We did it because we didn't do the CVS. Our OB/Gyn really reco'd getting one or the other if we weren't getting both.
ETA: I may be remembering this wrong. Maybe we were supposed to get a CVS if something abnormal showed up on the NT, but could opt out of the CVS if the NT scan looked good?
Post by dragonfly08 on Aug 7, 2012 16:10:27 GMT -5
I didn't have one with either pregnancy. Technically, I was advanced maternal age with #2, but my risk of a child with problems was still less than the risk of complications from an amnio, so I would have refused on no matter what the NT scan results. That made having the NT scan pointless since it wouldn't have told us anything definitive. Based on that decision, my OB just ordered a more detailed anatomy scan at 20 weeks (level III or IV, rather than the standard level II).
Yes. I would have wanted to know if there was a high probability of our baby having chromosomal abnormalities, since it would have affected how we proceeded from there.
Going into it, I wasn't too bothered one way or another about having an extra ultrasound, but I am glad that I did. At our eight-week ultrasound, the fetus just looked like a blob (the u/s tech could have been showing me my kidney for all that I knew). At the NT scan, it was very clearly a fetus with very distinct features, and I kind of had this "holy shit, there's really a baby in there" moment. That was the first time my pregnancy felt "real" to me, if that makes any sense.
No. I didn't want the probabilities to freak me out when there was nothing I could really do about them since we would not have terminated for any reason. Also, I'm high risk and had to do a Level II ultrasound that would have caught most abnormalities anyway, just at a bit later date.
Exactly all of this. And the 4 Level II sonos were all completely free. The NT scan would not have been.
Post by hopeful2012 on Aug 7, 2012 16:46:17 GMT -5
Yes, insurance covered it and we got reassuring odds. It did make me crazy for a couple days before hand, but it was reassuring to go and see that the baby (at least to me) looked normal and was moving around like crazy at 12 weeks even though I couldn't feel it yet.
With DD1 I had it because I had an awesome insurance plan and it was "free".
With DD2 I never got a direct answer from insurance, but if it turned out not to be covered we would have been on the hook for $1,200. Since I am relatively low risk we did not do it. Later I found out it probably would have been covered. Oh well. I did get some sort of blood test (is that the quad screen?) though. If those results were high I would have done an amnio.
I did. I had a sister born at 24 weeks with severe neural tube defects(and died) when I was 5. Insurance covered it, AND the best part was speaking with the a genetic counselor. Through our conversation, we decided around 28 weeks to have a fetal echo due to DH's history with an enlarged heart at 2 mos.
Yes, we wanted as much information as possible, and my doctor recommended it due to some family history concerns. My doctor does not give probabilities if the results are within the realm of normal unless you specifically request them. I did not.
I haven't read all the replies, but we had it done because there is no NICU at our local hospital. If we were high-risk, my OB would have had me transferred to a regional hospital for 3rd tri and delivery. Their practice has a policy of recommending for this reason.
[quote author=dragonfly08 board=mmmoms thread=41511 post=651450 time=Technically, I was advanced maternal age with #2, but my risk of a child with problems was still less than the risk of complications from an amnio).
Is this really possible to know?[/quote]
Well, generally, yes. There are statistics available as to what your risk of a child with Down Syndrome is, as well as percentages of pregnancies with complications resulting from an amnio (although those do vary from doc to doc based on experience with the procedure). My OB presented me with information, and I was statistically more likely to miscarry as the result of the amnio than I was to have a child with DS. Both outcomes were extremely unlikely, but combined with the fact that I had a close family member who *did* m/c because of an amnio, I was not willing to have one.
[quote author=dragonfly08 board=mmmoms thread=41511 post=651450 time=Technically, I was advanced maternal age with #2, but my risk of a child with problems was still less than the risk of complications from an amnio).
Is this really possible to know?
Well, generally, yes. There are statistics available as to what your risk of a child with Down Syndrome is, as well as percentages of pregnancies with complications resulting from an amnio (although those do vary from doc to doc based on experience with the procedure). My OB presented me with information, and I was statistically more likely to miscarry as the result of the amnio than I was to have a child with DS. Both outcomes were extremely unlikely, but combined with the fact that I had a close family member who *did* m/c because of an amnio, I was not willing to have one.[/quote]
But those stats are solely based on your age. In order to get accurate odds you'd have to have done the testing.
I was 1/200 or 1/150 which was high for my age. Hence the amnio. Risk with amnio was about 1/700.
Oh and another reason I had the test was so I could have the amnio performed as soon as possible so I had the maximum time to consider termination. It's 24 weeks in MA and by the time I'd get the 20 wk results back I'd have only a week or two to make a decision.
Yes but not the blood work because they can't do it for multiples.
This exactly. Have 2 in there skews the bloodwork (for example, if the result is really high you don't know if one of them is really high or if both are slightly high, etc) so my doctor only does the scan.