Almost 37 and obsessing over genetic problems

[cosmicgirlxxx]

Hi ladies

As the title says, I'm almost 37 and am having nightmares and daily anxiety over the increased risk of a genetic issue.
I live in the Uk and will be having the 12 week screen on Tuesday (2 weeks late!).
Will I be entitled to any other testing due to my age or will I have to go for that privately?
I'd like to find out as soon as possible that everything is ok as I don't want to be making difficult choices later on in the pregnancy.
Thanks

 

[cosmicgirlxxx]

Does anyone know? Google isn't being helpful at all!

 

[Scarlett2]

Hello and congratulations on your pregnancy!

I think it would depend what country you are living in? Where abouts are you?

 

[cosmicgirlxxx]

Thanks for the reply
I'm in England, UK

 

[StaceyM]

It does depend on where you live, and sometimes even within provinces/areas of the country things can vary. In my province in Canada they do not offer any additional of special genetic testing due to my age, but in the province next to mine they do. I got one of the NIPTs (non invasive prenatal tests) done, but I had to call a private clinic in another province and pay to have it done. It was $1100 but worth every penny. With that being said, if I had lived one province over it would have been fully covered by the healthcare system. Still, whichever way you have to go, it is definitely worth it. I felt similarly that I wanted to know early on if there was going to be a serious problem. I did the Verify test, but there are other similar ones like Materniti, Harmony, Panorama, etc.. These specifically test for trisomies (Edwards, Downs, Patau), which are known to relate to MATERNAL age. Depending on the age of your partner, it is important to note that these tests do not scan for a variety of issues related to PATERNAL age.

Generally, most countries do some sort of 1st and/or 2nd trimester blood screening as well, but it is not as accurate, and some people don't find out about the issue until well into the second trimester, at which point, decisions become more difficult. I do also think that how difficult it was to conceive plays a part in your chances of genetic issues. Generally, if conception wasn't that difficult (i.e. you didn't have multiple miscarriages), the odds of any genetic difficulties are probably lower than someone who had trouble getting a healthy egg (since miscarriage is frequently your body's attempt to expel an egg that split/formed improperly).

I was also worried about these things so I can try to help if you need any extra information. I'm 39 years old, but my husband is younger.

 

[Scarlett2]

Ok - I'm also in the Uk and 38, pregnant with my third. I suppose the first thing is that even though the risks are higher if you are older they are still pretty low. For example the risk at 38 for downs is 1:150. Try not to worry too much.

I don't think there are additional tests available. I am going to have the normal 12 week bloods and nuchal fold test and then depending on the results I will maybe pay for a harmony test, which is available privately widely in the uk, but is quite expensive. Worth considering though and also worth noting that none of then are conclusive unless you have an invasive test which carries the risk of miscarriage - which I personally am not willing to do, although I know others who have and it's very much a personal choice.

Anyway, best of luck deciding what to do! Xx

 

[cosmicgirlxxx]

Thanks for the info

I'm 36 but my partner is 47 so we're both getting on a bit. I don't have trouble with fertility and this baby was very much unplanned.
I've got a scan tomorrow so will ask about other testing then. I am having the 12 week testing but would like something more definite asap if possible.

 

[Willow01]

As the previous pp said there are other tests in the uk you can pay for, I had the harmony test at 12 weeks (I am 35 and blood work came back 1-130 risk for downs) results came back low risk and although expensive I am glad I had it done.good luck

 

[cosmicgirlxxx]

Thankyou.
My 12 week bloods and scan came back as low risk so I'm worrying a little less

 

[StaceyM]

Awesome. Don't worry

 

[kerrymom]

I'm in the US, 38 yrs old and my hubby is 43. This is our third. I'm also planning on getting every test available to me asap. I hope the NIPT will be covered for me as it can be done starting at 9 weeks. I also don't want to wait until the second trimester of we have to make difficult choices. My second daughter had two small cysts in her brain that were "soft markers" for Down syndrome. We saw a high risk Doctor for an ultrasound and they said it all looked good. My daughter was perfect.