Can anyone tell me about the numbers for a screening test for Down Syndrome
12-21-2010, 06:16 AM
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Crowley, TX
Posts: 306
Originally Posted by Maride
If you evaluate the statistics, 1:270 is not at all different from 1:268. At this point all it means is that they need a line to draw and if you are on one side you have a possibility, but on the other side you don't. This makes the test obsolete. The only accurate method to see if there is Down is an amniocenthesis. (I may not be spelling this well). Tell your daughter for tonight that 268 rounds up to 270, therefore she has a negative test. Tomorrow talk to her into speaking to the Dr. There are ultrasounds that can be done to rule it out if she doesn't want to have an amnio. It may be too soon for her.
I got pregnant shortly after I turned 39. On my first OB visit I was told that I had an empty sac, go home and wait to have severe bleeding and then come in to have a DNC. I cried my eyes out and the Dr never came back to see if I was OK. I didn't give up. I called a Dr friend of mine across the state and he said that from my results he expected a viable pregnancy. I kept going every other day for ultrasounds and two weeks later they found the heart beat. The Dr that found it was very persistent, and disagreed with them. The finding pushed him to leave the practice and go some place else. We were super excited until the husband of the first Dr, also an OB in the same clinic, told me that from what he could see, my baby had Downs. More tears and depression. I did some more research and found out that from his ultrasound equipment is impossible to rule it out. All they wanted me to do was to sign up for an amnio at their office, which they had just started doing. At that moment I switched Drs. My new Dr heard about what happened and was very careful. She did the Quad test, which is the same one your daughter had. My result was 1:110, which means that I had a one in one hundred and ten chances of having Down, of course a positive result. But only positive to the possibility. Not to Downs. She then sent me for a 3D ultrasound. They measured his neck, nose and fingers. They do a ratio. Downs kids have a wider neck and short fingers. When he was done he said that if my baby had Downs, he could not see it. It was a relief.
To make this story even longer, Emmanuel turned 8 in October, and he is a perfect little boy. He does not have Downs or any other visible genetic condition. On the day he was born I found the first two Drs in the hospital and showed them how wrong they were. They didn't say a word. And to complete the picture, The Dr who assisted in the C-section was the very same Dr who discovered the heart beat. He was pleased to be able to do this because I made him realize that he didn't belong in that clinic and now was very succesful on his own.
So, tell your daughter to relax and enjoy her pregnancy. This test is just a number and means nothing.
I got pregnant shortly after I turned 39. On my first OB visit I was told that I had an empty sac, go home and wait to have severe bleeding and then come in to have a DNC. I cried my eyes out and the Dr never came back to see if I was OK. I didn't give up. I called a Dr friend of mine across the state and he said that from my results he expected a viable pregnancy. I kept going every other day for ultrasounds and two weeks later they found the heart beat. The Dr that found it was very persistent, and disagreed with them. The finding pushed him to leave the practice and go some place else. We were super excited until the husband of the first Dr, also an OB in the same clinic, told me that from what he could see, my baby had Downs. More tears and depression. I did some more research and found out that from his ultrasound equipment is impossible to rule it out. All they wanted me to do was to sign up for an amnio at their office, which they had just started doing. At that moment I switched Drs. My new Dr heard about what happened and was very careful. She did the Quad test, which is the same one your daughter had. My result was 1:110, which means that I had a one in one hundred and ten chances of having Down, of course a positive result. But only positive to the possibility. Not to Downs. She then sent me for a 3D ultrasound. They measured his neck, nose and fingers. They do a ratio. Downs kids have a wider neck and short fingers. When he was done he said that if my baby had Downs, he could not see it. It was a relief.
To make this story even longer, Emmanuel turned 8 in October, and he is a perfect little boy. He does not have Downs or any other visible genetic condition. On the day he was born I found the first two Drs in the hospital and showed them how wrong they were. They didn't say a word. And to complete the picture, The Dr who assisted in the C-section was the very same Dr who discovered the heart beat. He was pleased to be able to do this because I made him realize that he didn't belong in that clinic and now was very succesful on his own.
So, tell your daughter to relax and enjoy her pregnancy. This test is just a number and means nothing.
Good to hear from you and your amazing story. Just
proof that doctors can be wrong - Emmy is proof of that!
God Bless,
Marcia
12-21-2010, 06:28 AM
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 879
Originally Posted by RevPam
As the adopted Mom of a Down Syndrome child if the results prove positive the world has not come to an end. Nikki is the delight of my life! Although she is MR, she hugs and loves everyone and only wants to please. I have absolutely no regrets for making her a part of my life!
12-21-2010, 06:37 AM
#23
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Coeur d'Alene, ID
Posts: 755
Originally Posted by RevPam
As the adopted Mom of a Down Syndrome child if the results prove positive the world has not come to an end. Nikki is the delight of my life! Although she is MR, she hugs and loves everyone and only wants to please. I have absolutely no regrets for making her a part of my life!
Yes, her disability has brought many challenges to our lives, but those are overshadowed by the joys and lessons learned along the way. We wouldn't trade her for the world!
Every child is a gift from God and a blessing not to be taken lightly.
12-21-2010, 07:08 AM
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Iowa
Posts: 475
Seriously, why are all these tests done and relayed. If God had wanted us to know all this before hand he would have provided this info. Be thankful that you have a child to love and appreciate. We have Downs children on my husband's side and mine. Downs children are the best children. Sometimes I think the less we know the better off we are.
12-21-2010, 07:22 AM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2,735
Originally Posted by drdolly
Seriously, why are all these tests done and relayed. If God had wanted us to know all this before hand he would have provided this info. Be thankful that you have a child to love and appreciate. We have Downs children on my husband's side and mine. Downs children are the best children. Sometimes I think the less we know the better off we are.
Maria
12-21-2010, 08:14 AM
#26
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Seale, AL
Posts: 198
Originally Posted by RevPam
As the adopted Mom of a Down Syndrome child if the results prove positive the world has not come to an end. Nikki is the delight of my life! Although she is MR, she hugs and loves everyone and only wants to please. I have absolutely no regrets for making her a part of my life!
12-21-2010, 08:27 AM
#27
Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: IA
Posts: 49
These tests they are giving are not always accurate. My gyn wouldn't give my a blood test for ovarian cancer as it is not perfected yet and if comes back questionable then you have to decide if you really need surgery. He advise me against it. So my point it not to worry.
12-21-2010, 10:27 AM
#29
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Newberg, OR
Posts: 1,911
The blood screening test is highly unreliable and a lot of people get upset over these numbers. I hope they are doing a more reliable test soon. I had a baby with a genetic anomalie similar to Downs. She died shortly after birth. With my next baby I had an amniocentesis, and it was very reassuring. However, there are risks associated with the test, and so it shouldn't be done unless it would add something helpful to the equation. (By that I mean, what would you do with the results if you had them?) That was back in the early 80's. I'm sure there are more reliable and less invasive tests available now. Your daughter needs to talk to her doctor and decide on the right course of action, but this test isn't diagnostic.
12-21-2010, 10:28 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Newberg, OR
Posts: 1,911
Originally Posted by drdolly
Seriously, why are all these tests done and relayed. If God had wanted us to know all this before hand he would have provided this info. Be thankful that you have a child to love and appreciate. We have Downs children on my husband's side and mine. Downs children are the best children. Sometimes I think the less we know the better off we are.
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