A neighbor of ours is an older first-time mom, so she did an amnio to test for Down's. Tragically there were complications, and she lost the baby at six months. 
I am so devastated for her. I can't imagine what she's going through right now...
Did you (or will you) test for Down's?
pomegranate / 3053 posts
I think I would if my first trimester screening (nuchal translucency test) was suspicious... but fortunately for us all turned out well. Sorry to hear about your neighbor's situation...so devastating...
persimmon / 1135 posts
We did the initial screen (nuchal fold and blood work). Since it was fine, we didn't see any reason to do more tests.
cherry / 190 posts
We declined both the downs and the cystic fibrosis tests. We had already decided the the outcome wouldn't change our decision about our child so we didn't see any reason to do them. Unfortunately each choice comes with a risk. I'm so sorry for your neighbor's loss.
honeydew / 7968 posts
we did the nt scan, even though we knew we wouldn't do an amnio if the testing came back negative. i'd rather have a down syndrome kid than risk losing it. nothing invasive for me. unless there was something that the doctors caught saying they will die unless they do the amnio.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
We are struggling with this because we don't know what we would do with any concerning information (ie, would we have an amnio?) But, I think we are leaning towards the blood work and NT scan. Need to decide soon since I'm 9 weeks...
cherry / 182 posts
We did the NT scan, and fortunately tested with very low risk for Downs and other possible complications. That being said, if we were at high risk, we would have proceeded with the amnio and other tests. Not because we would abort the baby, but we are the type of people who like to be prepared.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
I think we would see if I am at risk and if so, we would get the tests done. We would keep the baby no matter what and just prepare ourselves for what is to come.
apricot / 464 posts
We skipped the test because we knew it wouldn't change anything for us. Also, I knew that knowing I had an increased risk would cause me a lot of extra worry.
kiwi / 718 posts
@Laneybugsmommy & ohapostrophe - same for us. we weren't going to change our minds one way or another about anything, & while I like to be prepared, I knew that I would just worry myself sick over it throughout the rest of the pregnancy.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6703 posts
We chose to do the basic testing in order for us to be potentially aware of any complications; however, we also said that regardless of what the tests found, we would keep the baby. For us, the idea was to have some preparation if something was wrong.
coconut / 8498 posts
Like several others, we decided to skip any testing. We wouldn't terminate the pregnancy if there were complications. Plus, I'm a worrier, I don't want to add to that 
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Echoing some others, I think I would've skipped the test because it wouldn't have changed our minds about keeping the baby one way or the other. So sorry to hear about your friend... that is so hard and I can't imagine what she must be going through....
nectarine / 2797 posts
We will do all non-invasive testing possible. No idea what we would do if there was something that showed up in the screening, but I'm the type that wants to be able to plan for what I can.
grape / 95 posts
I took the NT test and the results came back with "increased risk" for DS. We were mortified/scared/upset. We decided to do the CVS test. I'm a worrier and a planner. I thoroughly read as much as I could on the subject and DS is really no joke. It's a huge responsibility and I was not prepared to wait 6 more months to find out and then figure out what we were going to do. However, there is a chance of raising the risk of miscarriage whether you do the CVS or Amnio. It's really important to think it through and figure out what makes you the most comfortable. Either way, it was a very traumatic experience for us. Luckily results came back normal and we can finally sigh a bit of relief.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
I'm hoping that by the time I'm pregnant, MaterniT21 will be more commonly available to test for Downs. MaterniT21 is a new test that uses the pregnant mother's blood to detect Downs and shows a 98.6% success rate for diagnosis.
Otherwise, I'll do the initial less-invasive tests and if nothing shows up funky, I will skip the more invasive ones. Certainly I'd have to read up more on the risks of the tests and such, but for me, knowing ahead of time would be important so I can do everything I can to prepare in advance. I'm huge on researching things so I know as much as possible upfront.
coffee bean / 41 posts
We opted for the first trimester screen because we had some scary ultrasounds that had our doctor concerned. Without that initial worry, I'm not sure what we would've done, but fortunately the results turned out ok.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Well, I can update my response now...we're not. They told me about it and I decided I didn't want to. My husband said "whatever you want, dear." I guess I had to be in the situation to actually say for sure. Also, it's like $600 for the test and I have an HSA. Since there's no history in my family, we're going to not do it and leave the rest in God's hands.
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
To be able to have an ultrasound at 13 weeks here in Canada you have to test for Down Syndrome (amongst other things) and seeing it's covered (80%) but my insurance company we did it for mavi and will do it for baby deux.
honeydew / 7968 posts
i'm really glad we ended up doing the nt scan and bloodwork, which is supposed to be 95% accurate. one of our babies has an echogenic focus, which could be a marker for downs. but testing showed that everything came out normal! so hopefully, the echogenic focus will disappear on its own. i think i still wouldn't do the amnio though.
coffee bean / 25 posts
Right now, the plan for us is to do a quad screen in a couple weeks and then probably a high efficiency ultrasound anatomy scan around 20 weeks with a perinatologist. My dr said that for anyone else my age (26), she wouldn't even bring this up, but she says I'm at an increased risk for chromosomal abnormalities since my brother has Angelman's Syndrome and my husband had a cousin born with Trisomy 18. I really don't want to do an amnio though. It sounds too scary with too much risk. Like others have said, the results of the tests won't make me change my mind about this baby, but I like being prepared.
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