AFP test - done too early?

I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
Robin

: I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
: leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
: Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
: ultrasound.
:
: Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
: my question is:
:
: Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
: seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
: took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
: there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?
:
: Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
: Robin

I think that the inaccuracy of the AFP test should put your mind at ease.
If you date the pregnancy wrong, your results will be inaccurate.

My test came back positive for Downs Syndrome, too. I went on to have the
amnio test which showed that I am having a healthy girl.

What does a perinatologist do?

~Carol Ann

In article ,
Abadia wrote:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low?

My AFP levels were also "slightly" low, and I believe my EDD is 4 days
earlier than it should be (I ovulated at 18 days). According to the web
site of the lab that did the test (Genzyme - yours may be different),
though, as long as the date was accurate within 11 days the test would be
meaningful. Still, I know a lot of this bloodwork technology is still being
worked out

I'm not due until May, so I can't tell you what the outcome will be. I can
tell you that I had the Level 2 ultrasound (twice, actually, since my
stubborn little creature wasn't in the optimal position the first time!),
and they found absolutely nothing abnormal. My chances for a Down syndrome
baby are now estimated at a little lower than average for my age (I'm 39).

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,

Boy, do I know how you feel! I went through a lot of emotions after I got
the blood results - I should have gone straight for the amnio, I should have
skipped the screening entirely, did I sit too close to the TV during my
first trimester, that sort of thing - but in truth, the odds that you're
carrying a Down syndrome baby are extremely low, even with the less-than-
optimal blood results.

Are you going to have an ultrasound? It's not the answer for everyone; but
for me, seeing the baby moving and having two different doctors plus two
ultrasound technicians say "normal, normal, normal" to me over and over went
a long way toward easing my fears. If you need more accuracy than that,
though, there is the option of amnio. (As I understand it, a very
experienced technician can make your risk of miscarriage from the procedure
quite small.)

It's awfully easy for someone else to say, I know - but try not to worry.
Statistically speaking (I find numbers comforting ;-)), you are overwhelmingly
likely to have a healthy, normal baby. I would suggest you try to relax and
reassure yourself, and make whatever decisions you need to when you get more
information. These blood tests they do these days are remarkable; but in
a vacuum they just don't tell you all that much.

Take care,

Liz
EDD 5/18/04 (but I suspect it'll be 5/21!)

--

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and
spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they
can do it again." -- John F. Kennedy, 6/10/1963

I just had to reply when Abadia wrote:
I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
Robin

Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure that the AFP has to be done after 16
weeks. I remember that I was given my first ultrasound at 17 weeks to check
fetal well being, and to make sure I was at least 16 weeks.

--
-Crystal Dreamer
Missing Mariam since 09/10/03
Some people only dream of angels. I held one in my arms.
http://www.memoriesofmariam.com
(take out the trash to reply)

I just had to reply when Crystal Dreamer wrote:
Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure that the AFP has to be done
after 16 weeks. I remember that I was given my first ultrasound at
17 weeks to check fetal well being, and to make sure I was at least
16 weeks.

Just a correction, it was my second u/s. My first was at 7 Weeks.

"Abadia" wrote in message
m...
I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
Robin

Drs really only change dates if they're 10 days off of what you think your
due date should be. Sorry, but chances are it was done when it was supposed
to be done. I was 26 yrs old (2nd pregnancy) when mine came back high for
Downs Syndrome. Everything felt fine so how could that be? Everything
*was* fine, as I'm sure will be the case with you. Check the statistics for
how often the AFP is wrong/inaccurate. You'll be amazed.

Sophie
#4 due 7/18/04

I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low?

It's much more likely that you had the test done at the right time, and simply
had the bad luck to be one of the many moms with perfectly normal babies who
got a "false positive" result.

The expanded AFP test will detect something like 70% or 75% of Down Syndrome
cases, but it is also designed to return high-risk results about 5% of the
time, and in the vast majority of those cases the baby does NOT have Down
Syndrome.

You may choose to have an amnio in order to know for sure. However, given your
relatively young age, you'd want to consider very carefully before doing that,
because the amniocentesis procedure itself can be painful and carries a risk of
causing miscarriage or various complications. How high that risk is depends on
the skill and experience of the doctor performing the amnio; you're probably
best off NOT having the test unless you have access to the very best doctors
(meaning, usually, that you live in a major metropolitan area, have good
insurance coverage, etc. and you've carefully researched the history of the
doctors available to you). Also, before you decide to have an amnio, think
carefully about what you would do with the results. Suppose you learned that
your baby *does* have Down Syndrome. Would you terminate? Would you be glad
of the chance to do some reading and research on the syndrome and maybe seek
out support groups before the baby's born? Or would the knowledge only add to
your stress level for the rest of the pregnancy? You don't really need to know
for sure what you would do, but you should think about whether you would really
rather know, or not know, IYSWIM.

You can also wait to see what happens with the ultrasound. However, an
ultrasound only catches about half of all cases of Down Syndrome. Of course,
the u/s is valuable for lots of other reasons, but it isn't necessarily to be
relied on to detect Down's.

I sympathize. I got a *very* high risk result from my AFP test, and I'm 34.
But I also had an earlier "nuchal translucency scan" and first trimester screen
blood test, which returned an extremely low risk of Down Syndrome. The earlier
test is generally considered more reliable, so I'm choosing to believe it. :-)
But if I had more of a tendency to worry and stress, I'd probably get an
amnio, which would let us know for sure.

Holly
Mom to Camden, almost 3
EDD #2 6/8/04

Crystal Dreamer wrote:

I just had to reply when Abadia wrote:
I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
Robin

Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure that the AFP has to be done after 16
weeks. I remember that I was given my first ultrasound at 17 weeks to check
fetal well being, and to make sure I was at least 16 weeks.


I'm quite sure the lower cut off for AFP testing is 15w1d. It might depend on
the manufacturer of whatever test the lab is using, though.

cara

They did mine at my 16-week appointment. I don't know when it is supposed to
be done.

"Abadia" wrote in message
m...
I just heard from my midwife that my AFP test (took at 15 weeks before
leaving for the holidays) came back with an increased risk of Down
Syndrome. I am a healthy 28 year old woman and have not yet had an
ultrasound.

Next week I hope to schedule an appointment with a perinatologist, but
my question is:

Could I have done the test too early such that the levels of AFP
seemed low? If my birth date was off by a few days, meaning say I
took the test at 14 weeks, could the numbers be low simply because
there hadn't been enough time for the fetus to produce enough AFP?

Very worried over this weekend, and thanks for any thoughts,
Robin


I did mine at 15 weeks exactly because the Obstetrician asked me to do it
the week before I see him, so I get my results Tuesday, and if they are odd
I'll just ask to have them repeated then. I later read it's best done 16-18
weeks.
Alissa