AFP test - done too early?

"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

Both of my AFP tests came back ok, but I know that there is a HUGE rate of
false positives for both Downs Syndrome and spina bifida. Try not to worry
too much, the ultrasound will tell you more and if there is ANY doubt left,
you can opt for the amnio.

I'm sure everything's just fine.

Good luck!

- Jen

"New York Jen" wrote in message
...


"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

Both of my AFP tests came back ok, but I know that there is a HUGE rate of
false positives for both Downs Syndrome and spina bifida. Try not to
worry
too much, the ultrasound will tell you more and if there is ANY doubt
left,
you can opt for the amnio.

I'm sure everything's just fine.

Good luck!

- Jen


Just one comment regarding the AFP. It's not really a test, it's called the
AFP Triple Screen. It screens people to find out who might need to have
further testing which is why it comes out with so many false positives (and
negatives in my case). I'm not sure if it's the doctors that aren't
explaining it correctly or using the right wording or if it's lab techs and
nurses who refer to it as a test, but there needs to be more education for
doctors and patients alike so that they understand the implications of the
tests that are being done during the pregnancy.

Leigh in raLeigh

Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure that the AFP has to be done after
16
weeks.

I had mine done at 12 weeks... came back as a chance in two thousand and
something... they tend to only worry when the number is under 300 AFAIK

Leanne

Hi everyone,

Many, many thanks for your thoughtful, informative, and kind posts.
This was extremely helpful to my husband and I.

An encouraging update:
Last week I saw a specialist (perinatologist-spelling?) who did an US
and saw that everything looked okay. Of course, that doesn't rule out
DS, but he said it reduces the liklihood by about 50%.

I decided to take the AFP again (this time, at the very end of week
17) to see if the results would be different BEFORE making a decision
about an amnio.

You see, I had been given the choice to take it either at 15 weeks
(before my vacation-which is what I had done) or at end of 17 (after
my vacation). I decided to "pretend" that I hadn't taken the first
screen and see what the second one said, as if we were re-writing
history if you will. If all came back "normal", I wouldn't have done
an amnio, thus avoiding MC risk.

I just got my results back yesterday and everything looks normal. Of
course, I can't really ignore that other result in my history, but
since everything is about odds, I've decided to go ahead and trust
that my baby is fine, and avoid the amnio.

Thanks again to everyone out there who offered support. I wish you
all healthy babies and happy births!
All the best,
Robin