Pregnancy AFP Test About This Page:

[eff051102]

Rachel,

I'm choosing not to take the test also. At 35 (or I will be when the baby is born) and this being the first and only baby, I will take whatever miracle God gives me.

My Endo/Fert. dr. did talk to me about CF testing before we became pregnant and I worried so much about that test, that my DH refused to take the test so it was moot. I know he did that for me, and I will love him for that forever!

We've hit the 8 wk. mark and it's so exciting!

[Queen of Everything]

I had a false positive (twice) for spina bifida. I ended up having an ameneocentecis so I would know 100%. My daughter does not have any birth defects. If I ever get pregnant again I will not have the test.

Amy

[JoanW]

Hmmm. Sounds like a lot of false positives and a lot of pressure from the medical field to do it anyway. So me thinks someone is making a profit off of all these unnecessary tests!

[simbarel]

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm. Sounds like a lot of false positives and a lot of pressure from the medical field to do it anyway. So me thinks someone is making a profit off of all these unnecessary tests!

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I didn't want to say it first, but I totally agree. This one test could snowball into other tests, etc. Especially when the chances of having this kind of problem isn't that great, it makes you wonder...

I think I'd be too afraid to take the brat test too...it might send DH packing! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[vsonnier]

I had the test, but don't plan on it for my next child. I wouldn't have terminated my pregnancy with Josh, but my stepmom convinced me that I should have it anyway so I could be prepared. She went on and on about how they need to have the right drs there if something is wrong, etc. Thankfully the test came back negative and Josh still ended up spending 2 weeks in the NICU. That showed me that if you are having a hospital birth, the right drs are able to be there in seconds regardless of whether you know you are having a problem or not. If you told me early in my pregnancy that Josh was going to have breathing problems and spend two weeks in the NICU I think I would have absolutely worried myself sick and I would not have had as healthy of a pregnancy as I did. It's just not worth it to me. Good luck with your decision!

[wdwlovers]

I chose to have it with both my pregnancies. We chose to have it done to have peace of mind and to know if baby was okay. We had an abnormal result and with an u/s was shown that nothing was wrong. Of course, the only way to know 100% was to have an amnio, but we declined. I developed severe preeclampsia with Ariana at 34weeks and had to deliver. Thankfully all was okay.

With my second pregnancy I chose to have the screening again because there is a correlation between a false positive and placental complications later on in the pregnancy. I thought if I had an negative result this time, I could rest easier about my chances of PE again. Well, we ended up with showing a higher risk of spina bifada, same as with Ariana. U/S showed a great spine, so we felt good about that. I did end up with gestational hypertension with Phoenix, but avoided HELLP this time around. With this screening, I fully expected to have an abnormal result.

Yes this screening does have a higher false positive result. But it's a screening, not a definitive test to show the baby has something. Only further testing would indicate a condition. This is a decision to be made with you and your partner, and your physician. It's a personal choice. One thing that I've learned with my pregnancies and NICU experience is that I do my best not to worry until the doctors tell me I have something to worry about. I know that's easier said than done, especially with the first baby [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img].

Whatever you choose, know that you made the right choice for you.

[disneymom9092]

I did with both boys and Matt's came back positive. Fortunately, I had an amniocentesis and he was just perfect! There are many false positives for sure, but after the amnio it was nice to relax. I never would have terminated either. However, I am such a planner and I needed to know, one way or the other, especially since I had another child.

[ncavy]

I am pregnant with my fifth and completely refused the test. My sister-in-law had a false positive and then had to do the amnio and it was a horrible experience. My doctor told me that the risk of amnios causing a miscarriage is higher than actually getting needed information from it. I would encourage you to cancel your test - there's already enough anxiety when you're pregnant about having a healthy baby let alone getting even a 20% chance of a problem existing. However your baby is forming and growing has already been established. I hope you find peace in whatever your decision is - I know it's a tough one.

[mom2my4dwarfs]

I have declined that test with all 3 of my pregnancies. Good luck with your decision.

[LorinMO]

Rachel,

When I was pregnant with DS the AFP test was lumped in with all of the others so I had no clue until my OB called with the results and delivered the news that the test was positive and whatever the number was very high. I was sent to specialists and prepared for the worst. We opted to wait for our ultrasound at 16 weeks to see. DS was perfectly fine. After doing lots of research and talking to the specialist it was the defect in my spine that skewed the test results. I'm not sure what we would have done had there been something as horribly wrong as we were being prepared for. I'm just glad we didn't listen to anyone.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[poohmaine]

If something is wrong, would you rather know now and prepare yourself? If so, take it. If not, don't.

[HiddenMickey]

I opted not to take the test with both my kids.

They did keep asking me each visit, and I continued to remind them that I wasn't interested.

[Pamajama]

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Even though I, like you, would never have terminated no matter the situation, I still elected to have it done. It wouldn't have mattered to me if Emilie had been born with a birth defect or Down's but I wanted to know just so that in case she were to have been, I could have studied up and learned the ins and outs and any special things we might have needed to know to care for her. Her test was negative, but my OB told me that in the event a test comes back positive they retest to double check that it wasn't a false positive.

ETA: If I wasn't as paranoid as I tend to be sometimes, I totally would have thought the way Melanie did. Seriously. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

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[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yeahthat.gif[/img]

I had the test for both pregnancy the first one was fine. The second one, not so much. It said I had a 1/24 chance of having a DS baby. The doctors did explaine the HUGE margin of error and false positves. I had a level 2 ultrasound and was told it was "good news"...it was now a 1/48 chance. uhg??? I went with the amnio to find out for sure. Everything was fine!!! I did it so I could prepare for the birth (just incase) and to put my mind at ease so I wouldn't worry about it anymore. I was glad I did. I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy. I also knew 100% that it was a girl [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Good luck with your decision!!!