Marguerite
Active Member
I had no intention of terminating difficult child 3, but I still had the amnio. I didn't want amnio because of the risks, but the doctor really gave me no choice (with hindsight, I should have changed doctors).
However, we also had what was then called an "anomaly scan" which sounds like what this nuchal test has been morphed into. There was a risk of a congenital kidney problem and it was great to know, ahead of time, that difficult child 3 not only had normal kidneys but he also had a normal heart as well. I was amazed at how much detail they could see.
My view on the testing done for us - I wanted to know ahead of time if there were going to be any unpleasant surprises, so we could plan ahead. And because we were going to be short of bedrooms, if difficult child 3 had turned out to be a girl.
A neighbour of ours has a niece who gave birth about 18 months ago on television. There was a TV show called "Saving Babies" which was about the amazing work they do in the pre-term wards at the Childrens Hospital here.
The niece was pregnant and the ultrasound showed problems. even though the parents wouldn't have terminated, they insisted on chorionic villi sampling which showed the likelihood of a trisomy problem. Not trisomy 21, but another chromosome which is also associated with major genetic abnormalities. They were told that the baby would almost certainly be born dead, or die soon after birth and that therefore they should terminate now, rather than continue with a doomed pregnancy. But the young woman refused.
The anomaly scan showed that the baby had a number of problems - her bowels were forming outside her body and her wrists were bound by bands of skin that were cutting off the circulation. There seemed to be so many insurmountable problems. The parents were desperate to give their baby every chance and it took a lot of shopping around and they finally found a doctor willing to help them save the baby. Remember, if they hadn't done the tests, they wouldn't have known about a lot of this.
There were several surgeries. By this stage it was being filmed for the TV program, but long before the TV program aired, we knew the story.
The first surgery was done in utero. They freed up the bands of tissue on her wrists and did the first surgery to try to put her intestines back in her body. THey also schedule surgery to happen immediately after birth but without that first in utero surgery, the baby's body wouldn't have grown enough to contain her internal organs and the surgical fix wouldn't have been possible; she would have died.
They also knew that the baby had to be born by caesarean - a vaginal birth would have probably killed the baby.
The baby was born, and almost immediately wrapped in cling wrap so the mother could see her briefly. She was then whisked away to have the final abdominal repair done. A quick inspection though, showed none of the other expected problems.
After the surgery and the intensive care, they now have a perfectly normal little girl who is doing well. There are traces of problems with one hand which are resolving as she gets older. Otherwise - she's fabulous. A testament to a mother's faith and determination.
They had the tests but did not terminate. Without the tests they wouldn't have their baby because they would have had no warning of the problems and no chance to prepare and to put help in place.
I wish I'd had a second ultrasound with difficult child 3, closer to term, so we would have known that his head was so big. He should never have been a vaginal delivery. My pelvis and coccyx was damaged permanently as a result of a lazy doctor.
So I'm in the camp of "tests are good". Forewarned is forearmed. You still have choice. Informed choice is even better.
Marg
However, we also had what was then called an "anomaly scan" which sounds like what this nuchal test has been morphed into. There was a risk of a congenital kidney problem and it was great to know, ahead of time, that difficult child 3 not only had normal kidneys but he also had a normal heart as well. I was amazed at how much detail they could see.
My view on the testing done for us - I wanted to know ahead of time if there were going to be any unpleasant surprises, so we could plan ahead. And because we were going to be short of bedrooms, if difficult child 3 had turned out to be a girl.
A neighbour of ours has a niece who gave birth about 18 months ago on television. There was a TV show called "Saving Babies" which was about the amazing work they do in the pre-term wards at the Childrens Hospital here.
The niece was pregnant and the ultrasound showed problems. even though the parents wouldn't have terminated, they insisted on chorionic villi sampling which showed the likelihood of a trisomy problem. Not trisomy 21, but another chromosome which is also associated with major genetic abnormalities. They were told that the baby would almost certainly be born dead, or die soon after birth and that therefore they should terminate now, rather than continue with a doomed pregnancy. But the young woman refused.
The anomaly scan showed that the baby had a number of problems - her bowels were forming outside her body and her wrists were bound by bands of skin that were cutting off the circulation. There seemed to be so many insurmountable problems. The parents were desperate to give their baby every chance and it took a lot of shopping around and they finally found a doctor willing to help them save the baby. Remember, if they hadn't done the tests, they wouldn't have known about a lot of this.
There were several surgeries. By this stage it was being filmed for the TV program, but long before the TV program aired, we knew the story.
The first surgery was done in utero. They freed up the bands of tissue on her wrists and did the first surgery to try to put her intestines back in her body. THey also schedule surgery to happen immediately after birth but without that first in utero surgery, the baby's body wouldn't have grown enough to contain her internal organs and the surgical fix wouldn't have been possible; she would have died.
They also knew that the baby had to be born by caesarean - a vaginal birth would have probably killed the baby.
The baby was born, and almost immediately wrapped in cling wrap so the mother could see her briefly. She was then whisked away to have the final abdominal repair done. A quick inspection though, showed none of the other expected problems.
After the surgery and the intensive care, they now have a perfectly normal little girl who is doing well. There are traces of problems with one hand which are resolving as she gets older. Otherwise - she's fabulous. A testament to a mother's faith and determination.
They had the tests but did not terminate. Without the tests they wouldn't have their baby because they would have had no warning of the problems and no chance to prepare and to put help in place.
I wish I'd had a second ultrasound with difficult child 3, closer to term, so we would have known that his head was so big. He should never have been a vaginal delivery. My pelvis and coccyx was damaged permanently as a result of a lazy doctor.
So I'm in the camp of "tests are good". Forewarned is forearmed. You still have choice. Informed choice is even better.
Marg
