I am 7 weeks pregnant with #2...I am 38 yrs old. Should I have genetic testing done?

even if you don't have a family history of DS the older you are higher the risk (I'm sure you already know that), but if your not comfortable doing an amnio, don't. Personally if it was my choice I wouldn't- why worry yourself- it's already a hormonal rollercoaster! Have a happy pregnancy and good luck!

As you know the Dr. will do some blood work an depending on that blood work he will advice you to do the amnio. I know they say you should have it done after 35 but your are only 38 you are still young. If the blood work reveals that there is a real problem then yes do the amnio otherwise dont worry you ll be OK.

Your risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome does increase significantally after your mid-30s but the time to really worry is when you're in your mid-40s. Then your risk goes up to roughly one in five, from what I've read. As for undergoing the test, I had it done and it's more unpleasant than anything else. The doctor does an ultrasound to determine where to place the needle and then when it's inserted, you'll feel a jolt. I was nauseous the rest of the day afterwards but it was kind of fun to find out the sex of the baby a few days later (girl). This test, unlike ultrasounds, is much more accurate about that. Not only did I learn the sex but also was given a printout of her chromosomes. That was pretty neat. The decision to have the test or not is up to you. Despite your age, most women who have babies with Down Syndrome are younger and I understand that once you've had a baby with that condition, you have a higher risk of having another baby with Down Syndrome.

hate this test. (the AFP 3 - blood test)

I took this test with my first and it came out positive for down syndrome. I worried for 5 months that my baby was going to have down syndrome (I opted not to get the Amniocentesis as the risk of miscarriage was great). My now 10 year old little girl turned out healthy - no Down syndrome.

This test is just a screening - meaning it is not a clear cut measure of detecting whether or not there is a problem with the baby. It bases its reference ranges off of "average" women. Not every women is "average"

If you think that you will keep the baby, no matter what, even if it does have a chromosome abnormality, then I would advise just staying away from all tests.

I would talk to the doctor about doing an Early Risk Assessment. I am 34 and pregnant with twins from IVF, as I am 11 weeks along, we will be doing blood work (looking for certain proteins) and an ultrasound. From the bloodwork and certain measurements on the ultrasound measurements / thickness of skull etc . . . they can give you an estimate as to the risk of Down Syndrome . . . . after this less invasive procedure, you can decide whether or not you want to do more.

http://www.massgeneral.org/vincent/prenatal_era.ht...

Good luck!

You can have the triple test which is a blood test at 16 weeks which checks for Down syndrome and other genetic problems and you can get a nuchal scan done to check for Down syndrome at 12 weeks. You can then decide whether you want to opt for invasive tests but what i would say is would a positive test result mean you'd terminate the pregnancy? You need to work out what you would do to work out whether to have the invasive tests done as they do carry a risk.

Uhm... not all the genetic testing is "invasive" and nowadays they generally do it for everyone. I'm 23 and this is my first baby and we had screening for downs through simple blood test and u/s. If those show up as a possible positive, THATS when they do the invasive testing such as a amnio. And that will have to be your call whether to do that or not.

Just have the bloodwork :)

If you aren't pre-disposed to anything abnormal, then do what is right for you.

My midwife encouraged me to have bloodwork, and a 4 screen (non-invasive) and when it came down to an amnio she said 'even if any results came back funny, and you could do more tests - Considering the risks of an amnio, if you WOULDN'T have one, don't even bother with the tests"

good advice,, if you ask me.

what you need to ask yourself is, does it make a difference if baby is downs, would you terminate? if not then theres no need to put baby at risk if foetal death if you would keep and love this baby. amniocentesis carries a 1% risk of miscarriage meaning that out of every 100 procedures carried out, one of those babies wont make it. at 13 weeks you can request a CUB scan, this measures the thickness of babies neck and combined with mothers blood sample calculates a likeliehood of downs syndrome. this is non invasive and completely safe, i had it done. from these result you would be able to mentally prepare yourself for the possibilty of baby being downs. based on the results they may or may not offer amniocentesis. but can i also just say, my college lecturer was pregnant at the same time as me, she had all the tests as she was 39, she was told her baby was fine and baby was born with downs and it went undetected. so it can be missed, she is now in the process of legal action against the hospital.

before i got my CUB results, i made the decision not to have amniocentesis, as i decided if my baby wasn't societys view of perfect that that baby would be perfect to me and i would love it no less.

It's really a personal decision...I also was 38 and pregnant and I did have the amnio done because my Dr. strongly recommended it because of my age..plus I wanted to know if anything was wrong so I would be prepared, whatever the case may have been....I had no after effects of the amnio and felt fine right after it was done....again, its a personal choice....Good Luck!

PS: I also chose to have it done because I am adopted and had no family history to give!