I got the results of my Second Trimester Screening on Friday. This screen is another blood test that was performed about a week ago when I was 17 weeks.
Yeah! The results were all good.
Chances of Down Syndrome from my age: 1 in 370
Chances of Down Syndrome from the tests + the age calculation: 1 in 10,000
Chances of Trisomy 18 from my age: 1 in 1400
Chances of Trisomy 18 from the tests + the age calculation: 1 in 10,000
Chances of Neural Tube defects: 1 in 2000 (Considered low risk - Not based on age)
The interesting thing about all of these tests is that they don't rule out that the baby could have any of these problems - just calculates their likelihood of occurring in this pregnancy. These tests are a bit controversial in how accurate they are considered to be. They do have a 5% false positive rate and a varying level of accuracy in their detection rate (I have between 60 - 80 % detection rate for Downs). So - we are not totally out of the woods but something tells me these things are not what I need to worry about with this pregnancy so I am not going to!
Dr. Plotnick was also worried about my AFP level. He told me that a high AFP level could indicate that their is a problem with the placenta. At this early stage of the pregnancy that would be very worrisome.
The interesting thing is that I turned these screening tests down with Jac. In California an OB is required by law to offer the tests (and I felt like I was really being forced to have them). We decided that we would not have them (mostly me). I wonder now if Jac's IUGR would have been caught a bit sooner (due to an elevated AFP level) if I had not turned down the screening. Hmmm... No way to know!
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