Maternal Serum Result: Positive.
While I'm aware that this doesn't necessarily mean that the Prawn has Downs, as you know, this is not going to stop me from going to hide under the bed.
A cryptic sheet arrived at my house this morning. No explanations, no nothing. Just the knowledge that from the ultrasound stats (1:1056) to the blood stats (1:84) to the combined risk (1:161) there was a little bit of a downward spiral. Dr. Bow Tie Guy is calling me this afternoon.
More waiting. More worrying.
UPDATE
Dr. BTG called me soon after we arrived home in the evening. It turned out that he'd spent a good deal of the day with an emergency ectopic surgery. This sort of immediately put things into a little bit of perspective- somewhere out there, there was another woman who was feeling a hell of a lot worse than me.
"Right," he said, "if you were my wife, I would recommend you forget about it and enjoy your pregnancy. The odds are clearly in your favor. I know I wouldn't back a horse at 1:161."
"But I know you'll want to be sure, I've contacted a very talented genetics specialist friend of mine who will give you a super-high res scan in Oxford and conduct the quadruple serum test."
Can I just say that I love this man? And also, my insurance company, who's about to throw up a little bit when they see my claim?
Since yesterday, I've had some time to calm down a little bit. I think the initial shock of receiving the results that we expected to be totally normal was what really knocked me for six. I've also done a fair amount of reading on the internet about this particular test and the high rate of false positives; one of the rare occasions that almost every site I visited was unanimous in it's opinion on the subject- HEY! DON'T FREAK OUT! THIS HAPPENS A LOT! I know the odds favor me. But I'd like it better if I could find out by how much without having to stick a huge fucking needle through my abdomen.
I'm convinced that someday, this kid is going to be writing a book about me and how I managed to stunt them emotionally. My Mother And Other Neuroses.
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10 comments:
A positive maternal serum result means that your odds of having a Down's baby are increased against other similar pregnancies.
While a pms (oh the irony) result is scary, is doesn't necessarily mean that your child HAS Downs, the fact that your odds are increased are very frightening indeed. The fact that mine increased significantly when my blood work was done is what is bothering me most.
Still waiting for the call. Going crazy.
Hey my good friend also tested positive and she was 1:20. She had amino and everything was ok, No Down's.
However she has a difficult pregnancy on bed rest for about 4 months 2 of that in hospital due to tears in the placenta. As an after thought the Dr. thought the test may have been positive as it was a sign of her difficulties to come.
She delivered a healthy baby girl about 1 month early with no signs of problems or delays after 2 years.
So it is not always a bad thing. I hope you have all the info before deciding on an amino as it can be quite risky, good luck.
I know you will still worry (who wouldn't???) but I know two women who tested positive, but their babies did not have Down's. I am hoping the best for you and baby!!!
i came back today for an update and see how you were doing..... i was a little worried when there wasn't one. hope the dr called and you are ok.
Hello,
Hoping you are ok.
K.
My 27 year old friend Aura's blood tests revealed that she had a 1:5 chance of having a Down's baby (that of a 50 year old woman). She had an amnio done and the little dude was all good. They usually are. She said it was a very freaky experience though so I feel for you.
I know nothing about this sort of testing, so I'll keep quiet. Suffice it to say, I'm on the side of your doctor. Try to enjoy the pregnancy and not worry about this because it's all a crapshoot anyway. Why don't you...just relax? Ha.
My AFP results came back 1:240 for Down's, and like you, I was rattled by the results. But after I spoke w/ the geneticist at my fertility clinic in San Francisco, I felt much better. In short, my baby has a less than .5% chance of having Down's. She said not to worry. The number is based on a bell curve and has been known to have lots of false positives. We will have a 3D ultrasound at 23 weeks, but have opted not to get an amnio -- the risk of miscarriage outweighed the benefit of us knowing, and it wouldn't change the result, we'd love the baby no matter what. Even so, keep in mind that your numbers are v. similar to mine and there's less than 1/2% chance of Down's for me. When I asked my friends to pray for our situation, many of them e-mailed me that the test was a bunch of crock. I've decided not to worry about it, but it took a good 3 wks. to let it sink in.
Wishing you all the best,
Sylvia
They didn't tell you that you can't be a mother without having many neuroses? You're child won't be able to publish that book...it'll be too much like all the other kids' stories! You sound perfectly normal to me...and it's good to hear the odds are definitely in your favor. I'll agree with the "you should try to relax"-ers. It may not be easy, but it sure seems to make sense in this case...and God love your doctor. He sounds great.
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