Anyone else declined testing for downs Syndrome?

[KittyVentura]

We won't ba having it. They cannot give you a conclusive answer. Just a 1 in so many chance of having downs. That wouldn't be enough for me to act on, and I can't say I'd act if it WAS consulsive. Of course no parent wants to hear that their baby has downs syndrome... but so many with it have a very good standard and quality of living now. With that in mind I think deciding not to proceed with the pregnancy isn't something I'd consider.

However IF at my anomaly scan we found the baby to be so severely disabled that they could tell us categorically that the child would have a poor quality of life - that's when we'd seriously consider an ethical loss. For me it's about the life the baby would have, if one at all xxx

 

[x-amy-x]

after going through what i have.. i couldnt ever consider aborting a baby. for that reason, we declined the test x

 

[sunbaby777]

If you would keep the baby regardless of the result, I would decline. Our first baby had Turner Syndrome, and sometimes I think it would have been better if I never knew. By the time I got the results back, it was too late to terminate (in my opinion) anyhow. We continued the pregnancy until we lost her at 19 weeks. It's such a tough decision, and I am still trying to figure out what I want to do with this pregnancy. If I don't test, I might be stressed out for nothing. If I do test (and it comes back with bad news), what will I do and how will I feel then? I think it was almost better for women before all the testing was available.

 

[luckybreak]

I did the test simply because my doctor told me it was best to know to be prepared..I would never terminate so I guess I took it as a way to be prepare, you would still be shocked but the more you know about something the better. My test came back normal no high risk at all, nothing! I was on my early 20's but my pregnancy was high risk to miscarriage so I had a lot of Ultrasounds and everything was coming along just fine...Here comes the day of the delivery and what do you know? My little one had down syndrome! I was not shocked, I was not devasted I loved her the moment I knew she was there...she has truly changed my life for the better, made me trying to be a better person. Some people can't deal with it others can that's understandable. this time around my chances are higher but I will be skipping the test lol no point at all. This is her at 3 years old I dont have an older one online.

https://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/toysofmylife/n1402458970_30093689_6757.jpg

 

[jlh213]

I am getting mine, but not so that I can terminate, but so that I can be prepared if something WAS to be wrong. Also, I want to see my little gummybear on the screen again, lol =]

 

[chinita]

My sister in law didnt decline but much rather missed her appointment, my neice came out perfectly healthy.

 

[FlowerFairy]

Thanks everyone. You all share pretty much the same reasons as we do
Prettybreak your daughter is beautiful!! X-Amy-x congratulations !! Xx

 

[_Lexi_]

They don't just test for downs though. When my bloodwork came back as high risk, I'm only 23, they couldn't say what it was high risk for. It could be anything. I weighed ip my options and had the cvs today. If there's a chance I'm going to lose my baby in the next few weeks, I want to be prepared for that. They test for many different genetic and chromosomal abnormalities that may end in miscarriage or stillbirth. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but my chances of something being wrong were a lot higher than the chance of miscarriage. The cvs gives back a definite result, no percentages, just yes or no. Please don't just assume you're low risk because of your age though, I thought mine would be fine, 23 and no family history, but my results were 1 in 21 x

 

[luckybreak]

Thank you! you wanna know the weird thing lol she looks like a little porcelain doll all white, you would think I am white but I am actually hispanic her father is white I always wonder if due to her DS she pick up more of her father than me although my characteristics are stronger..people always asking me if she is adopted :/ sorry if the pic is too big!

https://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/toysofmylife/leslie.jpg

 

[HoldOn2Hope]

Had my booking in appointment today and after careful consideration we decided to decline blood testing for Downs.
I think the length of time it takes to give a definate answer if the ratio is high makes me feel i wouldnt want to think about ending the pregnancy then.
Anyone else declined? xx

My husband and I also declined. I want want want that extra ultrasound! BUT...he threatened to divorce me if I reneg'd on our original plan. LOL It will stress me out waaay too much, and we definitely would not terminate the pregnancy. We wouldn't even go for the second test that has a slight chance of mc of even a healthy pregnancy. And finally, the results are not 100%, and we have THREE friends who had scares only to find out everything was fine in teh end. So, not test of us!

 

[AngelUK]

_Lexi_ all those other abnormalities are exactly why I am having the scan for sure. I am 41 and I am worried - and not at all primarily about Downs. If my results were to be high risk like yours I would also have the other test. Saying that I really hope your tests will come back ok. I am keeping you in my thoughts and will look out for your posts. Sending you lots of hugs and courage hun xxx

 

[FlowerFairy]

Lexi i understand the reasons you have behind testing and I know age isn't a factor but I did think it was higher risk over 35? I wish you all the luck for your testing xx
Prettybreak, she does have very White skin, like a doll. Im always surprised which characteristics children get from which parents.

 

[_Lexi_]

It is higher over 35, but that lead me to believe that everything would be fine. They couldn't give me a reason as to why it's high, I worried it was something that I had done but they reassured me that it would of happened at conception and nothing I have done would change that. My oh broke up with me last week and I will be raising this child on my own, I just need to be prepared for anything that might happen. I'm hoping they are ok, I don't know how much more heartbreak I can take if something serious is wrong. All my hope is that there's still a 20 out of 21 chance that everything is ok. I fully understand why people don't have the tests, I always thought I wouldn't. My worst nightmare is that I miscarry and get the results and everything was fine. I haven't had any bleeding since having the test this morning, just s bit sore and achey, but for me, I believe I've made the right choice x

 

[ceejie]

I am not far enough along for it to be a concern yet, but I asked my sister if she got it with her two kids. She is a nurse, so I trust her opinion on these things. She told me she declined because there is a ridiculously high rate of false positives and incorrect results.

I still haven't decided if I will or not, but it is definitely something to consider.

 

[Spaggy37]

I am having the Nuchal scan done, but nothing more than that, i would NEVER get rid of a child with DS, it would just make us a little more informed

 

[luckybreak]

It is higher over 35, but that lead me to believe that everything would be fine. They couldn't give me a reason as to why it's high, I worried it was something that I had done but they reassured me that it would of happened at conception and nothing I have done would change that. My oh broke up with me last week and I will be raising this child on my own, I just need to be prepared for anything that might happen. I'm hoping they are ok, I don't know how much more heartbreak I can take if something serious is wrong. All my hope is that there's still a 20 out of 21 chance that everything is ok. I fully understand why people don't have the tests, I always thought I wouldn't. My worst nightmare is that I miscarry and get the results and everything was fine. I haven't had any bleeding since having the test this morning, just s bit sore and achey, but for me, I believe I've made the right choice x

I am sorry to hear it about OH lexi I hope your little one continue to grows healthy

 

[libbylou]

Hubby and I are still deciding but are leaning towards decline...we'll have to let our midwife know in 2 weeks at our 10 week appointment

Where I'm from, they do a 2-part blood test (part 1 between 10-14 weeks and part 2 between 15-21 weeks). You don't get any results until after the 2nd test
If you get a positive, you can either choose to have an amnio or decline further testing

The chance of having a positive on the blood test is 25%. BUT...only 1 in 10 of those positives is a real positive

At my age, I have a 1 in 840 chance of having a baby with DS and a 1 in 8,400 chance of having a baby with trisomy 18.
BUT...I have a 1 in 200 chance of having a miscarriage if I have the amnio and I simply wouldn't risk it.

So why bother with the initial test, which is so often wrong and which will likely only lead to a lot of stress for OH and I, if I'm not comfortable with the miscarriage chance of the amnio.

We would not abort anyway, so I don't see the point

 

[amjon]

I declined the blood tests, but did the 12 week U/S. The blood tests would have cost me over $400 and I didn't really see the point. If I didn't have to pay for them I would have done them though.

 

[Mjm073]

I am doing it only to get another us. The results would never make me change my mind about having the baby. I'm not worried about the results. I just want to see my baby again and not wait until 16 weeks.

 

[Lisa2701]

I declined with my first pregnancy as I wouldn't terminate the pregnancy no matter what and I didn't want any concerns during pregnancy. I remember my doctor and my MW looking at me like I'd just said something horrific! They didn't say much but their look said it all!

Will be doing the same this time round too... I have a cousin who has DS and she's a lovely girl, also have a cousin with spina bifida who was told she would never walk, well not only does she walk but she's not long given birth to a little girl. and my son has autism and it appears to be genetic on my husbands side, so I suppose in some senses we are high(er) risk than normal, but we will take whatever we are given and love it exactly the same no matter if it has special needs or not!

Lovely to hear that I am not alone in declining testing.