Test results and reactions by medical profession :(
A little bit of basic information... I am due to have baby number 5 in december and the pregnancy was a complete suprise and unplanned... I am 42 so am immediatly classed as 'high risk' anyway because of my age alone...
I had a hospital appointment on Tuesday, and the Midwife left me feeling guilty, upset, scared and very angry... I have a 1 in 11 chance of having a child with Down syndrome because the blood test came back positive.. The ultrasound was excellent and the fluid behind the neck was the right amount, so there is no definant diagnoses at the moment...
I was treated as if there has been a diagnosis and was told by the Midwife, to have an amniosentisies, and to terminate... She didnt even say 'if the amnio results come back for DS to terminate'...That i have 4 healthy children already and that given that i am 42, what happens when i am no longer here... She never asked me what i had planned to do, or what my thoughts were, she told me what i should do... Nor did she ask me what my hubby wanted me to do, or his thoughts either...
Hubby and i have decided that we are not going to have a amnio because of the risks, and that we will love our baby regardless... That we are leaving this in Gods hands and will work together and face whatever comes our way...
Medical professionals need to be more aware of how they approach telling a mother they are 'high risk' and give some hope, rather than making a desicion for them based on a blood test result, even before there is an exact diagnosis...
I was 41 years old when I had Elijah. Baby number 8. The doctor wanted me to get the amino, I asked why, he said that it would determine should I need to terminate. Not that I wanted to or not. I declined. I think that those test are great but they aren't always right.
That is awful, I am so sorry. I can't imagine what I would feel like. My last pregnancy, with no risk factors and me being 19, we were told by my dr that on the ultrasound it looked like the baby had Down syndrome. He was so kind and compassionate, and he gave us our options, an amnio or no amnio. He didn't mention anything about termination or try to influence us in any way. He gave us information on who we could contact to learn more about Down's, in case we didn't do the amnio so we'd be prepared either way, or if we did, and the test came back positive, so we'd already know who to turn too. I'm so sorry that the midwife was so callous in her attitude, and so inconsiderate.
This would be enough for me to change midwifes...sorry but that was very unprofessional and sorry but she doesn't have the title MD. Those tests can give a false postive all the time, my doctor told me that its quite commone actually, we have always opted out of having those tests because we would never abort a seemingly healthy baby. I would ask to be seen by a OB/GYN and have them look at all the tests you have had done and have them do the downs test over again also.
I was "high risk" because of my AMA too (advanced maternal age), was told to have a plethora of tests to determine genetic abnormalities of any kind, and I flat out refused.
I said, "Whatever happens, happens. I will NOT terminate because of a test result." (A bit of backgroun, my SIL had been told that she was high risk for having a Down's child, took the blood tests and amniocentesis, too, and there was a high probability of having a Down's child. She worried her WHOLE pregnancy, even asking the doctor to take baby by C-section because her worrying was causing too much stress. So at 8,5 months gestation, she delivered a 100% healthy little boy by C-Section.)
Switch midwives, for sure.
Your child is in God's hands, being formed by God as I type this.
EDIT: BTW, I delivered a healthy third daughter, no problems whatsoever.
If you are high risk, why are you with a midwife? Midwives are qualified to care for low risk pregnancies only, she's probably acting like a jerk because she doesn't know what to do with the situation. I would research a good MD that is ok with a more natural approach. Good luck!
Quoting xxMichellexx:A little bit of basic information... I am due to have baby number 5 in december and the pregnancy was a complete suprise and unplanned... I am 42 so am immediatly classed as 'high risk' anyway because of my age alone...
I had a hospital appointment on Tuesday, and the Midwife left me feeling guilty, upset, scared and very angry... I have a 1 in 11 chance of having a child with Down syndrome because the blood test came back positive.. The ultrasound was excellent and the fluid behind the neck was the right amount, so there is no definant diagnoses at the moment...
I was treated as if there has been a diagnosis and was told by the Midwife, to have an amniosentisies, and to terminate... She didnt even say 'if the amnio results come back for DS to terminate'...That i have 4 healthy children already and that given that i am 42, what happens when i am no longer here... She never asked me what i had planned to do, or what my thoughts were, she told me what i should do... Nor did she ask me what my hubby wanted me to do, or his thoughts either...
Hubby and i have decided that we are not going to have a amnio because of the risks, and that we will love our baby regardless... That we are leaving this in Gods hands and will work together and face whatever comes our way...
Medical professionals need to be more aware of how they approach telling a mother they are 'high risk' and give some hope, rather than making a desicion for them based on a blood test result, even before there is an exact diagnosis...
post c section ? tmi sorry
Are you a first time mom? If not, how many kids do you have?
- xxMichellexx
on Jun. 14, 2012 at 1:14 AM