Triple Screen Test

I had was told that I had abnormal levels on the quad screen and needed the Level 2 Ultrasound. We worried for 3 weeks between the time of the test results and the ultrasound appt. Everything turned out to be fine. In fact the baby gave us the thumbs up sign from in the womb as if to say "I am doing just fine Mom!"

1 mom found this helpful

With my first child, the triple screen came back abnormal and the ultrasound showed cysts around the brain. They also thought the heart was not formed right. We were told that there was a very good chance our daugther had Downs or Trisomy 18. Thankfully, our OB gave us really great advice. He told us that sometimes science is ahead of us and we can't always be sure of what we are finding. He also told us that since there was nothing they could do to change what might be wrong with our daughter, we should consider not having the amnio unless we would terminate the pregnancy. He thought the risks to the baby were not worth it.

When my daughter was born at 32 weeks, they could tell us that she didn't have Downs or Trisomy 18 but the cysts were still present and she would have preemie issues. At six months we were sent for an MRI because of sudden, rapid head growth. Turns out she is just a big headed kid who takes after both her parents. The cysts were still present but the neurologist was not concerned because they were decreasing in size.

Today, she is a healthy, happy eight year old who is a great kid. Her teacher calls her "the total package". She is bright, cute and very kind. I thank God every day for her and tell her all the time that she is my miracle. I don't regret the months of not knowing because I have her with me everyday.

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/ta7038.asp?navb...

Here is a link to information regarding the triple screen test. I hope that you will find it useful in helping your friend.
I am of the opinion that you should never cross a bridge until you come to it. With a pregnancy all kinds of things go through a mom-to-be's head. Everything that can go wrong. In the end...even if there are problems the child will be loved and adored by all in the family.
It is jut my opinion that those who decide about having or not having a child based on a probability of a defect, shouldn't have children at all. This may seem harsh, but think about it none of us are perfect. We weren't ment to be. God gives special Children to the parents he knows will love them most. If God is not in your belief system then whatever diety you take solace & in gives you children is the same way.
Just be there for your friend you have information in your hands with this link that may make her worry more or may set her mind at ease, you know her best. Do with it what you feel is best.
I hope this helps you some.
On a side note, My,now 17 year old, son was stillborn and they brought him back to life. I was told that as he grew he might be mentally retarded. Well, guess what...he has a genius IQ gets straight A's in school and is a member of Mensa. If that is mental retardation, Bring it on. It is a handicap don't get me wrong. He gets bored easily especially in school...but he lets the teachers know and they give him extra work...this satisfies him.

So, as I said, everything works itself out for the best in the end.

Have faith and I hope I helped you a little,

J.

E.,
there are a lot of false negative tests. a friend of mine had that test return as abnormal and they told her the baby could possibly have down syndrome. they recommended amnio. she didn't do it as there are a lot of risks involved with the amnio test. the baby was born on time and well and he is a thriving one year old. no down syndrome.
so, this exampe is just to put your mind at ease.
vlora

Her doctor is right. There are a lot of false positives with triple screens. That's really all you can tell her. So she might be stressing for nothing. I guess just be there and let her vent her fears.

HI MY ALWAYS RIGHT.NAME IS A. I NO FROM EXSPERIENCE THAT TEST ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT. I AM 24 YEARS OLD AND MARRIED WELL WHEN WE THOUGHT WE WERE PREGNENT WITH MY FIRST I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT 5 HOME PRGNANCEY TEST CAME BACK NEGITIVE WE WERE NOT PREGNENT AND BY THIS TIME I WAS 2 OR THREE MONTHS PREGNENT STILL NOT SHOWING JUST FEELING REALLY SICK SO I CALLED THE DR AND HE SENT ME FOR A BLOOD TEST CAME BACK NEGITIVE. SENT ME FOR A ULTRASOUND CAME BACK WE WERE PREGNENT.
I GUESS WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY IN A NUT SHELL IS TELL YOUR FRIEND NOT TO WORRY AND RELAXE SO PEOPLE CANNOT TAKE HOME PRGNACEY TEST OR BLOOD TEST TO SEE IF THEY ARE EXSPECTING OR NOT IT IS JUST HOW ARE BODYS ARE MADE BUT I AM SURE SHE WILL BE FINE AND ALL WILL WORK OUT

BEST OF LUCK
A.

I went to the OB when I thought I was 18 weeks--That week I got a call saying there was a high chance that my baby had Down's--I was so upset, I went online and learned everything I can about Down's (I only knew little about it) I even excepted the fact that this is possible. She sent me to get a ultrasound with a specialist (very high tech machines--better then any regular ultrasound machine) well come to find out I was only 16 weeks not 18--we were 2 weeks off and that is what made the test show adnormal readings because you can only take that test after 18 weeks if you do it any earlier then it throws it all off. But my daughter is completely fine and healthy as ever. Just tell her not to stress until she goes get the ultrasound because I did all the worrying for no reason and all that un-needed stress is effecting the baby. I have tons of friends that has had this same thing happen with a postive test for it to be negitive. The only thing that came out of this is that I got great ultrasound pics from the machine and I continued to see that same ultrasound DR. for the rest of the time and we got to see her heart, brain, and basically every organ and the DR. would say they all look great which eased me to know that everything is working great instead of having her and then a issue would come up that was not seen on reg. machines. So in the end it worked out. Tell her I said good luck and stay positive.

I had an abnormal triple screen with my son, and he is perfectly healthy and normal. Got the news on Thursday from the nurse at my doctor's office. She didn't know any of the details--not even which test was abnormal. Had to wait until Monday to hear from the doctor. We were very worried. Turns out it was the Downs test. We went to the specialist, got all the genetic counseling, and found out the odds were 1 in 215 for Downs (instead of the 1 in 400 that is normal for my age). Of course we were very happy to hear those odds. We had the high-level us and it showed everything was fine. None of the signs were there. So we didn't have the amnio (since the odds of misscarrying from an amnio were higher than our odds for Downs). So chances are everything is fine for your friend. I know at least 8 other people who have had false positives. One thing to note is that some doctors (most I presume) will want to follow the patient more closely when she has a positive test. Mine did. I got the stress test and the ultrasound every other week in the last trimester and then every week towards the end. The only issue I had was too much amniotic fluid, but that resolved itself. Went into labor right on my due date with a healthy baby. Good luck to your friend!

i had a false positive as well. Apparently 95% of the positives are false positives. Those test results are all based on possibilities, they're like car accident statistics, "if your x, y, and z your more likely to have __________" It can be very frustrating and time consuming. My hubby and I went through lots of meetings, ultra sounds and an amnio only to have a super healthy, happy baby. If your friend is going to be stressed the whole pregnancy she should complete other tests like the amnio or level 2 ultrasounds so it doesn't add to the stress of pregnancy, otherwise she should just relax and enjoy her new little one.

Oh, I don't know how old your friend is, but once you reach 35 (I think) every test comes back positive for a chance of downs because the percentage of having a baby with downs is higher than having a miscarriage due to an amnio. That's the way those tests work.

Both of my triple screens (current and prior pg) were normal. However, I went into them knowing that the false positives are so high that I could end up with a false positive. I am at a higher risk for spina bifida, so the fear of a positive, false or not is very real to me.

The high definition ultrasound (probably a Level II) just gives them a better look at the baby. I had one done with my son. Odds are the baby is probably fine. They can rule out alot of things during the ultrasound with a good deal of certainty (Downs Syndrome, Trisonomy, Spina Bifida). The actual percentage of people who get a positive on the triple screen who go on to have a baby with a disability is very, very small. I would just reassure your friend the best you can and if they do see something on u/s, just be there for her. It sounds like you are a great friend!
-H.

My best friend was told after her triple screen that there was a 40% chance her baby had downs syndrome and after an amnio and 3 weeks of waiting she found out her daughter was fine. I have 5 children and have opted never to have the triple screen done since there are so many false positives and if there is ever a true positive, there is absolutely nothing they can do to help your baby while it is still in the womb and I do not want the stress of wondering since the tests are not 100% so I figure if there ever was a problem we would deal with it when the baby was born.

oh that test is the worst .. i got a false positive that told me my son would not live more than six weeks if he made it thru the nine months.. He is a happy healthy 7 yr old now.. there are tons of false positives in that test.. tell her to get the ultrasound and if they want to do an amnio tell her to ask what the percentages are that soemthing could really be wrong.. an amnio causes miscarriages in 1 in 200.. if these chances out way the chances of something being wrong just put it in gods hands. oh and tell her to enjoy the ultrasound she will get to see very clear pictures of her baby's features

Downs Syndrome runs on my husbands side of the family, so that was a huge scare for me from the get go. I had the TST done, and it did come back abnormal. I freaked!!!!!!! I did not go aheah with the Amnio test, as it scared me even more. I knew no matter what happened I was keeping my baby. I delieverd a healthy baby girl, and did I say,"Perfect". Tell your friend that she should have whatever test she needs to have done in order for her to feel secure.

My sis in-law got a false positive. She went & had a bunch of tests done it all came back normal.

When I was 21 and pregnant with my second, I had abnormal results, high levels of whatever indicates spina bifida. After many MANY ultrasounds, it seemed to be a false positive. I gave birth several months later to a premie, who was extremly healthy. He did have an enlongated spinal cord, but that had nothing to do with the the abnormal results, and isn't a problem.

I've known A LOT of people that have had abnormal triple screens that had perfectly healthy babies! Dont worry, everything is probably fine.

my sister had this done and hers came back abnormal. Her OB told her there are ALOT of false positives with the triple screen. They then scheduled her for a level 2 ultrasound, my sister was a nervous nelly and everything came back PERFECT, all except that they had her due date wrong and that her OB measured the baby wrong so all in all they did the triple screen at the wrong week. She is due in less than 2 weeks :)

I just got this test done 2 weeks ago, and 2 days b4 i was supposed to go in for my regular ultrasound , i got a call from the doctor saying my blood test was abnormal. so i went in for a high def. ultrasound and turns out my due date was wrong, im due in July 16, and the doctor was thinkin i was due June 6. so they obviously collected my blood way too early!.. Good luck to ur friend, i hope its just a mistake.. let us kno what happens!

When I was PG with my son my triple screen came back abnormal for neurotube defects. I was freaking out. Especially since I thought i was leaking fluid and that was the only reason I was told. They didnt want me to find out at the hospital.I went in for an ultrasound and the baby was fine. The doctor said I had what he called a leaky placenta. The baby and I was passing things through the placenta to each other. I was watched carefully, even though I was high risk from conception. I had preeclampsia with my daughter(my 1st pg) and with my son i was automatcially deamed High risk. My husband and I was freaking out over it. We was told that with neurotube defects that our son may never walk and even after the ultrasound and additional tests where done and came back normal we was worried. I even made sure the doctor reexamined my son at birth. I was like he is able to move his legs right and the pediatrican was like yes why>? I explained what happened during pregnancy and he re examined him with me right there. I was still scared until my son took his first steps. I know how worried they must be but tell them to remain as calm as can be. worrying can cause problems also. Stress during pregnancy is not good for the mother or baby. Tell her good luck and everything should be fine.

Hey there,
Sounds familiar. My sister had 2 previous pregnancies and is now pregnant with her 3rd. Both of the first two came back abnormal. Also, both of the girls were absolutely fine. Tell her to try not to stress. When I was pregnant and it came time to that test, my doctor said that I could have it if I wanted, but he didn't even reccommend it because all the test tells you is the percentage of a chance that something(they can't even tell you what) could be just that....not 100% normal. Tell her not to stress too much, that can only add to the stress of the pregnancy.

Instead of being tortured wondering until the baby is born and if her insurance will pay for it, I would highly recommend having an amnio done. I know they aren't typically done unless a patient is 35 or over but if the triple screen came back abnormal the amnio would certainly clarify what the issues could be. I would push for additional testing.

Good luck.

E.,

I sure wish I'd had a friend like you when I had a false positive on my triple screen. No matter how many times you hear about false positives, it is so *scary* to think that something might be wrong with you baby before you even get to hold him/her. After the high definition ultrasound, I ended up even more worried, as the technician became concerned that my son's heart wasn't developing properly. In the end, I had a wonderfully healthy baby boy who has only a minor heart murmur that after 5 years is almost undetectable.
It's frightening to think that something might be wrong with you baby, and worse if you feel helpless to do anything to "make it better". At the time it happened to me, I was a single mom to be living very far away from all my friends and family. The best thing you can do for your friend is be a friend. Let her cry on your shoulder. Maybe go out and take a relaxing lunch or get your nails done or something fun together. Nothing will make the anxiety go away, but knowing you have friends who can sure can help. Tell your friend that lots of people who don't even know her are hoping and praying that everything turns out well for her and her baby! All that positive energy can't hurt!