First Trimester Screening

Last week, I had my first trimester screening completed. Well, today I received a call from Dr. S' office informing me that my screening was normal. YAY!!! While the screening is not diagnostic, it provides a couple with valuable information about the risk of their baby being born with Down Syndrome and other birth defects. Such information is helpful in determining whether to go forward with more invasive diagnostic testing, such as an amnio. Even though my screening was within normal range, meaning Baby D is not believed to be at an increased risk of being born with a birth defect, many women still choose to go forward with diagnostic testing. The problem is that if the risk of a miscarriage associated with an amnio is higher than the risk of having a baby born with a birth defect, it calls into question the wisdom of having an amnio. I'm in this situation. Trevor and I are pleased with the results of the screening and have decided we do not want to proceed with the amnio. We will, however, do a second trimester screen which can detect neural tube defects such as spina bifida. The second trimester screen can also detect heart defects. Even better, the second trimester screen will give us another opportunity to see our little one!