First Trimester Screening - Saint Paul,MN

Congrats on your pg. I am also due in July with #2, I have a 2 year old daughter. I'm sure this has already been addressed, but you need to factor in your age along with predisposition to genetic disorders to decide if you want it done. I just reviewed this as well and still have the same feelings I did with my daughter, that is wouldn't change the outcome of my pregnancy. I even decided not to do the triple screen with my daughter for the same reason. This time I might do the quad screen but realize that there are false positives. Good luck with what you decide. Oh I also wanted to add that your doctor should have offered to see you again to check the heartbeat, and if that doesn't happen I myself have rented a doppler from BellyBeats for both pg and it helps me immensely. I have had 2 prior miscarriages and having the doppler keeps me sane. It's about 25$ a month and tells you how to use it.

I would definitely do the first trimester screening. I became pregnant last year at the age of 35 and so did my friend from NY who had the same due date as me. We were both 35 and decided to do the screening which is very simple and my insurance did cover it since I was over 35. My screening went fine and actually helped me to decide NOT to have an amniocentsis or CV test because based on the results of the simple screening they could give me new probablities of having a down syndrome child etc. which were much much less than a typical 35 year old.

Unfortunately my friend from NY who also had the screening had bad results. The doctor could tell just from the ultrasound something was very wrong with the child and she decided to get the CV test (even before all the blood work came back). They found out very quickly that her child had 2 or 3 (not sure) extra chromosomes. They ended up losing the child shortly after.

In any case I think it is better to know what you are facing as soon as possible (whether or not you believe in aborting a severly disabled child that will only live minutes after birth). If the results are positive it will give you peace of mind and may help you in deciding whether or not to do further testing such as amniocentisis (which can also be dangerous to the fetus). If the results are negative or show an increased risk of problems than at least you know what you are facing.

Is this the first trimester screening that is an ultrasound? If so, then yes, I had it done. We knew we weren't going to change anything about the pregnancy even if something was wrong, but we had it done so we could prepare in the event that the baby wasn't developing normally. It was nice to have that ultrasound and see the baby, as well! If insurance doesn't cover it, then I probably wouldn't do it. There are plenty of people who never do any kind of screening (u/s or blood test) and just have the usual 20 week u/s to check the baby. Whatever you decide is fine!

Also, totally normal to not hear the heartbeat at the first appointment. Don't stress about that at all!

At 24 years old, you are at a very low risk for all of the things that a first trimester screen would look for. This test is really not recommended unless you have other factors that increase your risk...like being older (which is why a 35-year-old's insurance covers this test but a 24-year-old's doesn't). Why is it suggested at 35 and older? Because the risk of Down Syndrome at that point is about equal to the risk of harming the fetus with an amniocentesis (about 1:200)...and then as you get older your risk of Downs increases while the risk of amniocentesis stays about the same.

My advice: skip the first trimester screen and do the 18 week ultrasound (WAY better pictures for the scrapbook!) and quad screen. Chances are *strongly* in your favor that all is well...and if it is not, you still have time to terminate the pregnancy if you so choose.

The little hand held doppler units can be finicky beasts sometimes...and babies that are still really small are notorious for moving away from the the little probe. You will most likely be able to hear the heart beat at your next appointment :) I know you will keep stressing until you hear it, but it is very common to not hear the heartbeat with the doppler under about 12-13 weeks.

Best of luck! And congrats on your upcoming graduation!

*** A little about me: 27-year-old mom of a 15-month-old boy, and a full time med student (11 months to go!) Currently doing my OB/GYN rotation ***

I am 8 weeks along w/ my third and I wasn't going to do the screening until I discussed it w/ my husband and he wants to have it done. I will be scheduling it for the first week in Feb.

How are you feeling? I know I worried so much more about my second pregnancy than I did my first--don't know why. Everything was fine and my delivery was even easier than the first. As long as you are feeling OK don't stress so much. Listen to your intuition. I also trust the midwives. They seem to be better at this stuff than OB docs (IMHO). If you are that worried about not being able to hear the heartbeat, you can always purchase one of those baby sound monitors (I can't remember the name brand). I friend of mine gave me hers and it was pretty cool to hear the heartbeat outside of the doctor's office.

Good luck.

I think this really depends on your personal views on some really personal issues. I chose not to have the screens done because I would not abort my baby regardless of the test results. Apparently there are some women out there that would abort even if there was just a chance of Down's Syndrome or something else potentially "wrong". Also, and I am sure that your doctor/midwife will tell you this, but there is an extraordinarily high occurence of false positives with the screen. Amnios and other procedures that would surely follow a positive screen are extremely intrusive and can also be dangerous- potentially fatal- to the fetus. So, I guess the best thing you can do is ask yourself, if they find something that might be wrong, would you really terminate the pregnancy? That is what it came down to for me, anyway. And, as I mentioned earlier, the answer was nothing, I would still have my baby and hope for the best. Good luck to you and congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

R.