Prenatal Genetic Testing

This makes me so angry. If you are 35 and older (although I am hearing younger women being urged to do it too), your doctor will recommend genetic testing (usually a basic blood test). Then of course if your results are questionable (any woman 35 and older gets automatically placed there) they want to do an amniocentesis (of course they dont mention that they can do a diagnostic ultrasound to see if there are any genetic abnormalities unless you refuse to do the amniocentesis). Most women of course become distressed and have this painful procedure done, risking their pregnancies even more than just leaving it alone. And for what? So that you will know whether you have a Downs Syndrome child. This blood test they give has a 60% false positive statistic. Prenatal genetic testing is just another way to make your pregnancy more stressful then it needs to be. What do you think?

I know when I lived in Oklahoma it was mandatory and now Im in Texas with my second pregnancy and they have told me that even if you are over 35 it is only suggested. I was also told of all the different types of tests they run if it comes back positive for anything such as the ultrasounds. My ob/gyn and midwife said that I don’t have to have it if I don’t want it.

Maybe I am different than most people but I research all that is done to me and any type of testing they can do after the first positive, I also believe that any child no matter what “defect” ( I use that in a medical term, I don’t be lieve any child is a defect) they are all gifts from God and I will only grow from that experience.

JMO

I agree 100%...I feel like its not worth risking your babys life and with that high of a false outcome i dont feel like that is right...my friend was told be her doctor that she should have one done because she was at high risk and she didnt want it. and now she has a beautiful healthy baby girl...

I got the Quad test, against the recommendation of my family, friends, and the nurse. (I am 23) Naturally, I got a false positive (1 in 30 chance of DS)

Their course of action was to give me a level II ultrasound (the diagnostic U/S to which you are referring), which actually raised his chances of DS to 1 in 15 (his femurs measured a touch short). Then, after the ultrasound, they offered me the amnio. I chose to get it, and found out what I already knew in my heart (he doesn't have DS)

Anyways, through that whole story the points I wanted to make were that my nurse recommended I not get the test done, and that they did an ultrasound before offering an amnio.

But I agree that genetic testing is just an added stressor... they need to make it more accurate before they go messing with mommas' heads...

my first doctor discouraged getting genetic testing done. My second doctor gave me brochures on the tests. Neither said how to go about even getting the tests done, so either they don't care about the tests, or they don't care about me and my baby...


As far my personal opinion I think they would be way more useful if they could be done really early in pregnant and 100 percent accurate.

I wasn't gonna get the amnio done but i did get the blood test done, it was optional but i did it anyway and my test came out fine but like the doctor said you can never really be sure even with all the test done these days if the baby will be 100% healthy until the baby is actually born