Level three screening....?

Question

How many people were given terrifying results of the their level three screenings and the baby came out healthy?

This happened to my husband and me. We were told that our baby would come out with Down Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis and yet our baby is normal. Not only this, they told us (at the hospital) that our baby failed his hearing test. Yet a yr later is as healthy as can be.

My co-workers and I were having this conversation and one went the a very similar experience and the others knew of people who wetn through similar expereinces. So, if there are more people out there who got scared to death because they offered you "abortion" because they determined that your baby will have a birth defect? If so, shouldn't they stop doing the level three screening? It caused me more stress and heartache during my pregnancy - FOR NOTHING!

Answer 1

Pretty common, it seems. The reason they do the test is to avoid being sued by parents who would have had the abortion if they knew the baby was going to be malformed or diseased. Problem is that the tests can be wrong. I can't imagine the kind of parent who would have an abortion because of a faulty test, but I know it happens and there are also people who sue because they weren't given the opportunity to terminate their baby, er, pregnancy beforehand.

This is a perfect example of parents needing to be smart consumers, which is definitely not supported in the U.S. We're supposed to listen to doctors as if they were gods, even if they are wrong and/or may cause harm to us or our babies.

I do not believe that most tests done during pregnancy should be done unless there is reason to believe that a problem exists or such a problem exists in the family already. I personally think it is horrible to selectively abort fetuses that might show signs of a problem, and I definitely think that any signs of problems should be followed up with subsequent testing before resorting to termination of the pregnancy. I think it's hideous to suggest abortions for non-life-threatening disorders.

How does a parent avoid this? Be a smart consumer. Choose your care provider carefully and learn about the various procedures before you are faced with them. Choose what YOU want to be done during your pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Don't just trust some doctor who cares more about her malpractice insurance claims and how to avoid them than about her patients. Find out your doctor's schedule of tests, routine birth procedures, cesarean rates, and other birth philosophies before you go into the delivery room with them.

Answer 2

THIS IS WHY I DIDNT WANT THE SCREENING DONE.. I have been told by more then one person that there results were wrong. There baby was born perfectly healthy.. I could care less if my child had a problem.. They are my children, and nothing anyone tells me could make me feel other wise... Also I have read that these kind of test cause women to abort a pregnancy that could have been healthy.. All because they put there trust in a test that is accurate sometimes, not all the time..

Answer 3

I had just the opposite happen to me. When I was pregnant I had a bunch of test and the doctors said that the only thing they could find wrong with my son was that his bladder was not draining like it should but other then that he was ok.
Well he was as far from ok as you can get. I didn't get it at all we had a chromosome test done and it show everything all clear and he has a rare chromosome disorder that they cant even figure out what it is. Test are not always right that is for sure..

Answer 4

That's terrible but interesting. There should be more written on this since at least 2 of you at one workplace went through similar results.

I hate to think of the children who were aborted for no reason even though I personally don't feel this would be reason to abort a child.