Hello and NT/Down's Screening question!!

[inxsmhpy]

Hiya Ladies

I'm Sue,39 and I didn't dare post until I'd had a scan! Well that happened yesterday (private with BabyBond) and I'm due March 2nd

I'm trying to get my head around the whole Down's Syndrome testing thing! If my risk will start of at high- how can it even stand a chance of becoming a low risk??? My sonographer yesterday said she wasn't concerned about the baby's nuchal fold and it looked good. But will my risk definitely come back as high just because of my age???

I hope that makes sense

 

[kosh]

hi Sue, congratulations on your pregnancy!
I did quite a bit of reading on this, hope I can help.

The 'overall' risk takes into account your background risk (mainly your age) and the masurements of the baby/pregnancy (NT and bloods), but because of the way it is calculated, you can actually have a risk that is lower than your initial age-related risk:

The age related risk is an 'a priori' statistics; it is believed that the older we are, the more risks we have to have a baby with chromosomal defects (is this actually correct english grammar? ). So every woman at say 39 will have that risk; even before they get pregnant, if you see what I mean. However, the other factors (NT and bloods) are measurements of the baby and therefore, somehow independent of your age (and the background risk).
So, if the NT and bloods are really good, your overall risk can be indeed low. (However, this is true only up to a certain age - it seems that after 45 all screening will come back as high risk)

Hope I was not too technical!

 

[inxsmhpy]

Thankyou Kosh

Yep that all makes sense

 

[poppy666]

I worried with my last son about Downs and i was 39, but the NT scan wasnt offered then. Pregnant again at 41 and my measurements with this one was 1.7mm and i came back low risk 1: 1200 so even tho we are at risk id try not to worry too much sweetie

 

[deafgal]

when I was 25, and had my son, I had a very high risk of down syndrome. and my age had nothing to do with it either. he does not have down syndrome or anything like that. his ultrasounds always looked good so that was one sign that he did not have it.

 

[truly_blessed]

I thought the same as you with the older must been high risk automatically. I'm 41, first baby and got my result back some weeks ago as 1:6100 so it really isn't the case. I was absolutley gob smacked as had prepared myself for high risk then 1:300 ish at the best. You just can't go off age alone.

 

[ciarhwyfar]

The risks are higher as you get older but way too much is made of age alone. The higher risks are still just risks and at 35 your percent chance is only 1 in 400 or .25% while at 40 your percent chance is only 1 in 100 or 1% and at 45 they are a whole whopping 1 in 30 or 3.33% for down's syndrome for just age. Other factors are much more important, in my opinion. General health and habits including diet, exercise, and smoking/drinking are going to affect your body and reproductive health more to me. I hope that helps to put it a little in perspective.

Those stats are from the March of Dimes website, by the way.

 

[mom22boys]

I dont understand the whole age thing, My dr told me that fewer women have children at older ages thats why Downs is such a higher risk at a higher age! I hope that made sense. With that being said! I was 24 when I had my son who has Down Syndrome.

 

[Glowstar]

I've decided against the testing. I had the AFP tests with both my girls and with my second age 27 I was high risk for Spina Bifada, 7 scans later and they could still only tell me everything 'appeared' OK.
As it turns out she was fine but it was very stressful
My Midwife told me the blood test is only 80% accurate and that coupled with my age I would prob be high risk. I know someone close who was high risk for Downs, she had the amnio and 2 days later went into labour and gave birth to a sleeping PERFECT angel.
It's just not something I am prepared to risk as I know I wouldn't have the amnio so whats the point in having the blood test.
I am more worried about Autism as neices on both sides of our family have it serverly but there is no test for it so I have decided against any testing

 

[inxsmhpy]

Thankyou everyone

GlowStar I don't know if I could risk an amnio and in a way thats what worries me so much.

Thanks again everyone for your replies

 

[animalcracker]

Hiya Ladies

I'm Sue,39 and I didn't dare post until I'd had a scan! Well that happened yesterday (private with BabyBond) and I'm due March 2nd

I'm trying to get my head around the whole Down's Syndrome testing thing! If my risk will start of at high- how can it even stand a chance of becoming a low risk??? My sonographer yesterday said she wasn't concerned about the baby's nuchal fold and it looked good. But will my risk definitely come back as high just because of my age???

I hope that makes sense

Hello Sue!
To answer your question (which is an excellent one), the answer is no. Your risk will not come back high because of your age. Let me tell you my experience with my NT scan and my results. By the way, I am also 39

The NT scan consists of the following 1) the actual scan to determine not only the amount of fluid at the back of the baby's neck, but to also look for a strong nasal bone on the baby. 2) your blood work 3) your age and family history.

This formula determines your risk for not only downs syndrome but Trisonomy 13 and 18.

My NT scan results showed a strong nasal bone and a fluid measurement of 1.5mm which is a good result. I waited for a week for the final determination which came in yesterday: My doctor said my results are fantastic and the same as a 20 year old woman. My risk of a special needs child are low. For down syndrome, the number is 1 in 1,262. And for Trisonomy 18 and Trisonomy 13, 1 in 1,320.

So no, your age will not mean a high risk at all. Your bloodwork, family history and the other factors above all come into account too. I hope this helps! By the way, your baby is due the day before my birthday! Yay!

 

[inxsmhpy]

Thank you so much Animal Cracker-I didn't have a clue what happened at the scan because I didn't have one with Skyla when I was 37. However the midwife who explained the triple test I had at the time said it was virtually impossible not to get a high risk result at that age!

Your results are blooming well amazing!!

 

[AlwaysPraying]

I dont understand the whole age thing, My dr told me that fewer women have children at older ages thats why Downs is such a higher risk at a higher age! I hope that made sense. With that being said! I was 24 when I had my son who has Down Syndrome.

It's seriously complicated!! It's true the majority of down syndrom babies are born from young moms. But that's because they have more babies all together. Say 100 young moms have babies and 10 will have an issue. That's 10%. Then 10 older moms will have babies and 3 will have an issue and that's 30% (I'm usig made up numbers). So in the young category there are 10 babies with an issue and only 3 babies in the older group but it's only 10% of the young group but 30% of the older group.

I had a baby with a trisomy (13) and was considered very low risk and I was only 30 at the time.

 

[_Vicky_]

Hi ya

I was 36 when I fell pregnant and had my boys - my NT scans were 1.1mm and 1.4mm and combined with the bloods they gave me a 1:3700 and 1:4500 xxxx

 

[SabrinaKat]

I'm 43 and was told that my risk for my age (for all problems, not just downs) is 1/27; after nucal fold/bt, it's 1/175 -- we decided to skip the cvs and wait until our 16 wk scan (in 3.5 wks) to decide about amnio. I had an m/c two years ago at 7-8 wks, and this current pregnancy is natural - the month before we were going to start IVF (either with my eggs or donor), so to us, we're hopeful, particulary given that my health is extremely good after a good year of trying to lose weight, quit smoking (hard!), get my hormones in order, etc., so our consultant has reassured us that our numbers have fallen from 3-5% to less than 1%, but we'll obviously still worry...

hope that helps...

 

[StranjeGirl]

I was scared too after reading stuff. I am 36 and my first trimester screening came back at 1:1000. I thought it would go down for sure after 2nd trimester screening, but then it came back as 1:48,000. I don't think your age necessarily puts you at low risk. These tests are sooo stressful!!!