Hi,
I am 16 weeks pregnant and got my triple test results today. Acc. to the report, the calculated risk for Trisomy 21 is below the cut off which represents a low risk. Secondly, the calculated risk for Trisomy 18 is 1:8850 and the HCG level is 9576.99 which is low. Please tell me if this means anything -ve since my doctor refused to interpret the results over the phone and I dont meet her till another 2 weeks. Please advice, i am nervous.
2007-03-13 03:20:19 · 10 answers · asked by tutsa_2001 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Hi, Congratulations on your pregnancy! I am not a doctor or a genetic counsellor but a mum of a baby with Down Syndrome so read my answer with this in mind.
Personally, I don't think the test means anything. I have friends whose test showed a very low risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome ie something like 1 in 1700 or whatever. They must've been the one! I also have a friend whose test showed she was high risk for having a baby with Down Syndrome so she had an amniocentisis which resulted in an infection causing her to lose her perfectly healthy baby at 6mths. She held her newly stillborn baby and cried the whole night.
I have never had any tests for any of my children and my youngest has Down Syndrome. She is one of the 50% of babies born with Trisomy 21 who have a healthy heart. She was born at term, 9lb 14oz and at present has no health issues. She is achieving her milestones (albeit at the 'slower' end of the normal range) and is considered just one of the family. She may have special needs but I believe all my children do.
I'm glad I didn't know before I had her because it would've caused me unnecessary grief and anxiety not knowing what the future held. We never know what the future holds, for us or for any of our children. My 7yo may develop an infection tomorrow which causes him to go blind, my 5yo may become suicidal as a teenager, my 3yo may run onto the road tomorrow and get hit by a car, my 8mth old with T21 may have no problems at school, graduate with reasonable grades, get a satisfying job and lead a full and interesting life.
Please don't be too nervous. Numbers are numbers and they can be wrong. Your child is not wrong though.
Good luck!
2007-03-13 03:39:01 · answer #1 · answered by nangari 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First of all, let me tell you that these tests often come back with wrong results. They would like to be on the safe side, so the false positive rate for these tests run about 95%!!! In other words, if the test comes back negative, they are nearly 100% sure that it is negative, but when the results are positive, only 5% of those actually are positive.
Having said that, your calculated risk is VERY LOW.
Even if the risk comes back high, I wouldn't trust the results anyways. My daughter had 1:80 chance of being down syndrome. I had a consultation with the expert and (can you believe this?) they actually asked me if I would consider killing the baby! I had to have level 2 ultrasound several times, measure the length, width, waist size, head size, etc. etc. of the baby, go in for a non-stress test twice a week every week from week 16 to week 40! And the doctor kept telling me that the baby is too small, she's not growing, she maybe dying, etc.,etc. In the end I had a very healthy girl weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces (too small?) who doesn't have down's syndrome, and my labor was all of 2 hours!
My conclusion: don't let the test bother you.
2007-03-13 04:29:45 · answer #2 · answered by speedy41893 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
High levels of AFP may suggest that the developing baby has a neural tube defect such as spina bifida or anencephaly. However, the most common reason for elevated AFP levels is inaccurate dating of the pregnancy.
Low levels of AFP and abnormal levels of hCG and estriol may indicate that the developing baby has Trisomy 21( Down syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) or another type of chromosome abnormality
It is important to remember that the triple test is a screening test and not a diagnostic test. This test only notes that a mother is at a possible risk of carrying a baby with a genetic disorder. The triple screen test is known to have a high percentage of false positive results.
Abnormal test results warrant additional testing for making a diagnosis. A more conservative approach involves performing a second triple screen followed by a high definition ultrasound. If the testing still maintains abnormal results, a more invasive procedure like amniocentesis may be performed
Like my OB told me before he revealed my first set of results "is this going to change how you feel about the pregnancy" ask yourself that. My answer was NO. I requested the test due to my age {35} my dr honestly felt no reason to run the test since there is no family history but he ran it to make me feel better. Like I said before it came back a false positive. He told me "we do ultrasounds on you every week I see you every week {since I was 14 weeks pregnant due to being high risk} if something was wrong with this baby it would have shown up before now.
2007-03-13 03:28:06 · answer #3 · answered by texas_angel_wattitude 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Meh, they did this test on me and it came back at a higher risk for Trisomy 21 as well. Don't sweat it. It turns out I was further along than they thought (my doctor is a moron, but thats another story entirely) and that effects the levels in the test. It'll be fine :)
2007-03-13 04:15:01 · answer #4 · answered by autumnofserenity@sbcglobal.net 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meaning Of Trisomy 21
2016-12-12 06:23:36 · answer #5 · answered by garbutt 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi...congratulations on the upcoming birth of your baby!....read what "nangari" said very carefully, because she is 100% right! if the Dr. suspected anything you would be going in for a level 2 ultra-sound to look for markers of DS, then you would be given the option of an amnio...don't worry! even if you are given the chance to be the mom of a child with DS....it is the most rewarding experience and personally I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I have the sweetest most loving little boy anyone could ask for and he is the sunshine in my heart and I love him sooo much! and I would bet you a million dollars you would feel the same way...so don't be nervous!
2007-03-13 06:58:55 · answer #6 · answered by julie's_GSD_kirby 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
all people i recognize that examined with a raffle of their infants having Downs, ended up no longer having it. i do no longer recognize why they even try this try anymore. it form of feels to easily positioned numerous stress on human beings for no reason. i assume there is mostly a soft risk that the toddler could have it, in spite of the indisputable fact that it would not seem the effortless result.
2016-10-02 01:20:10 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I didn't do either of these tests. Especially the tripple screen because of the rate of false positives and it wasn't going to matter how the test came back anyway.....
I think these tests cause unnecessary concern.
2007-03-13 03:36:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't trust 'down syndrome screening' because it has been widely disputed. I refused the test from my doctor in each of my pregnancies. There is tons of data showing that people who tested 'pos' had normal healthy children and people who tested 'neg' if you will, had children with down syndrome. The test is useless, expensive and is like tossing a counterfeit coin. You can call heads, have it come up heads, and you still get tails. Don't trust it, don't believe it. Trust God.
2007-03-13 03:25:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
if your risk is low, your risk is low. if your doctor thought that anything was wrong, they would be sending you for more testing right now.
2007-03-13 03:23:50 · answer #10 · answered by redpeach_mi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋