spina bifida elevated chance

On Monday my doctor did a blood test "for downs syndrome" I did this already in 1st trimester and all was fine so I was not worried and went with the flow. Apparently now I see (google) that its part two of that test ..AFP? It was a blood test. I am now 17 weeks. Today Dr called all was fine except my spina bifida number was higher chance. 1 in 400 where he said normal is 1 in 1000. He asked me to come in for second blood test, I went right there. He said to call him Monday for results. I am one of the first to say and know these chance test are false positives and 1 in 400 is a great odd still.. but I am so nervous. I work with folks with downs syndrome, I don't know much about spina bifida and from what I read it scares me. I think I would handle downs syndrome elevated risk better I think.. and thought thats all I was testing for so I guess thats also why I am a bit in shock.. I just wasn'
t expecting this news.

experience or reassurance appreciated - Thanks

Message edited 8/25/2011 6:45:52 PM.

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

My sil came back with similiar results, and there was also another issue (im blank and cant remember), anyhoo the drs rec her terminate the pg. She refused. Went for more tests, all came back clear. My neice is 7 and doing fabulous with her girly self. Dont stress to much, unless you have to. Thats not healthey either. Wait until you have all tests done, and take deep breathes. Good luck.

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

My results came back with the same results. I had my AFP test done at 15 weeks and my dr recommended me waiting until 17wks to re-do the blood work. It was the worst 2 weeks of my life..I totally know what you are going through! They were able to tell weeks later in the growth sono that everything was fine. DD is 21 months and perfectly fine. Do not stress out..FM me if you want

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

1. it's still only a 1/4% chance!

2. spina bifida is not as black and white. Some people have a hole that is not complete and you would never know (eg John Mellencamp)

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

I'm doing this blood test also in a few weeks, I think around 17 weeks and then I go for a sono at 19 weeks and between the blood test results which the doctor will already have and the ultrasound the doctor will give me odds again. He did mention Spina Bifidia during this part of testing as well as Downs again. I do remember him saying that sometimes the blood results can come back off even if everything is okay.

Do you have another sonogram schedule? At around 20 weeks?

Try not to worry too much (I know so much easier said than done). It is still a very low chance and more than likely everything is fine.

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

like the other posters said, chances are still very favorable...I'm sure you are very anxious and I hope the next test brings some relief

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

My sister tested for a 1 in 32 chance and Dr wanted her to have the amnio which she declined. He was encouraging termination which she would never have done regardless. She decided to have no further testing and delivered a beautiful healthy baby girl! There are alot of false positives from what I understand with this. If you are spotting, that can give a greater chance of the results being inaccurrate.

Re: spina bifida elevated chance

Something similar happened to me with my first pregnancy. They did a sono to check DS's spine and to look for any possible indications of spina bifida. They saw no problems and assured me that those tests aren't always accurate. Good luck!