Nucal fold and Down syndrome screening

Who has decided not to have this screening???

We did'nt have this screening done for our first 2 bubs and are still undecided whether or not to have it done this pregnancy.

Look forward to your replies.

Can i ask what your reason was for not getting the screening?

We were more than willing to accept and deal with it if our bubs were born with down syndrome etc. I guess we were actually a bit uneducated about this screening. I did'nt realise it was just a scan and blood test but still at the time we decided not to have it done. Some people would choose to terminate but that was not an option for us.
I am starting to lean towards having it done for this bub for bub's sake incase there is something wrong and can be treated (apart from Down Syndrome of course).

Did you have the screening done with your bub?

I did. I guess being my first i didn't even think about/realise it wasn't an option IYKWIM? Actually we just saw it as an opportunity to see bubs on screen. I was a tiny bit anxious about the results but then again i have a tendency to be a little bit of a control freak (esp during pregnancy) so i wanted to know the likelihood so if we were high risk i could do my research!

I didn't think the tests picked up anything they cound fix? Isn't the test looking for Chromosome abnormalities??

I am now wanting to know the likelihood also so we can be prepared if there is anything wrong and I guess not be naive. I just want to do the right thing for bub!
I think this screening is more common now then when I had my first 2 - which was not THAT long ago smile
I would be so angry with myself if there was something wrong that could be treated prior to birth.
I think I have just made my decision smile

Hi,
I've never had one. I wouldn't abort, no matter what was wrong. I figured that finding out at the 19 week scan was plenty of time to prepare for a possible down's baby.

The issue that I have with the nuchal fold test is that it's not a definitive answer, it just gives you an idea whether you're at a high or low risk. If you were at high risk, you may then go on to have further (possibly unnecessary) tests which do carry a slight chance of miscarriage.

It just didn't seem worth it to me.

I know some people have the test done just so they can see the baby at 12 or 13 weeks, but the can of worms it could open made it pretty unattractive.

Hope that helps,
Fiona.

ETA that this particular test is ONLY testing for chromosomal abnormalities...which is NOT something that is able to be fixed. You may be thinking of the 19 week scan which looks at the heart etc. That scan can detect problems that can be treated either in utero or directly after birth.

We didn't have it with either pregnancy because we wouldn't have terminated and wouldn't want the stress of possibly worrying for 7+ months as we wouldn't have had an amnio if the results put me at 'high' risk.

The nuchal scan is only looking for a risk of chromosomal abnormalities and as far as I am aware there are no 'fixes' for. The 20 week scan is the anomaly scan where they check that bubs is growing well and for things that are 'fixable'.

I chose not to have it with DD,I was lowrisk and it can be a lot of stress only to come back as completely normal in the end. I knew that no matter what I wouldnt abort so for me there wasnt any point to it.

Sorry ladies.....I know chromosomal abnormalities cannot be fixed.....was getting ahead of myself also thinking about the 20 week scan.....pregnancy brain has kicked in this morning big time smile

I decided not to have the screening because I'm low risk. To me the 1 in 200 chance of a miscarriage because of the test wasn't worth the 1 in 10,000 chance of my baby having down syndrome. Those were my personal statistics given to me, maybe you could ask your midwife what your calculated down syndrome risk is? It really helped put it in perspective for me.

I had the test done and I was in the high risk catogory. It was an extremley upsetting time and very stressful. We opted to have the CVS test preformed as it could be preformed sooner than the amnio. The results came back fine. Some people may say that the test was a waste but not in my eyes. If there were problems detected, we would of had some hard decisions ahead.

Good luck with your choice