Has anyone had a high AFP but amnio OK?

[claire1976]

I'm 32 and 17 weeks pg with my 2nd child. I was shocked when although my NT test was low risk my blood tests showed a 1:45 chance of problems.
I've had the amnio today and paid extra for the prelim results in 24-36 hours. Full results take 2-3 weeks which is an awfully long time to wait so thats why we paid for the prelim test.
I just wondered if anyone else had had a high risk blood test but their amnio was OK? I'm terrified of the result and seeing my baby today on the scan made it seem so much harder to think ahead about problems.
Any reassurance would be gratefully received.....

 

[staceymy]

Im so sorry to hear about your results. I dont know much about this but have read of many woman where things have be ok after the amino.
Fingers crossed that your results come back ok.

 

[zoehamp]

well they normally take in account the nt aswell as bloods together, when i was preggers with my little boy he was 1:150 of having downs,plus 20wk scan pick up that sumin in his head was larger then it was supposed to be sothey basically told me that he had downs, but he came out not having anything wrong with him, so i just want to tell you they do make mistakes. not to worry till you have results back. i know its easy just to say, but just thinkof your baby. the same thing actually happened to a mate of mine to, she had the amnio which cam back ok, she found out the sex of her baby through that too.. keep ya chin up. not to worry, i think all will be good for you, x x x

 

[zoehamp]

oh forgot to say with this lo my results cam back 1:10000, and they took blood test aswell as the NT together coz NT was 1.1mm dnt know what my blood results were as they put 2 and 2 together. but i hope you dnt worry about it to much, plz dnt, like i said chin up and things will turn out how they are supposed to hun,xx

 

[firegal]

Hey hun. Based on the combined nuchal scan and bloods at 12wks I've supposedly got a 1:147 chance of having a child with chromosonal abnormalities (not Downs) because they said my HCG levels were 0.293 and the minimum they work to is 0.3 so I was considered "abnormal". As a result I've done lots of reading up on stuff and all I keep reading is people who've had amnios and the results tell them that there's nothing wrong - so basically, the chances of your results being all clear are REALLY good

Doctors give you worst case scenario, but you have to remember that all their risk levels, probabilities, etc, are based on tests - it's all just numbers. 1:45 is figured out based on test data taken from other women, not from you. Every pregnancy is different, every woman is different, and every baby is different. That 1:45 takes into account a handful of indicators but it doesn't take into account everything about you.

All I can say is think positive. Not long to go until you know for sure and hopefully then you can relax and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. I've definitely read of people with far worse "odds" than you coming out the other side of it all with a perfectly healthy baby.

 

[pkbaby]

Are you a vegetarian by any chance?

Vegetarian women have a higher rate of false positives with the blood tests.

Since you nuchal fold test was normal this could be the case.

Best of luck

 

[claire1976]

Are you a vegetarian by any chance?

Vegetarian women have a higher rate of false positives with the blood tests.

Since you nuchal fold test was normal this could be the case.

Best of luck

Hi, no not vegetarian. However I do have a history of thyroid cancer and have read that it can sometimes affect the blood results. Guess all I can do is wait and hope.

 

[pkbaby]

Vegetarians (especially vegans) have higher rates of hypothyroid-- so maybe there is some connection there.

Really, hoping everything turns out well.

 

[Kimberly28]

Ok maybe I can offer a little reassurance. With my first pregnancy with my oldest son, I had an elevated AFP. So they strongly recommended the amnio and said at that point I was at a higher chance for downs or spina bifida. So because I wanted to know what to expect ahead of time I had the amnio done. It came back negative though and showed that he was just fine and nothing wrong at all. A lot of the time these tests come back with false highs and false lows. Which is exactly what happened with mine. I had a false high. Baby was born normal and he's still a healthy 12 yr old today. So please don't be too concerned. Until there is proof that you should be. I am willing to wager that all is just fine with baby. Hang in there and keep us posted.

 

[Septie]

The AFP test has quite a few high readings that mean nothing - so I would try not to worry too much until you get your definite results back. Minor things like calculating your due date wrong by a few days could mess up the interpretation of the AFP results, I believe.

 

[rubywoo77]

I had high AFP levels after having the triple blood tests done - received a call from hospital asking us to come in for a detailed scan - we were worried sick and didn't sleep that night. We went to the hospital had the scan and apparently everything appeared normal - my MW told me that any number of factors can give a high reading for AFP and most of the time a second test or a scan can show that the baby is perfectly healthy.

I guess what I am trying to say is that please stay positive and not worry (I know it's easier said than done), please keep us updated

 

[claire1976]

Just a quick update, after a mega tense 24 hours our results were normal, the baby is a healthy boy and I cannot tell you how relieved and happy we are. I actually cried down the phone to the midwife!

 

[Pippin]

That is great news. I just read your story and so glad it has a happy ending.

 

[Babydance]

Thats great news hunny! I'd have bawled like a baby too! And congrats on your blue bump xx

 

[rubywoo77]

excellant news - on both the blue bump and the test results.

x