Pre-pregnancy genetic screening

[Springermommy]

Anyone get this done? My sister was a carrier for Sandhoff's which is very similar to Tay Sachs which is a genetic disorder that causes death in early childhood. Fortunately, her husband was not a carrier. When it gets a little closer to the time, hubby and I would like to get tested. Definitely better to be safe than sorry.

 

[MsMommy]

I think its a great idea!! Without being insensitive, couples who receive IVF have the option of doing test on their eggs that can show if some are chromosomally abnormal or if they carrier genetic disorders.

My 6 year old son suffered from a severe speech delay and had developmental delay and it worries me that I my future children might have the same complications. Everybody has their own opinion about why those events occurred but he was a healthy 8lb 11oz and 22 1/2 inch newborn who was born AFTER his due date.

It might just be because of the way the wind blew but I am most certainly getting tested. My OH is not his father of my LO but I have suggested that he also be tested before we TTC.

 

[loeylo]

I think that if there was a genetic condition in my family, I would have myself and my partner tested prior to conception. I would not have any pregnancies screened for those conditions as it would not make any difference as I would continue with the pregnancy anyway, but it would make me relax if I knew that I had a lower chance of passing on the condition, and it would help me prepare if my risk was higher.
Good luck!

 

[Springermommy]

Thanks ladies!

 

[peachy2013]

My husband has a genetic condition that has a 50/50 chance of being passed onto future children. We got him tested before we got married and even thought about children as we wanted to know all of the facts so we were prepared. For us personally we have decided that we would not bring a child into the World with this condition. We have two options IVF and early pre natal testing.

 

[Springermommy]

peachy-did you need any referral from your OBGYN for this testing? Where we live is sort of rural, so may have to travel an hour or so to find a place that does this.

 

[I Love Lucy]

I think it's a great idea to do the pre-pregnancy genetic screening prior to TTC if you have family members with genetic conditions. In my opinion knowing what the chances are allows you to better prepare.

 

[Hollynesss]

I agree, I would love to do this! A friend of mine, only 25 years old and very healthy, refused to get any of the prenatal testing done while she was pregnant because it wouldn't change her mind either way, and her little girl has Down's Syndrome. She wishes now that she had done the testing just so she could prepare better. I am all about being prepared for things, so I would love to know in advance if we needed to brace ourselves for the possibility of any problems. Neither of us have anything that runs in our families, but you never know. Is this something covered by insurance? Or is it an out-of-pocket expense?

 

[I Love Lucy]

I agree, I would love to do this! A friend of mine, only 25 years old and very healthy, refused to get any of the prenatal testing done while she was pregnant because it wouldn't change her mind either way, and her little girl has Down's Syndrome. She wishes now that she had done the testing just so she could prepare better. I am all about being prepared for things, so I would love to know in advance if we needed to brace ourselves for the possibility of any problems. Neither of us have anything that runs in our families, but you never know. Is this something covered by insurance? Or is it an out-of-pocket expense?

My insurance covered a portion of it but I still had to pay about $500 out of pocket for the genetic screening that I had done during pregnancy.

 

[Hollynesss]

I agree, I would love to do this! A friend of mine, only 25 years old and very healthy, refused to get any of the prenatal testing done while she was pregnant because it wouldn't change her mind either way, and her little girl has Down's Syndrome. She wishes now that she had done the testing just so she could prepare better. I am all about being prepared for things, so I would love to know in advance if we needed to brace ourselves for the possibility of any problems. Neither of us have anything that runs in our families, but you never know. Is this something covered by insurance? Or is it an out-of-pocket expense?

My insurance covered a portion of it but I still had to pay about $500 out of pocket for the genetic screening that I had done during pregnancy.

I was referring to pre-pregnancy screening, before or while you're TTC. I wondered if this is covered by insurance. I had no idea that genetic screening while pregnant was an extra charge! I guess I'm pretty naive when it comes to that, but I always thought that things like that (ie testing for Down's and other common genetic disorders) was just part of the total pregnancy care cost covered by insurance.

 

[I Love Lucy]

I agree, I would love to do this! A friend of mine, only 25 years old and very healthy, refused to get any of the prenatal testing done while she was pregnant because it wouldn't change her mind either way, and her little girl has Down's Syndrome. She wishes now that she had done the testing just so she could prepare better. I am all about being prepared for things, so I would love to know in advance if we needed to brace ourselves for the possibility of any problems. Neither of us have anything that runs in our families, but you never know. Is this something covered by insurance? Or is it an out-of-pocket expense?

My insurance covered a portion of it but I still had to pay about $500 out of pocket for the genetic screening that I had done during pregnancy.

I was referring to pre-pregnancy screening, before or while you're TTC. I wondered if this is covered by insurance. I had no idea that genetic screening while pregnant was an extra charge! I guess I'm pretty naive when it comes to that, but I always thought that things like that (ie testing for Down's and other common genetic disorders) was just part of the total pregnancy care cost covered by insurance.

My guess would be it would be less. With the pregnancy screening I had an ultrasound to measure something in the baby and then blood drawn. I'm assuming with the pre-pregnancy screening you would just have blood drawn but I imagine you would still have a portion to pay out of pocket. I think a lot of insurance doesn't find the genetic testing to be medically necessary since the testing I had done during pregnancy was completely optional.

 

[Hollynesss]

Its hard to believe that genetic screening isn't considered medically necessary for pregnant women when you consider that pre-partum care could help both baby and mom. Insurance is so ridiculous when it comes to pregnancy. I work at a hospital that doesn't do L&D or pediatrics, but the hospital that they are partnered with for these things requires that you pay for your L&D and ultrasound costs up front before they will even accept you as a patient (after the initial screening to confirm the pregnancy, of course) Thank goodness that hospital isn't the only option available for pregnant employees.

 

[tori0713]

We won't be getting any done as we have no real family issues genetically. My sister will have to, though, because she has a 15% possibility of a rare genetic disorder. It's almost proven she doesn't have it but doctors can't give her a definite. However, because it's such a slim change her neurosurgeon said that the rest of the family wouldn't need testing.

 

[peachy2013]

peachy-did you need any referral from your OBGYN for this testing? Where we live is sort of rural, so may have to travel an hour or so to find a place that does this.

We had to go to the doctor to begin with to be referred to the genetics clinic at the hospital. We then had to go through genetics councelling before my husband got tested as the condition is not treatable currently so there is pretty much nothing they can do to stop the onset once it happens. We are still on the genetics clinics books and they have said we must contact them as soon as we find out we are pregnant to get the pre natal testing in place.

 

[peachy2013]

I should mention we are in the UK so our health care system is a little different to the US.