Here are the facts:
The blood work portion of our recent genetic screening came back wonky. Low PAPPA and high hCG, for those of you in the know. The ultrasound looked great, but all the pretty pictures mean nothing if the blood work looks poor. The big issue, of course, is Leah’s age. It alone is responsible for a 1 in 194 90 chance of Down Syndrome. The blood screen bumped that up to 1 in 39, which her Ob/Gyn was quick to point out means 38 of 39 women with the same indicators give birth to a perfectly normal child.
That was yesterday. Today we went in for a CVS test, which typically takes place before week 13 and provides the same information as an amniocentesis (we’re at 13 weeks). The catch? It carries a slightly higher risk of miscarriage. So our doctor today ended up dissuading us from doing the CVS. The reasoning? We’d tried for to years to get pregnant, so even a tiny increase in miscarriage risk is probably unacceptable. We’ve moved our amnio up to the first day of Leah’s 15 week, and we’re hoping to have the results of the FISH test back in a couple days.
Whew. Meanwhile, I had another five questionable moles removed yesterday. Today Leah and I each had blood drawn for a cystic fibrosis screening, since we didn’t feel like we could leave the hospital without getting poked at least once (I know, I know: “That’s what she said.”). I don’t have a fear of needles, but still, I don’t need to get poked again any time soon. Oh, and lastly? Ava was diagnosed with strep this evening. So we have that going for us, which is nice.
Off to Decorah tomorrow afternoon for a weekend of R&R, or something like it (them?).