I want some opinions on if I should have the "extra" parental tests done?

Question

I am 18 years old and am expecting my first child. My other half is 20. We are both healthy with no problems or disorders. On both sides of our families are all healthy and no babies that have been born on mine or his side has any birth defects or other disorders or any other problems with genetics or history of birth defects in our families. We are all healthy and clean on both sides. What I would like to know is your oponion about getting the CVS or Ammino tests done or other extra tests that are optional during pregnancy. We both don't feel they are nessisary but I would like some other opinions.

Answer 1

If I were you I would not get the test done.. I am 23 weeks pregnant and I had the blood work done for down syndrome and it came back abnormal.. My doctor never told me the test was optional so I just had it done.. Now they are saying that my chances of having a baby with birth defects are 1 in 66.. Then I had another sonogram and they lowered my chances from 1 in 66 to 1 in 132 because the guy doing the sonogram said that they would be able to tell by a leg bone being longer then the other or extra skin behind the baby's neck.. Well I guess he could not find anything so at least they lowered my chances.. The doctor also said that the only way of tell if the baby would have any birth defects would be to have an amino and I told them NOOOOOOOOOO.. I am not going to risk hurting my baby so they can tell me if there will be anything wrong because NO MATTER WHAT I'M GOING TO LOVE MY BABY THE SAME.. Both sides of our families are all healthy too.. So if I were you I would not get any of the optional test done.. All they do is worry you for no reason.. I'm sure both of our baby's will come out healthy. Then we would have worried for NOTHING! !

GOOD LUCK! ! !

Answer 2

I suggest the Alpha Fetal Protein test. It costs about $100 out-of-pocket. It measures a hormone in your urine that can indicate a possible genetic disorder.

At our 25-week ultrasound the doctor detected something call Choroid Plexus Cysts in our sons brain cavity and a dilated kidney. She told us that the cysts do not always mean there is a problem but they have been known to be a marker for certain genetic disorders, like downs or trisomy 18, and that because of the dilated kidney, we should have a high level ultrasound. Both those symptoms by themselves would never have required further testing, but because they were found together they wanted to check things out! Around the same time I had just receive the results from My AFP test saying that the hormone levels were normal suggesting no defects! So now we were confused, one test said yes, maybe and the other said no... We had to wait for one week to have our high level ultrasound, during which time we decided that even if something were terribly wrong we would not terminate unless my life was in danger! We went to our High-level ultrasound, an optimistically brought a blank VHS to see if they would record our ultrasound to share with family. They did! And it turned out that the cysts were almost completely gone and that the kidney looked less dilated.

The cysts are cause when the spinal column is forming and fluid is pushed up into the brain cavity where the brain has not quite developed yet, and that the kidney thing is common in boys whose urinary tract is trying to figure out how to work. Sometimes the urine flows backwards and dilates the kidney!

I guess it really depends on your suspicion of a problem and what you would want done in case there was one. The other thing is if there are cures or procedures that can reverse certain complications.

Answer 3

What exactly are you trying to find out? If you are planning to have the child regardless of the issues you may discover then there is really no point in knowing the issues beforehand. If you are going to decide whether to keep the baby or not based on these tests, keep in mind that some put your child at risk. You could, in an attempt to decide if the child is healthy, actually injure a healthy child. Make sure you understand all the risks involved before you make these decisions. A conversation with your doctor and with another doctor (for a second opinion) would be prudent at this point. Don't risk your unborn child's life unnecessarily. There are only a few rare life-threatening illnesses where doing tests result in finding a condition that can then be corrected before birth. Check out the following site for more information:
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/327.html
And don't forget to get in and see your doctor and also get a second opinion.

Answer 4

If you don't feel they are necessary, then they are not necessary. If you want the tests to see if there is a defect so you can abort the pregnancy, ask yourself if you would love your baby less if it did have a defect, physical or mental. It will still be your child, from you and your partner. And the only first child you will ever have. Don't let your anxieties push you into extra tests. Express your concerns to your doctor. He may be able to ease your mind about anything that might be worrying you. Most of all, take care of yourself. And take care of your precious cargo.

Answer 5

You should have a talk w/your doctor about the pros and cons of each test. Usually they don't "push" a test (like amniocentesis or CVS) unless there's some sort of reason. I have 2 kids, and had my first when I was 34. In neither one of my pregnancies were those 2 tests recommended. The various tests are sort of on levels: they start with the least risky, then only recommend others if the first indicates something questionable. I hope this helps. I would have a talk w/your doctor. And if you don't trust your doctor's advice, seek out another doctor. With something like a pregnancy, don't go by friends' advice.

Answer 6

It is so tough to make decisions like these. My husband and I opted for the genetic blood tests (he is pure Irish and I am Canadian and Tay Sachs disease is often found in such ethnic groups, so we were told) but not for an amnio or CVS. Although it would not have changed our plans for keeping our baby, if a problem were to have been found, it would have provided us sufficient time to come to terms with the news and to make any necessary arrangments before the baby was born. If you are not at high risk for any particular disorder, you may be best to not have extra intrusive testing as there are some slight risks involved in them. Best of luck.

Answer 7

The way to tell if you want the extra tests for the extra cost is to ask yourself if you are for abortion. If you are not going to abort, regardless of what your tests turn out to be, avoid the extra costs of the tests. That's what my dr. told me years ago. Others basically take the test so that they'll know and be prepared in advance. Really, anyone can have a child with a birth defect regardless of family history.

Answer 8

I have a child with Downs - we didn't have any problems on either side of the family either. My doctor told me the only other case of Downs he has was on a healthy 20 year old woman. I would do the Amnio just to be sure

Answer 9

No i wouldnt do them unless the doctor thinks they are necessary. Why bring unnecessary risk to the baby? Take the blood test that they offer and if that comes back funny then maybe you should rethink it...but dont do such invasive tests for nothing!

Answer 10

I would suggest that you get the test done. There could be issues that someone in your family had that you have no idea about. Just to be ob the safe side I would recommend it! God forbid, something be wrong with your child and you could have found out ahead of time and you didn't!