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Worried - can't sleep

Morning ladies. Hope everyone is well.
OK - so I have posted about this before but it just wont get out of my head. When I had 12 wk scan they measured the neck fold and took bloods. A week later I received a letter in the post saying that for my age I was 1:990 which is standard for anyone who is 29. Then for my individual result which is the combination of age, measurement and blood markers, it went to 1:1800. Since receiving this info, all I seem to hear is that everyone else has an individual result of a lot lower risk - by this I mean say 1:10,000 etc. I know they say anything below 1:250 is considered high risk and so 1:1800 is far from that, but why do I have this and others have a much greater second number, hence making their risk that much less than mine.
I am now terrified. I am seeing Dr on Wednesday for 16 wk check up so will hopefully get more info then, but in the mean while I am so scared. I know the only way to find out for sure is with CVS or Amnio but there is a risk carried with that. Apparently there is a second trimester test they can do and once combined with the first trimester results, give 96% accuracy, but only 2 hospitals in London offer this for free and it is not mine so if we went down this route we would have to pay. I don't mind this but I think the frustration of it all is not understanding how they come up with the ratios and why 1800 and not 18,000?
Can anyone help?? Anyone else feeling the same?
xx

Replies

  • Hi, I felt like this after my nuchal scan - my risk is 1 in 1400, which is obviously classed as 'low' but I wondered why it was so much of a higher risk than others I had talked to. (I'm 28) Still don't know why, but had my 20 week scan fine and there weren't any prob.s with the heart etc. which I know can also indicate Down's so I've decided to stop worrying about it now. The stats seem really random, though, don't they? Hope your doc can reassure you.

    M x
  • Hi Little Toad, hope youre ok, I do sympathize with you as me and hubbie have agonised over deciding whether to have the Downs tests or not. Weve decided against it as like you Id just worry whatever.

    My MW actually said to me think long and hard before you have the tests as they do cause so much worry. Too much no conclusive knowledge can be so harmful.

    I decided that in the end if it was a downs baby we would just cope because when it arrived it would be our baby either way.

    I know you are really worried but your stats are fine and even those high risk people with 1:250 still have perfectly healthy babies. Try not to worry, this is such a lovely time of your life, its a shame to spoil it.

    Cxx
  • If it goes anyway to easing your mind, i just wanted to let you know my mums results when she was pregnant with my little brother, she was 39 when she fell pregnant and with her tests, the result came back at 1:150, so high risk, and she did decide to go on and have the amniocentesis (3 times, coz they kept messing it up) and he was fine, my mum kept trying to rationalize it by thinking if you put 149 white ping pong balls (i don't know why she thought of ping pong balls?!?) in a bag with just one black ping pong ball, what are the chances of you picking out the one black one, so in your terms, thinking 1799 white and one black, it's very highly unlikely, it's normal to worry but please try to enjoy this time, before long they're toddlers and running you ragged! (trust me!)
  • Hi LT, try not to worry yourself too much, the blood tests are notorious for not being overly accurate, my mw told me of lots of ladies who had high risk scores and had perfectly healthy babies, and one girl who had a 1 in like 20,000 score and still had a baby with Downs...we decided for my sanity not to have the tests, esp as our hospital scanner machine didn't do the nuchal scan at 12 week scan anyway so I knew we'd have to just go by the tests. My best friend had a high risk score - just - decided against amnio etc, and had a lovely baby girl 2 weeks ago who is perfect.
    Hope your doc can help on Weds but try to relax as getting stressed isn't good for you or the baby, maybe have a massage/ a girlie shopping trip etc to try to take your mind off it.
    Ames x
    22+5
  • Oh, poor you! But as everyone else says, do try not to worry. You really are low risk relatively speaking.

    As far as the difference in ratios in concerned, my guess is that it has something to do with you having both blood and nuchal fold tests. I only had blood tests done and came back with a 1:10,000 chance (despite being slightly older than you are). BUT the triple test is slightly less accurate than the nuchal scan. My guess is that having both gives them that much more information to work with, which means more 'soft' risk factors may be evident, hence a lower ratio. By comparison, I could have just as much risk as you, but they simply don't have enough information to alert me to the fact because I have undergone fewer tests. Given that your risk factor fell with additional information, my guess is that you have very little to worry about. But definitely see if you doctor can put your mind at rest. You don't want to be worrying about it throughout the pregnancy!
  • Thank you Ladies, for all your replies! The funny thing is that if it were anyone else posting my message on here, I would be saying what you are all saying so I need to just be rational about the whole thing! The ping pong ball is a good story and makes sense! xx
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