Did You Choose To Get Prenatal Tests?

April 18, 2008

It's important for pregnant women to attend routine medical check-ups to make sure everything is alright with both mama-to-be and babe.

But when it comes to prenatal testing, some expectant moms undergo extensive tests so they are aware of what's going on with their child while others choose to let their bump be until delivery.

When it came to screening for maternal and fetal health problems, what did you do?
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19 Comments

aramsey246 5 years 4 weeks

My Dr's did all tests.. Some I never thought of!

Pencils 5 years 4 weeks

Right now I'm sitting at home on bed rest after my amnio yesterday. Because I'm high risk for a couple of reasons, I was ordered two days of bed rest. As I'm 41, my OBs encouraged me to get the amnio, but I would have pushed for it anyway. My ethics would not allow me to bring a child into this world just to suffer. I've seen it happen with my best friend's child. (She was young and didn't have any testing until things went wrong late in her pregnancy.) Also, if our baby has lesser problems, we need to know so that we can be prepared. Yes, an amnio has risks, but so do many other things in pregnancy. I didn't have any of the normal side effects, no cramping or spotting, so I think I'm going to be fine. Now I just have to wait for the results! The amnio really wasn't that bad. It hurt a little, and I made sure NOT to look at what the doctor was doing. My husband said he was pretty concerned when the doctor stuck the huge needle in me, though! But he's a tough guy and didn't say anything. They had him sit down before we started because some husbands faint! But not mine. ;)

mf 5 years 4 weeks

after 8 years of nightmare scenarios too numerous to mention, now that we're pregnant, the only tests we didn't do were the amnio or cvs even though the docs recommended it. if i didn't need to know, they'd live without knowing too. it's not as though there's any treatment or support they can offer you upon diagnosis. after our history, if we had suffered as miscarriage as a result of amnio, i wouldn't have been able to live with myself. we have some soft markers for downs, but i don't want to threaten the pregnancy in anyway.

Greggie 5 years 4 weeks

I had the ultrasound and the Glucose Tolerance Test. That's as far as I personally am willing to take it. But I can't vote no, because it's not because I don't believe in them. I think they're great for those who want them, we just didn't want them. Also the first option scares me. Doctors cannot order you to do the testing. It's unfortunate that some try to pretend they can and scare patients into doing it.

AnnaLove 5 years 4 weeks

My doctor also found the "soft markers" for Down Syndrome in my ultrasound. I ended up doing the Amnio, which came back positive for Down's :(. But I'm glad because now we have more time to study up and prepare.

Jennifer777 5 years 4 weeks

I did the Ashkenazi Jewish Panel (hubby is Jewish, I am not but my grandfather was Cajun and so may have some Jewish descent.) I did not have tests done for Down Syndrom or Fragile X as it doesn't matter to me. I have had ultrasounds, other then that so far @ 22 weeks my doctors appointments consist of weight and heartbeat checks...

Dbtabm 5 years 4 weeks

I said no to the amnio because I'm under 30, if I was older it might have been more of an issue. But honestly, nothing they found wrong with my baby would keep me from having her so I didn't really see the point. Now if my doctor told me that they'd be able to help the baby if they saw something that would be another matter.

DesignRchic 5 years 4 weeks

I too said no to the Amnio test. During my 18th week, they found calcium deposits on our baby's heart. Now if you do research on this 1 in 10 baby's have it but that doesn't mean that there's a problem. It's just a marker for downs. We didn't have any other markers that would indicate concern so we opted not to do other tests. We felt like we were going to get the cards we're dealt with. Abortion wasn't an option. Another thing that drives me batty is that most of the tests are notorious for giving false positives, only causing more anxiety to the mother.

schnappycat 5 years 4 weeks

I hope it is all ok, jtlmetzger. That has to be an anxious wait for you.

jtlmetzger 5 years 4 weeks

I just had the cvs test done last Friday due to abnormal results from my first trimester screen. We're still waiting for the results, which is so frustrating.

abqmama 5 years 4 weeks

I didn't want any of the special tests, just the normal bloodwork and two ultrasounds. Most of the other tests have are not even very accurate and I wouldn't have terminated the pregnancy based on the outcome anyway, so I didn't feel the need to do them.

Kimpossible 5 years 4 weeks

oh sorry, I also had the ultrasounds done but I didn't really see those as "tests".

Kimpossible 5 years 4 weeks

I had the usual blood work tests done but nothing else, that was with all 4 of my babies.

dmpls83 5 years 4 weeks

i had the normal stuff and got abnormal results on my Triple Screen and after some research i learned that the Triple Screen has a big false-negative percentage, (as well as a lot of false-positives). i was still too scared to do the amnio, i mean i knew i wouldn't abort either way, all in all, i think if i had to do it all over again, i'd do it the same way...

schnappycat 5 years 4 weeks

I should also say that since I did IVF and had already gone through so much, my regular OB (after I "graduated" from the fertility specialist) didn't want to torture me any more than she had to, so I didn't even have one internal exam (except the Group B test) until I was in labor. She felt there was no need to check my progress for weeks (she said I'd know when I was in labor) and I certainly didn't miss them. So after 20 weeks, all I did was get weighed, measured, and heard the heartbeat.

schnappycat 5 years 4 weeks

I also didn't opt to do CVS or amnio, but had the other recommended blood screens (Down marker, neural tube, etc.) and several early ultrasounds, including the more comprehensive 12-week one at a specialist. Although, strangely I never had a growth ultrasound at the end of my pregnancy. I guess my Dr. doesn't normally do those.

anniekim 5 years 4 weeks

faery--after reading your post I had to look up the CVS test--I hadn't heard of it. It was never suggested to me, but I think I'd say no to that, as well.

anniekim 5 years 4 weeks

I said no to the amnio--but had pretty much all the other recommended tests.

faerymagick15 5 years 4 weeks

With my history of miscarriage the only tests I wouldn't have done are the amnio and the CVS. I am too scared of having another miscarriage. Regardless of the outcome...I wouldn't abort anyway.

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