Down Syndrome Test?

Question

My sister in law is pregnant. She's due sometime early June. She took that Down's Syndrome test and they said that she was a 1 in 86 chance that the baby will have it. She is 28 yrs old and apparently that's a high risk for someone her age. She is very upset. I don't know much about this type of test and I've looked online and read a little about it. Did anyone else have this test done and have abnormal results? What did you do? When the baby was born did it have Down Syndrome? I'm just trying to educate myself so any stories, or experiences with this would be nice. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi Geri...first let me say that the "test" she had is just a screening to find out your SIL's chances of having a child with DS it is not accurate by any means. 80% of the time it will show "false positives". your sil next step is to go in for a level 2 or high intesity ultra-sound where they will look for markers that are associated with DS such as congenital heart defects like av-canal, they will measure the long bones in the baby's body ...kids with DS often have shorter arms and legs, and they will measure the fungal fold if any of these markers are present she will then be asked if she would like an amnio to confirm, this besides a cvs are the only way to know 100%. I failed this "test" all 3 times with my boys, and you know what it was only accurate once!!! and the only reason I knew ahead of time if my son would have DS is because I went through all of the testing. I know your SIL is probably very scared right now, but help reassure her that DS is not the end of the world. kids like mine are so special. they still learn laugh and play and most importantly love. Myself and parents like me will tell you that we chose to go down a different road than most expectant and new parents, but we would never change a thing about our children, because we don't see the syndrome, we see the child...our child.we celebrate their lives each and everyday.
take care and happy holidays!!!

Answer 2

Like Ryan's Mom said, the tests aren't exactly accurate as I'm sure you know from how you typed it...she's got a 1 in 86 chance. There are better tests to determine, like the skinfold ultrasound. Regardless, 1 in 86, although higher than most, is not a shocking number. If you were sitting on a bus with 86 people and one was going to be asked to get off because the bus is too full...I don't think I'd be worried that I'd be the one. Same with pregnancy risks.

Answer 3

Sorry that your SIL has to go through this worrying time... but please try to remember that an 'odds' test doesn't give a definate answer and she still has a 85 in 86 chance that the baby will be ok.

She should now be offered further testing which she can take if she want's. Athough these tests have their own risks of miscarriage (about 1 or 2 in 100). Also a scan should be able to see if there are any other soft markers for downs syndrome (i.e. lack of nasal bone)

Really hope it works out x

Answer 4

And please keep in mind that it is the first screening, and it only tells your RISK LEVEL, not that the baby WILL or WILL NOT have it. Tell her to follow up with the next test (agree with other answers), and then go from there. I know 3 people who came out high risk initially, had the follow-up testing done, and found out that there was no problem. That is what it is there for - to determine your risk and look into it more closely. No need to worry until all is done! My doctor made it very clear to us that too many people take it as a yes/no answer, when all it is is a risk assessment. Tell her to follow up and I'm sure all will be fine.

Answer 5

i'm completely annoying approximately down syndrome and that i'm 33 years previous. I have been given tips on the subject of the 11/12 wk attempt and desperate to no longer do it. all the study on it somewhat is thoroughly inconclusive. It reported interior the ingo that individuals who get a favorable attempt won't actually have a baby with DS and there remains a raffle for the toddler to have down syndrome even if if the attempt grew to become into detrimental. How is that assisting me? i did no longer take it by using fact i did no longer have faith it. I knew i would not have the skill to stand the undeniable fact that even if the end results of the attempt it ought to nonetheless be a incorrect result. i might nonetheless difficulty. i'm going to take the sixteen wk attempt. This attempt has been around longer and so i think of it somewhat is greater precise. solid good fortune!

Answer 6

Those test are not accurate. They can usually tell with an ultra sound by checking the baby's neck. There are certain characteristics in their neck if they are a down's baby. I know several women that have had their test come back high risk and their babies were perfectly fine.

Answer 7

she's young, I had an ultrasound test done for that first, and it showed that I had 1 in 225, which is also high risk, but then I got the blood test done for that and it balanced it out, tell her to ask for an ultrasound, and talking with my doctor he said that down syndrome is usually when the ratio is 1 in 50 and lower, so I don't think she should worry. good luck.

Answer 8

Look at it this way. If she had 86 babies, only one would have it. Those odds aren't as high as they seem. Tell your sister she needs to relax. If she walks around severely stressed out throughout her pregnancy, it can be harmful to the fetus. If it happens, it happens. Deal with it when you know for sure.

Answer 9

28 is a young age to test for DS. you can go to the downsyndrome alliance website to find more info and get in conntect with parents that have a child with DS.