First Trimester Testing

[mama d]

Hi ladies - Technically I'm 34 but will be 35 when I deliver in October with baby #2. I had my early scan last Friday and everything looked good. They recommended that I do genetic testing given my age (we chose to not test last pregnancy). I'm just curious which tests you all have chosen to do. There's something new available now called Verifi (non-invasive prenatal testing) which is a blood test and can check for a variety of chromosomal abnormalities. Or I can do a standard 1st trimester screening which included the blood protein draw and the nuchal translucency ultrasound (but this has a lower detection rate--95% vs 98-99% with Verifi).

Would just like opinions from others who have chosen one route or the other. Thanks in advance!

 

[Scout]

When I was pregnant with daughter I was 45, so I had a risk of 1:11 for Trisomy 13, 18 just based on age alone, with a slightly lower risk of Down Syndrome (1:17). I did the MaterniT21 test, which is like the Verifi. It was a blood test, and they extract the fetal DNA from the mother's blood and test it. The thing I liked about the test is that you get an answer, not a ratio. The 1st tri screening is a ratio.

When daughter was born, my pediatrician came to the hsp to examine her. She didn't know i had been tested while pregnant. She came to my room and told me that daughter had Palmers Crease, which is a marker for Down Syndrome, and they may have to do some testing. I told her I had been tested while pregnant and the results showed daughter to have typical chromosomes. She said fine and they didn't do any testing. Daughter (now almost 2) does not have Down Syndrome. The test is around 99% accurate if you get a "typical chromosome" result, and 96% accurate if you get a 'trisomy 13, 18, or 21' result, in which case they advise an amnio to confirm. (I think those numbers are still correct, but this was back in 2012 when I had the test) Oh, and this is for the MaterniT21.

Personally, I don't like ratio tests like the 1st tri screening. I want a yes or no. After the results, I was able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy. Good luck!

 

[jessiecat]

Hey Mama
I had the Panorama test (exactly like verifi and MaterniT21). It was super easy (just a blood draw) and i got my results 3 weeks later. I don't trust the NT test- a tech scared my sister and my BIL half to death suggesting that their child had down syndrome based on their NT test. Baby was totally fine. Better to do the less invasive test first and then have the more invasive tests later if needed.

 

[mama d]

Thank you both! I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[Stenokat]

I had both tests. The NT/bloods put me at a 1:42 risk of baby having Down's. Verifi came back negative for chromosomal abnormalities. I went last week for anatomy scan and LO has an echogenic focus in her heart which is a soft marker for Down's. The doctor basically said if I hadn't had the Verifi test, he'd recommend amniocentesis. But, because it came back negative, it was entirely my call. I believe LO is fine and declined amnio.

 

[Moomaymisty]

Im 42 and not having any tests.

 

[tulip1975]

I don't like the idea of the screens when we now have these 10-week DNA tests that are more useful. My doc ordered the Harmony.

 

[mh_ccl]

I did MaterniT21 with DD and will me doing InformaSeq (similar test) as soon as my insurance approves it. I was 36 last time, 37 now, and I want to know for sure.

Last time we didn't want to know gender, but were happy to find out all other signs were good. But if you're the type that wants to know gender, the test will also give you a 100% answer.

 

[PurpleIvy44]

I'm 38 and had my first prenatal appointment today and was told that I can't have the integrated screening but that I can have the Harmony test . So I m getting that at 10 weeks. I wasn't offered the Harmony with my daughter 3 yrs ago when I was 35. It has a 99% accuracy rate and blood is safer than a needle for me.

 

[Moomaymisty]

Hormony tests great but £500 here.. but I wont have tests for Downs as they are not a yes or no.. and I have spoken to so many people informed they were high risk or markers for downs and had perfectly healthy kids.. also I know 3 women all under 23 that had downs so not an age thing.. I had my normal tests but said I was not having anything else.. they said what about 20 week scan I said thats fine and if there is something there to see then we will be prepared but im not interesting in a possbile/maybe/percentage test.. I find they cause more worry and Midwife agreed with me.

 

[MamaRed]

I am 35 and expecting baby number 5. I joined here because I wanted to learn more about first trimester testing, etc.

Monday I had my obgyn appointment and she offered the Panorama test. I was 9 weeks 1 day. Panorama claims they can accurately perform the test at 9 weeks and most other tests are at 10 weeks. Regardless they are all similar and all accurate. Panaroma is just what my obgyn uses.

I agreed to have it done as it is accurate and doesn't give me a ratio that will cause me to have extreme anxiety over! We decided to decline any screening tests including the NT ultrasound. And she said I should have my results next week. From reading others that had the panorama test it seems that 2 weeks is about average for results. As a bonus you can decide to find out the sex of the baby as well----not the purpose but it can be a nice to know.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

[mh_ccl]

Ugh. SAo I said I was getting Informaseq done as soon as my insurance approves it. They denied it!!! Last time, my insurance covered it because of my advanced maternal age. This time, with a different doctor and a different brand of test, they denied it and said that procedure is on the government "no pay" list.

 

[Melsue129]

Hey Ladies joining here....

Okay so in the US in Massachusetts they have this test called DNA First that tests for the chromosomes abnormalities.. Downs Trisomy 18 and 13 and also sex chromosomes... Then they offer the Horizon test that checks for a list of 30 or so diseases just to see if Im a carrier..

So I was completely confused at first until I dug and read through all of the paperwork they gave me..

Has anyone had the DNA First test done? Kind of sounds like all of the others and is the Horizon test one that also tests for the sex, they did ask us if we want to know and I said yes..

So I was kind of confused because I believe there are definitely other options for them to check off when they write out the lab slip for the Horizon test and they only checked off the basic one for me... Maybe thats because they offer the DNAFirst??

Can anyone shed some light? LOL..