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I'm sorry, your results did NOT come back worse, they improved considerably after the scan.

May i just point out....ladies, don't be afraid to have some of this testing performed. Down Syndrome is not the only concern here. Even if you would continue on w/ your pregnancies if they found trisomy 21, their is still the elevated risk of trisomy 13,18, and other chromosonal abnormalities when you are part of the 35 and up crowd. These conditions are far more severe and you may have a change of heart regaurding continuation of pregnancy. In these rare cases, you may be able to spare your unborn baby significant amounts of pain and suffering. I'm not saying that would be everyones choice. But the more knowledge you have about the health of your unborn child, the better you are able to make informed and well thought out decisions for their quality of life.

One of my closest friends had her results of her amnio come back (healthy baby boy) the same day she was miscarrying him from complications of the amnio. I'm 35 and it just isn't worth that risk.

Bee, the first trimester screen that I had also indicates the risk of Trisomy 13 or 18. My risk dropped from 1 in 400 (due to my age) to 1 in 9341, so I am definitely not having amnio.

The first time I was pregnant at 38, after amnio I went shopping walking for quite a while. Later that night, had quite a pain that scared me though it disappeared the next day. Second time, pregnant at 40, already knew to take it easy after the amnio, and no discomfort happened. As to whether to do or not to do it, it's a personal decision. I personally prefer a clear answer to worrying.

Judi, I understand why you may not want an amnio. I'm glad for you that your risk of Trisomy 13 & 18 have decreased via triple screen. And yes, amnio is a personal decision. There is really no reason for a women to have one if they are not at increased risk. My point is still - knowledge is power. If you have a increased risk of Down Syndrome (mine was 1 in 265 according to Quad screen) you may want to find out for sure. The reason being because so many DS babies have health issues that they can track, be aware of, and properly staff themselves to deal w/ immediately following delivery. This way you, and the Dr.'s, nurses, and possibly surgeons can be best prepared when your baby arrives. Sometimes every minute counts. I know this because it happened to me. Just thought sharing my experience may help. Good Luck!!

Bee, I understand what you are saying. However, my risk of DS dropped to 1 in 635 due to my test results. The odds of miscarriage from amnio are greater than the odds of my having a DS baby. Therefore, I don't feel that amnio is worth the potential risk for me. Also, most DS babies do have a thicker area behind the neck, and ours definitely does not. We could see the area clearly on ultrasound, and it measured 1.5, which is well within the normal range.

yes, Judy. I would have to agree that you shouldn't need the amnio based on all other evidence. However, their are many other women, some who have written in, who are at a much higher risk. I too had no other markers for DS ( my nuchal scan came back fine). If i didn't opt to have the amnio(based soley on my quad result,which wasn't even all that high) they probably wouldn't have found the CHD that was picked up by level 2 ultrasound much later on. I just hate to see women so afraid to have an amnio done that they never get a real clear picture of there unborn babies health. Which can sometimes make all the difference to them at birth. Thanks for listening and giving me the chance to express my view. Healthy babies to all !!!!!

Just thought I'd update, we went for the NT scan yesterday. The baby looked GREAT rolling and flipping, waving arms, flexing legs, it was so cool to see. Heartrate of 160. She finally managed to get her measurements and my risk dropped to 1/870 so I was very happy to hear that and happy all looked fine :-) Good luck everyone.

I am 35, now pregnant with #7, very concerned about chromasomal disorders, The nuchal translucency scan you talk about is new to me, is it covered by insurance/ what other tests should i expect, anyone ever heard of a 3rd level ultrasound/ another lady mentioned this, thanks