Thursday, May 01, 2008

AFP Test (Pregnancy Related)

I had the AFP test done a week ago for the pregnancy and the results came back in. The doctor called me this morning and discussed the results with me. Everything came back normal except the Down Syndrome levels came back at a higher risk of 1:168. My cut off should have been 1:270 for my age. He is sending us to a genetic counselor tomorrow at 11 am and I'm booked for a Level II u/s tomorrow also at 1:00 pm.

Any stories or hope you can give me would be great. I'm very nervous and upset over this. I don't share much about my pregnancy here, but on the other blog. I am today because I need to hear stories and hear outcomes. I've googled all I can google and talked to as many Moms with experiences of false positives as I had in my roledex. I'm just tired now and need some reassurance...Thanks!

9 comments:

Kristin-Mom to 4 boys and 1 precious girl said...

My sister had the same problem and her baby boy was very healthy and did not have down's or anything.
I will keep you in my prayers

Stephanie said...

Hi Aimee - I know you from J05, long time no chat. I went through this with Brooke - false positive on Down Syndrome and I had the amnio and everything came out fine. It's very very common and I understand your panic, I will never forget those days in between the test result and our conversation with the genetic counselor. For what it's worth, talking to him made us feel almost 100% better about our risk but we went through with the amnio because we were already scheduled for it and I wanted to be SURE otherwise I knew I'd panic for the rest of my pregnancy. Please email me if you want to talk... I know what you're going through.

andria said...

A false positive is very, very common. Almost everyone I know who has had the AFP done has had a false positive at one time or other. My OB told me that your chances of a FP increase with age too. Since I started out pretty old having my kids, I never had it done because I knew I would worry myself to death over it.

My sister got something like 1:36 with hers and her daughter does not have DS.

Good luck with the ultrasound, try not to worry too much about it.

Mindi said...

i have no stories to relate--however, i can give support and love and comfort--we are all routin' for you!!!!

{hugs}

Jess said...

I hear that the false positive rate is quite high with the AFP which is why so many women decline the test. Hang in there, I'm thinking positive thoughts for you!

Kristi said...

I am praying for you and the baby, Aimee.

Amy said...

I know people are using the term "false positive" but this is not the case at all. The AFP cannot tell you whether or not you will have a child with a genetic defect, only that your chances of having one are higher or lower than would be expected for someone your age. A 1:168 number, although higher than expected for someone your age, is not horrible by any means. The chances are still extremely good that your child will be just fine. When you have your level II u/s, the technician will be looking for other markers than can indicate a child has Down Syndrome. If the markers aren't there, you can be pretty darn confident that your child is fine. The only way to determine with 100% accuracy if a child does indeed have a chromosomal problem is to do an amnio but if the u/s doesn't show any markers, there really wouldn't be a reason to take this step.

As for a story with a good outcome, my own AFP was 1:90. I was 33 at the time. I ended up having an amnio (this was 5 years ago and the level II ultrasounds weren't as routine) and had to wait 12 days for results. But, in the end, my baby was fine and he is now an extremely energetic 4 year old who makes me crazy at times but who doesn't have any chromosomal abnormalities!

Take care and keep us posted!

tiburon said...

Hey lover - I hope that everything is great. Please call me if you need to chat :)

liz smith said...

I never took the AFP because of the predictive value of the test. Its a screening which means that they to make the cut-offs at a point that they don't miss anything.

I know so many people who have had false positives with nothing wrong.

I have been through genetic counceling because my first only had one kidney. They were worried about a ton of other genetic issues but it ended up being just one lone kidney. She's 15 and other than not turning in her homework, she is great!