Down's Syndrome. It is more common that women who are over the age 35yrs to have babies with Down Syndrome. You don't have to have the test. I opted not to have it with two of my pregnancies because it really didn't matter if my children had it or not and why stress out and worry and get put under a lot of pressure from doctors if you child does. Some doctors will ask if you want an abortion if there is something wrong with your child. Another thing to consider is that those teat are not always the most accurate. There have been false positives. They are used more as a screening test but the only way to know for sure is amniocentesis. I wouldn't worry about it and if you don't feel comfortable with it don't get the test. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Your anxiety is understandable, but try not to worry. Statistically, your odds are low, but you need to understand that Down syndrome is a genetic anomaly and not really "predicatable"...mothers of all ages, young and old have a chance of having a child with Down syndrome. The blood test will tell you, based on certain levels in your blood, the likelihood of the presence of Down syndrome, however, it is not definitive. The test is known for false results and the only sure way to tell is by having an amnio. Of course there are associated risks with having an amnio, so if it won't make any difference in the outcome of your pregancy, I wouldn't recommend it.

Furthermore, Down syndrome is NOT a disease. It's a genetic condition resulting from the presence of 3 copies of the 21st chromosome (Trisomy 21). There are certain things that children with Down syndrome might have such as heart defects (which are almost always treatable with sugery) and other medical problems, again, most all are treatable. Children with Down syndrome tend to have low muscle tone, so Physical therapy is important (and must be provided to the child by the state...it's the law) and they have developmental delays which also respond well to therapy.

My son is 2 and has DS and is an amazing little boy. He had to have heart surgery at 2 months old and has thrived ever since. He is somewhat delayed, but not much, he knows some words, lots of sign language and is a bright, happy little boy.

Being nervous is natural, but if indeed you find out that the child has DS, I can tell you that once the shock has worn off, you will never know a greater love than from that child.

Good luck

Answer 4

I know how hard it is not to worry about the health of your baby. I too worried about her health when i was pregnant. I was terrified about all the things such as down syndrome, cleft lip etc and i am 24 years old. I now have a beautiful and healthy 6 month old daughter. You chances of having a baby with down syndrome is very very slim. Your chances increase if it runs in your family or if you are over 35 years of age or more. Good luck and enjoy every moment of your pregnancy!!!

Answer 5

You sound very frightened. Women between thbe ages of 18 and 35 have the lowest rate of giving birth to a child with down's syndrome. I hope that helps to calm you. Also, speak with your doctor about your anxiety, you have a few other tests to go thru and perhaps your doctor can help calm you by explaing what the concerns are, if you are truly at risk or if this is required by law, or just part of the testing he does for all women during pregnancy.
Take care and take a deep breath to slow yourself down.

Answer 6

Throughout the world, the frequency of Down's Syndrome is about 3 per 2,000 births.

Becuase you are only 18 years old, your risks of having a DS baby are VERY VERY slim. Close to 1 in 2,000. Relax.

The risks are much greater for women over the age of 35 years old because their eggs are old (girls are born with all the eggs they will have in their lifetime).

Answer 7

Do NOT have the AFP (alpha-fetoprotein panel) screening done. "There can be false-positive results - indicating a problem when the fetus is actually healthy or false negative results - indicating a normal result when the fetus actually does have a health problem. " This is a quote from a medical site about that test. See the link below.

You will be unnecessarily worried for the rest of your pregnancy. Just don't do it. It's just a way for practitioners to bill you or your insurance company.

Answer 8

do not worrie your self about that right now you need to keep it together for the baby because what stress you go through is also what the baby is going through well downs syndrome is a disabilty. although it is know to do some brain damage sometimes some people who have it just turn out to be fine downs syndrome is also like williams syndrome excep the charteristics of these disabilities are also not common jst because your baby might have it does not mean that you can not love him or her you see when my parents found out about my disability they still loved me after five and a half years of not knowing of what i had and yes williams syndrome is not very common but yet rare so what are you going to do if you find out that yes your child has downs syndrome? and what about the person who got you pregnant ? i am sorry that you are this young and you have alot of choices right now but please understand that this baby for real and that she or he will need you do not be nervouse about it if you have any questions abot williams syndrome or downs syndrome i will be more then glad to help you out or i know some other who might be able to help you out . if you would like to talk to me more about that here is my email address [e-mail]
i pray that you and your baby will do just fine. i will understand if you do not want to talk with me about it or if you just nned some one to talk to i am right here.

Answer 9

Hon, you need to stop worrying so much. The anxiety and the stress can't be healthy for you and you have to take good care of yourself for you and your baby.
I don't know what the stats are for Down's Syndrome but it's pretty rare.
What concerns me is that you are worrying so about this test. You have so many more "tests" coming up! There will always be something to worry about - you can always find something to fret about. Don't do that to yourself.
Just do the best that you can with what you know and you'll do ok. I had my first child when I was 18 and it's hard. You can't worry so much about every test - you can't because it would kill you. Have some faith, sweetie, and take good care of yourself. Best of luck to you and your baby!

Answer 10

It's really nothing to the procedure. They just draw some blood and test it in the lab. But your chances may be VERY slim. Trust me, it's nothing to worry about. Congrats and Good Luck!