Freaking out over abnormal AFP test please help!

[nvrgiveuplove2]

Hello everyone,

 

I am 20 weeks pregnant and I just had the AFP test done about 2 weeks ago. I went to my 20 week ultrasound on Monday and the tech said that everything looks perfectly fine.

 

I just got a call from my doctors office this morning telling me that the AFP test had come back abnormal. I went in to see my doctor and they said that I have a 1/13 chance of having a down syndrome baby that the other three tests came back normal.

 

She said that I going to need to go to genetic counseling so that I can decide whether or not I want an amniocentesis. She said that since the ultrasound was good that, that was also a good sign.

 

I am freaking out and I do not know what to do or even feel at this moment.

I have read that an amniocentesis can be pretty risk and that risk of having a miscarriage is greater than actually having a baby born with down syndrome.

 

I feel so scared and sad right now. Please help!

[Seraphim]

These tests can be wrong and I have seen them be wrong. Even if it is Down's Syndrome it is not the end of the world.I have a cousin with Down's and he is a great kid and very loving (well he is 26 now, but still a kid to me) There is also different degrees of severity of the condition. Research Down's well and get to know the condition on the off chance that the test is right. I know it seems horrible at the moment, but I can assure you even if your baby is not "perfect" you will love them all the same anyway and do what you have to do for them to succeed to their best ability.

[BellaDonna]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I know several people that were scared because of that test, and after amnio it turned out that everything was actually fine.

 

I would especially not jump to conclusions because you are 23 and not in the typical risk pool for having a child with Trisomy 21. They also said that your ultrasound looked fine, but usually there would be some soft markers, especially with the heart. If your conception dates are wrong then that could also influence the results. link removed

 

The controversy in these tests lies in many places. One of which is the accuracy of the screenings. While some claim that they have only a 5% "false positive" rate, most research finds that there are 80+% rate of positive tests while the baby is unaffected. The false positive rates depend on many factors, including appropriate gestational age, maternal age, weight and the presence of diabetes

 

One of the reasons I would suggest the amnio is that it will give you a definite answer- (stress is not good for a pregnancy either) If the baby does have Down's Syndrome it is better to know it beforehand so that the right specialists and support can be put in place before the baby is born.