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well I am not sure what blood test you took in first trimester but the afp test has alot of false positives you can always the cvs which does have some risks but if you have ds in your family you may want to take the risk due to the fact that you would NOT continue the pregnancy I think the only ones that should not do the further testing is people that is would not matter the would go on and continue the pregnancy just talk to your doctor they will give you the best advice but it may turn out the blood tests were wrong I had a false positive on the afp test they give at 16wks and it was 1/41 for trisomy 18 which is far worse that ds but it turned out to be false I did have further testing done which showed a healthy baby boy...so try not to worry and good luck to you!!

RL, the first trimester blood test is different from the second trimester one and does not seem to have as many false positives as the AFP test that is done in the second trimester. The first trimester test is fairly new and is not offered everywhere. It tests the hCG level and the level of plasma protein A. They combine the results of that with the results of the nuchal scan to come up with a risk factor. Toni, I'm so sorry you're going through this. Are you sure that they have your pregnancy dated correctly? If not, and you're farther along than they think you are, that could cause your levels to be falsely elevated. I do agree with RL that since you've decided to terminate if the fetus is DS, it's probably worth the risk of CVS to have it done, since your calculated risk of DS is higher than the risk of miscarriage from CVS. I do think that your nuchal scan measurement is a good sign...my baby's measurement was 1.5 and I've read that anything below 2.0 is excellent. I really hope that your blood test was wrong and that everything is okay. Please keep us posted, and good luck to you.

thanks J for letting me know about that first trimester screening it must not be done where I am at cause it was never offered to me, I kinda think there are too many of these tests that make us worry so much! For me if I could go back I would have declined the afp test....but that is just me anyways glad all is going good with you good luck

RL, you're welcome. I think it's really new and very few places offer it. Also, most insurance plans don't cover it yet, although luckily mine did. I was nervous about having it, but decided to go ahead since I'm 35, and I'm glad I did. I am not having the second trimester screen because there is such a high risk of false positives. I've heard of so many people who've had the same experience that you had, and then their baby was fine. I'm really glad that your baby is healthy and that your results were false. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

RL & J, Thank you for the well wishes. I'm hoping for the best, but trying to prepare myself for the worst.

J, I think that is smart not to do the 2nd trimester test...and I am glad you got a good result on the one you did take, I am 35yrs old also this will be my 3rd and last I don't think I could go thru all the worry again I really do feel for those of us that are their 40ies and go thru it....and Tony everything will turn out well for you and baby and just think how happy your gonna feel knowing everything is ok for sure...the worst part is the waiting that can be pure hell I had two weeks of worrying before I found out everything was ok I think of it as God's way of showing me you can't take everything as given sometimes things can go wrong and when they don't you see how truely blessed you are it can sometimes be easy to forget that and we need to be reminded...well keep us posted you too J I am due Feb 4th when are you guys due?

Hi RL, I'm due May 4 with my first. We tried for 3 1/2 years before finally conceiving with IUI on the first round. I'm having an ultrasound on Tuesday, so hopefully everything will still look good, and we'll be able to find out whether it's a boy or a girl. Toni, I will keep you and your precious baby in my prayers. Again, I do think your normal nuchal scan is a very good sign. Take care and good luck. Let us know what happens.

Well, I had my CVS on Friday afternoon. Now it's just a waiting game for the results. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all will turn out well!

Hi J hope all went well with the ultrasound I tried to post the other day but I kept getting error page...wow you have been trying for 31/2 years congradulations of finally doing it that is great and I am sure all is gonna be well did you find out what your having I am having another boy (my 3rd) my first two are with my ex husband this will be my husband's first he is getting excited I am 32wks now and he is starting to feel the baby move in fact this morning he started messing with my tummy and got a nice kick from our little one ha ha lol it was so funny...well take care and let me know what happened at the sono..Toni I am sure your results are gonna be fine girl and then you won't have to worry any more!! I am over that I am now getting ready to have a healthy baby!! And so will you!! Well take care as well and keep posting....( :

Hi RL... my ultrasound went very well and we are having a girl!! She looks perfect so far. She didn't have a single marker for any sort of birth defect. The doctor said that everything looks wonderful. We are so excited, and our mothers are beside themselves...this will be the first grandchild on both sides. She's been kicking me for about two weeks now, and the kicks are starting to become more frequent. It's the cutest feeling! I'm glad that you're doing so well and I hope that everything continues to go well for you. Toni, I hope that you get your CVS results back very soon and that you get good news. Please let us know as soon as you find out. I'll be thinking about you.

I got the preliminary results (preliminary shows trisomy 13, 18, & 21) back from the CVS test...good news! So far they show negative on all three! I have to wait until Fri or Mon for the full report. Since the results ruled out the most common trisomies, I decided to find out the s_x...It's a GIRL! YEA! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything else the test reports comes back with more good news. I never relized how stressful it would be waiting for the results...I guess it's to prepare me for what is to come being a first time mom at 36!

Toni, that is AWESOME!!! Congratulations!!! I can imagine how relieved you are. I am sure that the rest of the report will be fine too and then you can relax a little bit and enjoy planning for your baby girl!! We've already been buying some cute little outfits for ours. It's so much fun. I am so happy for you!!

My final results FINALLY came in...no probs so far. I just took the AFP test on Tues, but am determined not to worry myself about whatever the results may be. I never relized how stressful the first part of a pregnancy could be!

Good for you and congrats on your little girl! I was scared too, I actually went through with the amnio and was just as scared about misscarriage from that as I was for DS, etc. but it was fine.The first part of pregnancy is very stressful and I think there is more even to worry about when we're older (I'm 39 myself). That test with all the false positives (I wasn't even offered anything like those, just the amnio) sound like they should be refined a bit more until they figure out why there are so many false positives. It would prevent a lot of us PG folks from worrying needlessly, since all usually turns out okay. Congratulations again!

About 15 years ago by daughter's babysitter had the afp test & the results were questionable, she ended up having an amnio & in the end had a healthy baby boy.