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'm sorry she did not tell you what you wanted to hear. There are medical professionals that work in public hospitals that go the other extreme. My son's baby had died in the womb and the ultrasound tech told him and I that stillbirth was God's way of getting rid of defective babies.
When I was trained as a Medical Lab Technologist in the 1970s we had to take a medical ethics course. As I understand not all medical professionals have to take ethics today. They should at least be going through training by hospitals telling them what they should and should not be saying to patients.
Quoting jshalas89:
What a bitch. I would not have let her get away with telling me that. I'd switch midwives REAL quick, too.
Sending you strength, and also (maybe) a little hope...
My SIL was 35 when she got pregnant with my niece. (Not 42, but on the "older" side - whatever THAT means!) Anyway, she was told that my niece WOULD have DS - "We're as certain as we can be without an amnio." My SIL decided to leave it in God's hands, too. Guess what? Hannah was born and NO DS. She DID, however, get diagnosed with Diabetes at age 7. They think now that THAT was what was showing up on the tests. So maybe keep an eye out for that!
Do not let ANYONE make you feel guilty about this! And I agree with other posters... Get a new midwife! And, if possible, report this rude one to her superiors. Discussing the risk factors with you is one thing... Making you feel the way she did is completely uncalled for.
Good luck & love to you & yours!
Id switch and After baby is born (ds or no) send her a card with baby's pic holding a sign that says "terminate this".
I had that test come back positive with my first three kids and after that, I declined the testing with the rest of my kids. I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown. Those tests have a high false positive rate.
Will you have any friends or family come stay with you post-birth to help out?
- xxMichellexx
on Jun. 14, 2012 at 1:14 AM