Opinions on prenatal testing?

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Blessed with Baby #1

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What are your opinions on prenatal testing? Originally I was against it, as it is my belief that no disabiltiy would make me not want to carry this baby. We were worried this baby would never come, and feel very blessed.
I also believe this tests may bring on unneeded stress. Then my doctor said they may be a good idea because knowing might change your mind about whereI woulkd deliver, or how much time off I needed, or services I may need after delivery..
So, did toy do prenatal screening? Was it stressful? Are you glad you did it? WHat benefits did you see?
 
My first child had a hole in her heart that we didn't find out about until after she was born. If we had known, we could've researched about her condition beforehand. We also would've known that me trying to go through a regular delivery would put stress on her. Fortunately, I was monitored well by the nurses, and had an emergency c-section, one of the reason being her heart rate dropping.

With the second child, we did an echocardiagram before he was born and found out everything was perfect---but if he would've had the same problem, we would've done a planned c-section and not tried labor at all.

A friend of mine found out her child would not likely survive after birth, and now she knows how precious her time will be with her child and is more able to prepare with taking time off and soaking up as much time with her as she can.

If you were to find a problem, I think finding out while your pregnant would give you time to learn about what can help make the situation better for you and your child. When you have a newborn, it can be hard to think--let alone research a medical condition. Lack of sleep can cause you great stress, too, so it might make the situation harder to handle.
 
what screening are you considering? personally i say yes for testing doctors may be able to fix a problem early on. I just had all blood tests done. if you find something wrong that cannot be fixed you can also prepare yourself it doesn't mean you'll love your baby less. you could help prevent complications too by getting screened.
it actually eased my mind to know i was checking all testing to make sure my baby was healthy and ok. I am glad I did it.
 
DONT DO IT. I wish i could go back and not have done it. It almost always gives false positives. It just gives you the possible RISK of you carrying a baby with certain genetic disorders. The blood is compared to other women of your similar category. It is not very accurate.

I was told the other day that I was at RISK to carry a child with trisomy 18. Which is fatal. I was freaking out, crying, and depressed. They pretty much rushed me into a high resolution ultra sound to look for any markers of Trisomy 18 on my baby. There was not one thing wrong with him. He is growing and thriving just as he should be at 19 weeks. With all the right parts in all the right places. I was so mad that I took a test like that to upset me as it did. There are alot of women that will not take that test for the reason.

I have since declined getting an amnio, because I know that nothing is wrong with my baby. And amnio's have risks of their own, and I am just not willing to put myself through that. I already love my little man so much and nothing will change that.

I suggest saving yourself the heartache and continuing on being happy with your pregnancy.
 
The way I saw it, nothing could change my mind about whether I would have my baby or not, and those who didn't have it done because that was the only purpose for the test that they could come up with were just silly. It's one thing to refuse a test because it poses a legitimate danger to the child and quite another to refuse one because of narrow-minded "righteousness". I like to be prepared. If my child had special needs, I wanted to be able to provide for them. The test doesn't cause and un-needed stress -- you put yourself through enough of that already, wondering if you'll be a good parent, if you and your baby will survive the birthing process, if s/he will have all the appropriate body parts in all the appropriate places... there's an endless number of things that are unpredictable. Why not make things a little easier if given the opportunity?
 
My thoughts on prenatel testing is that if you do have the testing done and it comes out positive (My doctor told me that their is a lot a lot of false positives with the testing) than your going to be worried your whole pregnancy and even if you know they cannot fix the baby thats inside of you and they can't medicate it or put it through surgery

I would rather not know and have a nice pregnancy and enjoy it as long as my son or daughter comes out breathing than I will be happy wih whatever. Congratulations on your pregnancy
 
I did it with all my pregnancies and I recommend women have it done. It's not about whether you'd love the child or not, it's about being armed with knowledge ahead of time. If my child were going to be born with a life-altering condition, I would want to educate myself about everything I could in regards to that condition. I would want to assemble a team of specialists.

I've seen families who have rejected testing and then later were "surprised" with a diagnosis at the time of birth. It's blindsiding, shellshocking. The postpartum period is not the time to be having this kind of shock to your system. These diagnoses are often emotionally wrenching, and to go through that while on the hormonal roller coaster after birth is far more risky to a woman than going through it during the pregnancy.

So those are my reasons for supporting it. But to each their own. Everyone handles these things in their own way.
 
I didn't do it cuz I've had 3 miscarriages and knew it didn't matter I was gonna keep it no matter what. Plus if I knew something was wrong with my baby it would just make me worry all the time.
 
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