Yesterday morning I was all excited because I felt the baby move...and I was pumped to go home and get our room all cleaned and spruced up. But by noon, we got a phone call that changed everything.
My doctor called me himself Yesterday afternoon and told me that my AFP test came back with an abnormal result. The AFP test is for Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, and Trisomy 18. I have a friend who's child had Spina Bifida and she was able to have surgery in utero to help her baby and now everything is fine - so after much thought, and knowing it was a simple blood test - we decided to go ahead.
Today - after all the research I've done...and finding out just how high of a false positive rate this test has - (even my doctor said he gets 2-3 abnormal results a week) I wish I would have known earlier so I would have opted not to get this test.
At any rate - we tested positive for Downs Syndrome...with a 1 out of 100 probability rate.
Of course it's hard not to think the worst - but with the false positive rate being so high and reading story after story of others who worried unneccesarily - we have a good gut feeling that everything is fine.
My ultrasound on Friday was canceled and my OB scheduled us with a high risk pregnancy specialist who will be able to perform a level 2 ultrasound (this means it takes about an hour and they do alot of measurements of bones and such) and from there...if they feel we should - they will recommend doing an amnio as well as meeting with a genetic counselor. I REAAAALLY don't want an amnio - so please pray that it doesn't go that far. In fact, because it's Downs...I'm not sure I would do it anyway because it could put the baby in danger. We'll have to wait and see - baby steps, right?
My main frustration at this point is that the specialist can't get me in until next Tuesday - which means an entire week of waiting. I'm currently on a back up list in case there are any cancellations - which is good and bad. Good because we will find out sooner - Bad because hubs won't be with me to see our baby on screen.
We're trying really hard to be positive and keep our chin up - but there is a definate cloud of worry over both of us. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that it's probably nothing - but having peace of mind would be GREAT right about now.
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Hey there, Aron's mom told me to come read your blog. I'm glad she did! A few things:
FIRST: You are SO in my prayers. Hang in there girl!
2: The high rate of false positives is precisely why I opted out of the testing. I figured that it wouldn't change our pregnancy either way, so it didn't seem worth it to worry.
3: About Down's: Interesting note is that when I was pregnant, I was ADDICTED to those Baby Story, Runway Moms, Maternity Ward shows on Discovery Channel. And it seemed like about every fourth episode, they were told the baby might have Down's. Only to stress out mom and dad and then have a perfectly normal healthy baby! Ah!
4: Please research, research, RESEARCH amnio and it's effects before you do it (if it gets to that). I know I'm pretty granola about medical intervention, but really, look into it. It is commonly published info that many times while testing to see if there is Down's, amnio can actually CAUSE abnormalities (where there may not have been any in the first place!). Ultimately, it is totally your decision, but at least go into it informed.
All that to say that pregnancy is stressful...trust me, I know! Hang in there and make this a real life exercise in trusting in God fully. Keep your blog updated!
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