Prenatal Screening Tests

Visit to Dr. Khawli at St. E.'s on Wednesday, April 22nd. Dr. Khawli specializes in high risk pregnancies. My sister, Tara, came with me, which made me feel good because I'm pretty nervous about everything. They pricked my finger and took my blood. I just can't imagine how Frank as a diabetic does this multiple times daily because it hurt. They also did a non-invasive (thank God!) ultrasound. They took many pictures and measurements of the baby. This is part of the prenatal screening to see if the baby is more likely to have Down's Syndrome or another genetic disorder. The nurse told me that they will call me to let me know if my baby is in the higher percentage to have a genetic disorder. The doctor will call if we're in the higher percentage, the nurse will call if there's nothing to worry about. The doctor said that we will most likely be in the higher percentage because of my age. One good thing is that the baby had a nasal bone, which, according to the doctor, most Down's babies do not have. Do we go on with the testing after this? The doctor pointed out that these tests are 90% accurate. The only way to know 100% if the baby has a genetic disorder is to have an amniocentesis performed. There is a small risk of miscarriage if you have an amniocentesis. If these tests show that the baby is at high risk, we will have to make the decision whether or not to get an amnio. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I found a good article explaining prenatal screening tests: http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/prenatal-testing/PR00014/METHOD=print