Prenatal Screenings :(

PanteraGirl

Hi all, I'm new here!!

I'm currently 17 weeks pregnant and stressed. My doctor goofed and I am now too late for my second prenatal screening. IPS 2 they call it. He sent me for the blood test but not the ultra sound...then the lab lost my blood results and no record of me being there at all. So now I have no blood results or ultrasound. And now I'm too late and have to take a less detailed test they stopped doing two years ago.

This is my first pregnancy and I'm learning as I go. I thought I asked all the right questions and now here I am feeling like its totally my fault because I trusted a doctors word and didn't read up about it. I feel like I should have trusted my gut instinct the first time I thought he didn't know what he was talking about and I didn't. He also didn't tell me about what it was to have RH - blood. Stressed me out reading about it on the internet.The only reason I have been going to him is because there was no sooner openings to an OBGYN whom I have an appt with in July.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else? I'm lost for words...this was a pretty important test. I also thought I would share this experience for those who are early on.....please make sure you write EVERYTHING your doctor says down...and double check test dates to make sure you are not too early or too late. The only thing I did right was take notes during my appts of what he was telling me to do.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!. :flowerforyou:

questionablemethods

I'm sorry that you weren't able to get the screenings you wanted. Thank you for your warning. I am high risk myself due to a fairly rare uterine anomalie, so I've been doing a ton of my own research since most doctors don't even have a lot of experience with it. I've already stumped my OB with a few of my "hard-hitting" (as she called them) questions. I don't think a lot of doctors are used to having people push back or question them, but it is just my nature.

Relatedly, I'm actually not getting any of the prenatal screenings. I know that I don't want an amnio or a CVS, so, while knowing that my odds are good would help me, finding out that they are bad would really stress me out. I can't imagine terminating unless of an extreme case, so I will just have to take my chances.

PanteraGirl

Sorry to hear about your rare condition. That is pretty stressful to deal with but you are definitely doing the right thing if you are stumping your OB! Good for you!

See the reason I wanted the testing was because we don't know my SO's family history. I also thought the screening was so that they could fix or prevent something. I think I need to do some more research. Termination was definitely not on my mind for when I wanted the test. The problem with my doctor is he is never clear with his explanations and talking to him is like pulling teeth.

questionablemethods

Sorry to hear about your rare condition. That is pretty stressful to deal with but you are definitely doing the right thing if you are stumping your OB! Good for you!

See the reason I wanted the testing was because we don't know my SO's family history. I also thought the screening was so that they could fix or prevent something. I think I need to do some more research. Termination was definitely not on my mind for when I wanted the test. The problem with my doctor is he is never clear with his explanations and talking to him is like pulling teeth.

We might be talking about different screening tests, but the ones I am familiar with (besides amnio and CVS, which carry a [small] risk of miscarriage) don't give a "yes" or "no" type of answer--they just give you an odds ratio. So, the best case scenario is finding out that your odds are "normal for your age" or even "better than normal for your age." Worst case scenario, is that you find our that your odds are worse than expected for your age for whatever issue. But then you can't know for sure without further testing and that further testing carries with it a small risk of miscarriage. I personally wonder if that risk of miscarriage might be higher for me given my uterine issues, so it just isn't something I would risk--especially since the baby might be perfectly healthy anyway.

However, the nurse practitioner I saw for my first appointment pushed these screenings HEAVILY. She just didn't seem to be hearing me when I said "I don't want to do them. I don't know what I would do with the information so I don't want to do it." However, I spoke with a genetics counselor and she completely understood that if I didn't know what I would do with the info, then they aren't necessary.

The nurse practitioner did say that the results could "inform my prenatal care" but she was really unable to give me more specifics, so I wasn't terribly convinced that the added stress would be worth it.

Edit: At least this is my understanding from the reading I've done. :happy:

cutmd

The first trimester screen is for down's syndrome, trisomy 18, and spina bifida (incomplete spinal column). None of them are really familial. If you are not interested in terminating then you are ok because the 20 week ultrasound (make sure you get it!) is an anatomy scan that looks for all types of abnormalities, including treatable ones or ones that should be monitored. The range is 18-22weeks.

This isn't going to sound good, but you should know that there was a couple whose screening was wrong for down's and they sued for wrongful birth. Ended up being awarded a lot of money. Chances are you'll be fine but you do have recourse in the worst case scenario