Due Date Moved Up & NT?

[ssmjlm]

Had my first u/s Friday at 10w1d and baby looked good. Based on measurements my due date got moved from May 2 to April 27. Did I mention DH was born 2 weeks early b/c he was so big and was 9lb 8oz at birth? Ouch.

Anyways, b/c I didn't have my first u/s until sort of lateish the doc was saying there's a chance they won't get me into the hospital for the NT scan in time. I haven't gotten a call for an appt yet, but if I don't hear anything by lunch I'm calling the doc office. She said there's one you can do 2nd tri, that'a bit different. Anyone have any experience? I'm not too worried, but I'm still worried what if we run out of time.

[imimahoney]

We opted to not have the NT scan. We just had a very thorough A/S. Although they are not the same, and something serious could have been missed, my Dr. did say that if the A/S showed any possible signs of problems we could opt for further testing.

We had the A/S scan at 18 weeks I believe.

Other than that, I don't know of any other 2nd tri testing.

[karinothing]

Studies show that to accurately measure the fluid at the base of the infant's neck (which may indicate a variety of chromosonal disorders) the scan must be done between 11 and 14 weeks while the neck is still transparent. This is something you would not be able to do at the A/S.

Next, the NT allows you to get CVS testing done if necessary (since this is done between 11 weeks and 13 days). But some studies show that this is riskier than an amnio (others have shown that it isn't, so it is kind of up in the air).

Basically, if you want the NT testing done I would push it. I went to an outside sonogram place to get mine done, so I don't really see the need to ahve it done at the hospital (unless that is the only place your insurance will allow).

I also think it is a little ridiculous that the date of this ultrasound could mean you couldn't get the other one on time. Do you live in a small town?

[ssmjlm]

My doctor's office said the hospital is where the scan is done. I think for the scan she is still going off my original due date, but still said it needed to be done by 12 weeks, meaning by end of next week.

I don't live in a small town, so I guess if I can't get into the hospital I could find out if there is somewhere else to go.

I was surprised no one called me yesterday, but I'm not sure how the office handles requesting the hospital to schedule the appointment.

[karinothing]

Maybe they were closed yesterday due to the holiday? Or something was messed up due to the holiday?

Yeah, I went to a place where all they did was ultrasounds (for pregnancy and other stuff). I would just call today.

You can also ask your doctor if there is anything the NT scan can tell you that that the AS scan can't.

[mrs07]

Personally, I would push against moving my due date up so I didn't end up with an induction at 41w instead of 42w, but that's not what you're asking. (More unsolicited advice- tell people you're due early May or you'll be asked "how much longer?!!" By well meaning impatient people from April 1st on.)

From what I understood reading the brochure, the NT u/s only pre-tested for serious stuff that you might want to terminate over. My logic was that I didn't want to give myself that option/have to make a decision like that, or even the decision to test further in the case if an abnormality (I didn't want to do an amnio), so I wasn't keen on it. H thought the more info the better, so we did the test. And it was amazing to see baby doing somersaults in there and I asked the lady if the placenta was in the right place, so that good news made me happy.

You absolutely do not HAVE to do this screening, so if you are not terribly interested, you might just let the hospital schedule dictate whether you have it done or not.

[CloudBee]

The MaterniT21 blood test is what they can do in lieu of NT scans + the bloodwork that goes with the NT scan. MaterniT21 has become really popular, and I believe can even determine the sex of the baby.

[ssmjlm]

We want to do the screening, if the timing allows it. We both have discussed it and want to know.

As for moving the due date, she said that may change again based on growth later, but the 2 measurements she took put me at 4/27 and 4/28 on Friday.

CloudBee, thanks for the info on the other test. I'll do some research on that one just in case.

[CloudBee]

It's a brand new test. Here's info from Wiki.

MaterniT21+

MaterniT21 is Sequenom's prenatal test for trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. The test operates by sampling free DNA in the mother's blood, which contains some DNA from the fetus. The proportions of DNA from sequences from chromosome 21 can indicate whether the fetus has trisomy in that chromosome. In a randomized controlled trial of 1,696 pregnancies at high risk for Down syndrome, the test correctly identified 98.6% of the actual cases of Down syndrome (209 out of 212), with a false positive rate of 0.2% (3 of 1471 pregnancies without Down); the test gave no result in 0.8% of the cases tested (13 of 1696).[19] The test can also give an indication of whether trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) or trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) are present, though accuracy rates have not been determined.[20]

The primary advantage of MaterniT21 over the other major high accuracy tests for Down syndrome, Amniocentesis and Chorionic villus sampling, is that MaterniT21 is noninvasive.[19] Because amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling are invasive, they have a chance of causing miscarriage.[21]

Sequenom later introduced MaterniT21 PLUS. The PLUS was added in February 2012 with the publication in Genetics In Medicine of a follow-up study showing that MaterniT21 could also accurately detect T13 and T18 aneuploidies.

History

On August 4, 2011, Sequenom said it would call its new blood test for Down syndrome in pregnancy MaterniT21 when the product went on sale in the United States.[22][23][24][25]

On August 11, 2011, Sequenom announced European licensing agreement with LifeCodexx. The companies agreed to collaborate in the development and launch of a trisomy 21 laboratory-developed test and other aneuploidies testing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, with the potential for additional launches in other countries. Under the initial five year licensing agreement, Sequenom granted LifeCodexx licenses to key patent rights, including European Patent EP0994963B1 and pending application EP2183693A1 that enable the development and commercialization of a non-invasive aneuploidy test utilizing circulating cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma.[26]

On October 24, 2011 International Society of Prenatal Diagnostics (ISPD) issued a rapid response statement in response to the launch of Sequenom non-invasive Trisomy 21 (MaterniT21) test.[27]

On October 17, 2011 Sequenom announced that a clinical validation study leading to the introduction of the MaterniT21 LDT had been published in the journal Genetics in Medicine.[28] On October 17, 2011 Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine announced the launch of MaterniT21 Noninvasive Prenatal Test for Down Syndrome.[25]

[jenn248]

Ditto kari and fivedogs. My OB sends patients out to a maternal-fetal medicine center for the NT scan. They weren't able to fit me in at my hospital during the 11-14 week timeframe, so I simply called the hospital the next town over and was able to get an appt at their MFM center.

Personally, for me, chromosomal abnormalities may have made a difference in whether or not we continued with the pregnancy, so I wanted to have it done. Even if it wasn't a factor, I really enjoyed having the extra ultrasound and another chance to see the baby. The tech spent a lot of time on the ultrasound (more so than with the anatomy scan), so it was nice to get to see the baby for that long. Also, unlike at the 8 week ultrasound, when she looked like a blob (seriously, they could have been showing me my kidney for all I could tell), at 12 weeks she had very distinctive features and was moving around quite a bit. I think that was when the pregnancy really hit home for me

[ssmjlm]

Well I called and the lady at the office said it looks like they've made a request at the hospital, but don't have anything back yet. If they can't get me in there, I'll see if I can go to another location in the same group. There are a couple hospitals in various towns that are all part of the same network, so I'll drive if need be.

[h]

I did MaterniT21 about 10 days ago (still waiting for the results). I had not heard of it before my OB brought it up, but after doing some research I am really impressed with the technology. It is far more accurate than an NT scan since they actually analyze fetal DNA. I was told that Sequenom (the lab that does the test) will not charge anyone with insurance more than $235 for the test (OOP is closer to $2000, I think) regardless of whether or not your insurance company actually agrees to pay. It can be done any time after 10 weeks--there isn't a cutoff. All you have to do is send two vials of blood to the Sequenom lab in CA, so even if your doctor does not normally offer it, I think they could still order the test--they would just have to draw your blood and ship it to Sequenom for you. There is a MaterniT21 board on babycenter that seems to have some members who are very knowledgable about the test if you have questions.

[ssmjlm]

Ugh I still haven't heard from the doctor's office. Now I'm just mad at the lag time and a lack of communication given the secretary assured me she would let them know I wanted to hear something back.