Correction and Question
So I said "...prego with two little ones..." Allow me to clarify, I am Pregnant caring for two small boys who are outside my tummy.
Although, I sometimes wonder...
February 13th is our ultrasound appointment/girlie check/everything else.
Question, they gave me this paper for a "special" Down's syndrome check. Mostly likely we will NOT TAKE the test knowing we would love the child no matter what. Any advice, opinions, suggestions?
Comments
On the flip side, I heard a story of a gal who was young, 32, and she opted not to have the test done, and her baby did indeed have Downs. From her mouth, she wished that she would have had at least some idea so that she could have done research and been better prepared emotionally for such a challenging event.
Oh, the joys of choices!
OK so as you can imagine I have thoughts about this test for Down syndrome...
Do you remember what this test is called? If it's invasive, like an amnio or CVS test, and you would love the baby no matter what, then I wouldn't risk even the TINY chance of miscarriage by getting this test done.
If it's the AFP test (aka triple screen) it's WRONG more often than it's right. Either it will tell you that you have a HIGH chance of having a child with Ds, you'll freak out, worry, and everything will be fine ORRRR in cases like ours it will come back normal they'll tell you have NOTHING to worry about and then several months later your baby is born with a little something extra leaving everyone shocked. Nope, not a big fan of that test at all.
They also have the nuchal fold scan. It's non-invasive and simply measures the thickness of the back of baby's neck via ultrasound. The thicker the fold, the higher the chances for Down syndrome. Not totally fool proof as you can imagine, but we had this done with Keeghan.
SO here's how I feel about testing... I wish, with all my heart, that we had known Kennedy would be... Kennedy, before she was born. I wish we would have known so we could have talked to doctors, other parents, something to find out that Down syndrome isn't this horrible, terrible thing. We didn't know any better. We had NO CLUE what we were in for and the day Kennedy was born was wracked with grief and guilt and complete sadness. And now we have to live with the fact that her birth was not surrounded by the happiness we had with our other 3 kids. If we had known SOMEONE, anyone, with a child with Ds beforehand we would have been free to rejoice in Kennedy's birth the way she deserved... the way we so badly wanted to. SO I wish we would have known ahead of time.
That being said... because of all those THOUSANDS of babies with Ds that are murdered each year in utero simply because they HAVE Ds, I wish there were no prenatal testing at all. *sigh*
We did do testing with Keeghan only for the fact that babies with Ds have a 50% chance of having a severe heart defect requiring surgery. If this were the case, we would have changed hospitals so Keeghan would be born into a hospital with a good NICU who could accomodate his medical needs. If Kennedy had had a heart defect she would most certainly have died in the hospital where she was born.
SO to sum up my mindless rambling, if it's a non-invasive test I say go for it. You'll know if you need to do further testing on the heart and you'll be able to prepare YOUR heart and mind mentally for the blessing God has in store for you. If it's invasive, it's not worth the risk to you or the little one in there.
This of course is allllll just the opinion of this mom who by ALL means knows next to nothing! ;)
There is a high percentage of false positives in the first trimester with the test for Downs Syndrome. So maybe the first trimester is not the best time for the test. However, like the other comment suggested, it is better to be prepared so you can give your child (our grandchild) the best care you can. Always keep in mind the tests are not foolproof.
God loves us the way He made us, rejoice and be glad!
Peace,
Dad (Opa)