Trisomy 18

[Tamster69]

I was wondering if anyone knows much about an increased risk and having Trisomy 18 would mean..??  I have done a bit of research... ALL NOT GOOD...  I opted for the triple screening instead of the anmio and the nurse called today and said that I have an increased risk of having a baby with Trisomy 18......  I can not get into to see my doctor until Monday and was hoping that someone could give me some good news.  Thank you..

[Luckejem]

Trisomy 21 is the technical term for "Downs Syndrome", meaning the baby will have some learning disabilities, birth defects and mild mental retardation. As to the doctor saying you have a increase risk, you need to find out exactly what he means by that. He could simply being going by your age and not what was tested, as the guideline for the increase starts at age 35. Amnio is the best predictor but also creates a risk for going into preterm labor. Please know, that these test are not always accurate, I work in the mental health field serving people with Downs syndrome, and other disbailities. While speaking with their families, I learned that some of the them knew their baby was going to have a disibility while other did not, with testing.      

I was preganant until two weeks ago, lost our son at 18 weeks. I screened for the test and all came back normal and fine, was worried, but made the decision of keeping the baby if anything was wrong as I know  these special babies grow up happy and  learn to live productive lives.  We lost the the baby at almost five months pregnant  and still don't know why.(probable abnormality)  I am not sure if this is the information you wanted, but I understand the constant worry and wanted to be honest with you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if need be, I am here for you , I am sure everything is fine... : )

[adgal]

Hey cuz.  You need to ask exactly what an increased risk means.  So many of these tests come back like that, and the reality is, most of the time everything is just fine.  In all honesty amnio is the only way to know for sure, but right now the best thing for you to do is find out exactly what they mean by "increased risk".  It could mean 1 in 100 or 1 in 10, know what I mean?  Then decide whether or not you want to proceed with amnio.  I am going to call you right now.  Love you hon, and try not to worry ok.  I'm sure all is fine.