Whitney Houston's Final Performance (VIDEO)
Funny Valentine's Day Poems to Give Your Kids
Modamily Site Helps You Find Someone to Have a Baby With
Perfect Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
‘No Child Left Behind’ Screeches to a Halt
Brave Girl Won't Let Rare Disease Steal Her Childhood (VIDEO)
Pink Ribbons Hide the Real Truth About Breast Cancer
Would You Wear These Fang Shoes?!
Mom Delivers 15.5 Pound Baby Boy (VIDEO)
Heart Cookie Pops Perfect for Valentine's Day
Obama's Marshmallow Fight at the White House (VIDEO)
7 Things You Can Do Right Now to Prevent Cancer
Beyonce Trademarks 'Blue Ivy' & Starts a Celebrity Trend
5 Great Gifts for Your Techie Valentine
Angelina & Brad Are Letting Maddox Do What?!
Photo by wntg1grl
Week 22
My husband and I met with a genetic counselor. She was a wonderful dose of information. So glad that we went. First she discussed the "positive" result.
This can be misleading. It just means that my risk is higher than the average. This in no way means either of my twins HAS Down syndrome, but that with all of the factors considered (i.e. -- my age, AFP levels, and gestational age) that my risk is one in 91 for Down. If my risk was above 1 in 200, my results would have been considered "negative."
Women have negative results with Down babies, and women have positive results with babies without Down syndrome. They offer an amniocentesis to confirm or deny the presence of that one cell with the two 21st chromosomes instead of one, but the amnio carries its own risks. Risks I am not interested in taking.
To have an amnio done for the AFP, you must have it done before the 24th week. They do this so that if one is interested in terminating the pregnancy, it would be within the legal time limits. This in itself was a surprise ... some women do elect to do this. Needless to say my husband and I agree that the amnio isn't for us. There is a high risk of miscarriage, early labor, infection, and the list goes on!
They did do a sonogram to measure and look for a few soft signs of Down. We didn't have any of these signs, which include a calcification spot on the heart, abnormal bone structure (facial), the nuchal space, and abnormal bone length (arm and leg are measured). My little girls measured just right, with none of the soft markers they were looking for.
My husband and I are not worried at this point. Worry won't help anything and it's unhealthy. It was great for my husband to see the ultrasound again. The last time he was there I was only 12 weeks ... what a difference!!!
Now, at each appointment with my OB and the perinatologist, I'll receive a cervical exam. So far so good. My cervix has not shortened at all. This is usually done with a vaginal ultrasound.
Other than that appointment, the week has been pretty uneventful. The whole family has caught the sniffles (a bonus of public school!) but we are all getting over it fine.
What's Happening with Babies:
We're about 11 inches long and weigh about a pound. Our eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and fingernails cover our cute little fingertips. We can hear our brothers talking and yelling, too. Boy, they loud sometimes.
Question of the Week from Answers:
A friend of mine had her 20-week ultrasound; there is a spot on the heart and the nose is underdeveloped -- two markers for Down syndrome. Is an ultrasound really a good indicator? -- cristie1276
MunchiesMom324: My middle child had two "soft markers" for DS -- cysts in his brain and an enlarged ureter. Just to calm my fears I opted for the amnio, I'm pro-life, so I wouldn't have terminated anyway, but I wanted to be prepared in case I did have a child with DS. He turned out fine!
Past Weeks:
Comments (1)
This is why I refuse to do any of those tests. I got the same type of result with my first, decided the same as you, not to risk the amnio, and instead worried the whole pregnancy. And my son was fine. Now, the only test I do is the 20 week ultrasound.