This Wednesday, May 25th, will mark 13 weeks of pregnancy and I’ll enter my 14th week. We’re gonna have two babies!!! It’s like it’s just now hitting me!
They call this the Golden Trimester and I’m so hopeful it’ll be golden for me. So far, I’m off to a great start!
Screening and Testing
Last week Gina and I had our “First Trimester Screening” which takes place right at the end of the first trimester. It gives an 80% (ish) accuracy prediction for the likelihood of Down Syndrome and other chromosomal disorders. Because I’m 39 and pregnant with twins they sent me to the “high-risk” clinic called, Maternal-Fetal-Medicine. While we don’t really relate to ourselves as high risk, we were very happy to have the best of the best experts and specialists for multiples doing these screenings.
Our ultra-sound tech, Matt, was a kick in the pants. He’s been doing this for 30 years and upon looking at our babies (over a 1.5 hour period so that he could measure and examine every little part) he said two things that I’ll always remember.
1. “Wow, this baby A is wild! It’s using your uterus as a trampoline!” He had to still frame baby A most of the time to get accurate measurements because s/he was just too wiggly. (You might recall, this is the same baby that entertained us in the last ultrasound video).
2. “Wow, these nukes (small space of fluid behind the babies neck) are next to nothin’! That’s a good thing guys. That’s a good thing. We still need to get your blood work back but I’d say from here, it’s ‘highly unlikely’ there are any problems with your babies. They look just fabulous.” Whew! Highly Unlikely. Can’t tell you how much I exhaled.
So, looking at the blood work and ultrasound measurements together, the Clinic gives us a 1 in something odd that there are any chromosomal disorders with our babies. From there, we decide whether we want further testing because remember, this primary screen is only 80% accurate (with twins, perhaps 75%).
The Two More Optional Tests
The two additional testings we could do after this initial screening are closer to 99.99% accurate; they are CVS and amniocentesis.
– CVS (Chorionic Villi Sampling) is where they suck out some of each placenta (going intra-vagininally for one and needling through my abdomen for the other). This test must take place by end of week 14 so we’d have to move on it quickly. It tests for almost everything except spina bifida. The advantage of this test is that it’s done earlier.
– The amnio test places a long needle through my abdomen and through the amniotic sacs and takes about 20-30mg of fluid from each baby’s little watery home. This test is not done until 16 weeks or so and test results take 2 weeks. It’s just as accurate but tests for spina bifeda too. The disadvantage is that it’s much later in the game.
IF one of the babies were to come back with a “positive” result and IF we were to “selectively reduce” there is a slight risk of miscarriage. With twins, unfortunately, the risk is much higher. To boot, the risk gets higher each day and each week that goes by. So, after reviewing our final results from Maternal-Fetal, we’ll get to choose whether we want to do any further testing. Gina and I have been slightly split on this highly sensitive topic for years but have really partnered together beautifully now that it’s real and not in “theory.” I like that. A lot.
The Results
Monday we got a call from Legacy with our results. “Hi Regina? This is Lisa from Legacy Emmanuel. I’m calling with some good news.” I smiled and gasped and stammered all at once. She went on to tell me that after analyzing my age, blood work and ultrasounds they estimate a 1/1300 chance for Down Syndrome and a 1/10,000 for any other chromosomal disorders. “Congratulations!” She said. I could hardly get the grin off my face. Yahoo!
Where We Landed
Gina and I talked in bed this morning over my morning smoothie and this is where we landed: If we did the CVS or amniocenteses, at this point, the risks are greater for miscarriage for one or both babies than they are of finding out our babies have any abnormalities. We have spoken with a genetic counselor and feel solid about our decision: we will not do any more testing. We are not only confident in our decision, but very happy, too!