BR: First Trimester Screen

karebear304

Hey guys - question for the mothers out there. Yes, I'm still scared of the bump. Sorry!

I just read my packet from my doctor last night and it seems like my next appointment includes the "first trimester screen" which I really didn't know anything about. It's just ultrasound & bloodwork which I'd have anyway, but I'm hesitating on having it done since I don't want to get a false positive and then worry about it until the next testing stages. (FWIW I don't plan to have any of the tests like amnio and what not, so maybe I'm just not seeing the point of this initial screen).

My question is - is the First Trimester Screen pretty common now? Did all of you guys just go ahead with it? Am I worrying for nothing?

This is what I'm talking about: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/firstscreen.html

buckswife08

I know there will be lots of opinions on this, but here is mine: We did the testing bc i am so type A that i couldnt make it through my pregnancy without knowing. If the results came back strong for something, we would have armed ourselves w info on how to deal w it. But, our results were very negative and it gave me peace of mind. Does that make sense? I do have a friend that had results come back strong for something and she had amnio done...everything worked out fine. It's a very personal decision. I'd see what the buzzband's thoughts are.

karebear304

I didn't even realize this was something they did now until I read my packet more closely.

On one hand, I'm thinking that if they are doing bloodwork any way they might as well do it, but on the other hand if I got a false positive and did amnio and what not I'd be really annoyed about it.

I definitely need to talk to the H, but he's going to say whatever I want is fine with him.

cschissell

We didn't feel like we had any major risk factors so we decided to opt out of the screen.  It surely doesn't hurt, but I just didn't feel like it was necessary.  According to my midwives most of their patients opted out of it.

shmoozer

None of this has been brought to my attention from my OB's office. We'll see once we get there. Knowing my H, he'd want the testing.

Jessica&Brett

We're pretty much of the same mindframe as Amanda. Also, for us, it included an ultrasound (for the NT Scan), and we wanted all the ultrasounds we could get

karebear304

Jessica&Brett:

We're pretty much of the same mindframe as Amanda. Also, for us, it included an ultrasound (for the NT Scan), and we wanted all the ultrasounds we could get

Hmmm...I wonder if I'd be getting an ultrasound anyway since I've been getting one every time I go b/c of the last pregnancy. Sounds like I need to call the nurse line and find out what the heck this appointment is even for.

RGVStar

I've had it done both times. With Alessandra it came back positive for down syndrom. We had a 3rd level ultrasound and they said that the baby looked good but we wouldn't know for sure until she was born. Well Alessandra was born with no down syndrom and is smarter than dh and myself or so I think. With Gael it came back positive AGAIN! I already had the 3rd level ultrasound and he looks as good as he can look. Of course he is still cooking and we won't know until he gets here. Both times I've refused further testing because I am ready for whatever I need to deal with and don't fing the risks of the more invasive procedures worth it. I wouldn't terminate my pregnancy if something was wrong. I guess working with special need kids has really helped me deal with the two positive test. The first time it was so stressful because DH freaked out and no matter how much I told him everything would worked out, he just didn't know how to deal with it. We finally asked him if he would love a special needs child less that a "normal" one and that is when he realized that your child will always be your child and you will love him/her no matter what. This time we were more concerned with the "what will happen in my future pregnancies?" "Does that mean that the 3rd baby will probably be at a higher risk?" Dr said that I am still low risk since I am not 35 and have no family history. We've both been alot better this time around, with this test and are ready to receive our little Gael how ever it is that he is in there. BTW Gael's results were ALOT higher that Alessandra's but the test was also calculated wrong. Dr, tried getting a recalculation but the lab keeps messing up. Oh, well. The 3rd level u/s went really good so we will see in a few weeks!

buckswife08

Kare - just to clarify...it's not a "positive" or "negative" test. You will receive a statistical probability of the baby having one of the abnomalities they test for. Obviously, there is a standard that they have that, if the probability is high, they consider you higher risk for DS and the trisomies. The ultrasounds helps to reduce the unknown factor, but amnio is the only way to receive a 'yes' or 'no' in utero.

MadameD517

It's a very common screen. 

For me personally, I did the screen and if I could go back I wouldn't have done it. It wasn't covered by my insurance for one thing, so it was over $200 out of pocket for me, and all it tested was if I  was a carrier for certain things, so basically I payed $200 to worry about random stuff that no one in my family has ever had. Again, it would be my choice not to do it but I'm not saying that you or anyone else shouldn't do the screen. The main factor for me is that I wouldn't have aborted a pregnancy if our baby did have any problems so it didn't make sense for me to worry.

punkinspie

I had the testing done because I have no idea what runs in my father's side of the family. There are no medical records I can look to, so I got screened for everything. Everything came back clear, ironically.

karebear304

Thanks for all the input girls. H is working tonight so I can't discuss with him. I would think our insurance covers (the best thing about being a military wife!), but I'll look into that.

Right now I'm leaning towards passing unless my doctor thinks otherwise. I keep going back to the fact that it really is just a screening and you don't really know one way or the other until later u/s anyway. I have been so stressed until pretty much now with this pregnancy that I really don't want to all of a sudden have something to stress about again.

Plus, I have had years of education and training on working with special needs children (technically that's my career field even though I don't work in it anymore) so I guess I feel a little ahead of the game in the research in that area. I'm not an expert by any means, but I feel equipped to handle it if it should come up later in the pregnancy.

Who knows, but either way I appreciate everyone's input!! I feel like many of my "real" friends haven't been pregnant yet and of course there's hardly anyone here for me to "actually" talk to so I really, really appreciate you guys more than you know!

karebear304

So I talked to the nurse this morning and apparently I go in to get my pap and what not and that's when they discuss the screening with me and then I either opt in and do it or opt out. I feel better now that I'm not just being thrown into it. Whew!

nola Steph

cschissell:

We didn't feel like we had any major risk factors so we decided to opt out of the screen.  It surely doesn't hurt, but I just didn't feel like it was necessary.  According to my midwives most of their patients opted out of it.

Same here.  No risk factors, so didn't feel it was needed.  Not to mention, if something was found, we would have refused further testing anyway and wouldn't have considered aborting, and I really wouldn't have wanted to spend the remainder of my pregnancy worrying about "what if."