Triple blood test

[Angelica]

Have you all decided if u will have the triple blood test?
which tests for downs syndrome & something else?
My midwife says u can only have this between weeks 15-16

 

[anita665]

I had mine done and I'm so glad I did now as it's helped to reasure me slightly after an anomoly was found at my scan.

I personally think it's a great idea no matter what because the test carries no risk but can be a big help. It picks up almost all cases of Spinal probelms and I think 60% of Downs Syndrome. Even if you feel you would keep your baby either way I think it's good to help you see what you're facing although with Downs Syndrome especially there can be lots of false positives and negatives so it can cause unnessasary worry in lots of cases or reasure you falsely too. I'm not 100% sure on this but I believe the lower risk your result though, the less change that it's innacurate. Obviously it doesn't give you a definate yes or no but it gives you a good idea.

 

[Vickie]

I chose not to have mine done. DH and I knew it wouldn't make a difference to us either way and I didn't want to put myself through the stress of having the test done and waiting on results.

 

[xarlenex]

I chose not too. Me and my oh knew the results more than likely wouldnt make a difference and I know alot of people it caused not needed worry and grief all the way through the rest of their pregnancy. It really is a personal decision though.

 

[Tam]

I never did these in either pregnancies - I was offered it in the first as I was late in declaring my pregnancy to my GP, so the scans were late and so on......but as my 12 week scan was low risk with my last pregnancy, I never got offered the tests! x

 

[Heather.78]

hi i have discussed this with my husband and we will be having all tests available they dont harm me or the baby so we see it as a why not if we find out me or the baby has something wrong we will be better prepared knowing it before hand. but everyone make different choices and i see why some women would want the test and others dont

 

[lynz]

i have decided to have the test if it was anything more than a blood test i wouldnt have bothered

 

[TashaAndBump]

hi i have discussed this with my husband and we will be having all tests available they dont harm me or the baby

Hi Heather,

I don't know if you were aware of this, but thought that I should clarify for you, the blood tests don't cause any harm... but if you come back with a high risk result, you will be reccommended for an amnioscentesis test, where a sample of your amniotic fluid is taken - this can present a risk of miscarriage in some women. So some tests could be harmful - but your midwife or consultant should explain all the risks to you before you undergo any test or procedure.

Best of luck with everything,

 

[Snowball]

We have chosen not to have the tests as they wouldn't have any affect on our decision and also we didn't have them with our other two.

 

[TashaAndBump]

If you've decided you would keep the baby either way, you may decide that you'll be more prepared knowing, or that it makes no difference whatsoever so you might as well wait until the birth to find out...

However, if you're avoiding the tests because you think that it would cause uneccessary worry during your pregnancy, it is worth considering whether you'd be able to cope with the shock if anything was wrong with the baby once you had it... These test can be a great way of giving you a bit of time to adjust to the idea of having a baby with a disability, and can allow you to prepare yourself and decide how you and your OH will take to parenting under the circumstances. They can also provide a lot of reassurance if you are worried about the possibility of Downs syndrome or other disabilities.

However, like anita665 said, the tests can sometimes give you a high risk result when there's nothing wrong with your baby, or may come back as low risk, when there is a disability, which can be misleading and leads to unecessary worry, or in some cases to women terminating pregnancies that were perfectly healthy based on an incorrect probability.

Don't forget, that these tests work on probability - they can't give you a positive or negative result. Take them as a rough guideline (if you take them at all)... at most they can tell you to be prepared for a possibility - but we should all do that whether we have the tests or not

 

[Angelica]

I got my results today.
My hubby opened the letter & told me on phone. Letter says I am at low risk & stats were as follows:
Age related risk is- 1:11000
And individual is 1:680

Does this sound normal?

 

[Mervs Mum]

I'm not sure - can you ring youtr midwife to give you an idea? They sound good to me!

 

[Moraine]

If you've decided you would keep the baby either way, you may decide that you'll be more prepared knowing, or that it makes no difference whatsoever so you might as well wait until the birth to find out...

However, if you're avoiding the tests because you think that it would cause uneccessary worry during your pregnancy, it is worth considering whether you'd be able to cope with the shock if anything was wrong with the baby once you had it... These test can be a great way of giving you a bit of time to adjust to the idea of having a baby with a disability, and can allow you to prepare yourself and decide how you and your OH will take to parenting under the circumstances. They can also provide a lot of reassurance if you are worried about the possibility of Downs syndrome or other disabilities.

However, like anita665 said, the tests can sometimes give you a high risk result when there's nothing wrong with your baby, or may come back as low risk, when there is a disability, which can be misleading and leads to unecessary worry, or in some cases to women terminating pregnancies that were perfectly healthy based on an incorrect probability.

Don't forget, that these tests work on probability - they can't give you a positive or negative result. Take them as a rough guideline (if you take them at all)... at most they can tell you to be prepared for a possibility - but we should all do that whether we have the tests or not

I don't understand what exactly they are testing for if they can't give you a positive or negative result? What about the amnio? Is that more reliable?

I'm very unsure about these tests. I think my husband wants me to take them, but then what if it is high risk? then I have to have a giant needle stuck in my gut? And that carries a risk of miscarriage. I'm very confused about all this.

 

[Gabi]

I'll be going for my next u/s at 15 weeks. Then I think he'll also send me for my triple blood test.
Not too sure. He's sending me for the test that checks my Rhesus factor and HIV status etc. I don't know if I'll have this one you're talking about.

If the u/s shows something not right then he'll talk to me about getting an amnio.

I refuse to put myself under unnecessary stress. My beliefs are if you keep thinking up negative things you're going to attract them. That being said I don't walk through life without a care in the world lol. I am logical. We've just decided if this u/s says it's normal then we're not going to go on with further tests. I'm a person that stresses easily. I don't want to have to sit waiting for test results if I don't really need to.