So I have been thinking about this test a lot lately. For those of you who don't know this is a blood test that is done in your second trimester to test if your baby has a risk of downs or other birth defects and stuff. Well I have done this test with both of my boys, really just doing it because my doctor gives me the paper to get blood work done and i didn't really know anything about it. Then as i start talking to people, mostly LDS all of a sudden i am the only one who gets this test done and they all take the option not to. So I was confused....mostly the reasoning for not taking the test is, "I will keep the baby no matter what is wrong with it". So of course I do not believe in abortion, but i feel like if there is something wrong, i would want to know to educate and prepare myself before it happens.
Well today when I went for my appointment, my doctor handed me the paper work for the test and so I had a little chat with him about the debate to take it or not. Now i must say that I LOVE MY DOCTOR, but he is REALLY liberal! And as I shared my view that I would keep the baby no matter what and would never consider and abortion, he had this to say, He said to me, "I hear that a lot, and that is easy for one to say until they get the diagnosis that their baby has a birth defect that will cause them to be dead at birth and may cause the mother to also die". Well this made me think...although I do not believe in abortion I think we are all to quick to judge. Anyways that is another story and another debate. His basic point to me was that this isn't a test to see if your baby has problems, it is a test to see if further test need to be done.
So after talking to him and hearing all of the pros and cons I decided to still take the test. I feel like it was right for me, but i can't help but feel out of place, especially among mostly everyone i know.....am I totally LIBERAL like my doctor? I just want to hear every ones thoughts on this.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
AFP Test?????
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13 comments:
I don't think it's a big deal to have it done. I agree with you that I would like to be prepared. The only reason why I didn't have it is I didn't want it to cause worry if the levels were off and then have a healthy baby at the end which I have heard of. I think you are fine by taking it!
I have gotten the test with all four of my kids, and I am sure this does not make me liberal. I would consider myself very conservative. I wasn't going to get an abortion either, but like your doctor said, it is a test to see if you need more tests. What is wrong with being informed?? The test isn't 100% accurate, and sure their will be false positives.
Do what YOU think is best, and don't worry if other people think you are a liberal for it. You know what is right for you.
See I am the opposite and really wouldn't want to worry about it through the rest of my pregnancy. I have also heard of so many women who get the test done, numbers are off and they get all worked up for nothing. Further tests or the birth of the baby shows that the numbers were off. Really it comes down to personal opinion! When I was pregnant with Haden, I asked my doctor what his thoughts are(he is LDS) and he told me just that, it is personal opinion and choice. Also that the ultrasound half way through is to look for problems and things, and is more accurate than the blood test. So I chose not to, with any of my pregnancies. But I say if you feel the need to, then go ahead and do it. It's just a blood test!
I'm supportive either way. We did it while I was pregnant with Taylor and Didn't do it with Lauren. If you feel like you should, then go for it.
I saw a high risk doctor w/ Taylor and they accidentially didn't catch her heart defect and I'm greatful I didn't know for the rest of my pregnancy. Finding out she needed surgery was the HARDEST thing I had to deal with..(I'm very emotinal after delivering).
But on the other hand, I totally agree with what you said about wanting to be prepared and educating myself. That way you can be ready.
I didn't know I had a choice to take it with Emma and possibly Zack. I had an LDS Doctor for Abby and he started explaining it and was shocked that I could opt to not take the test. I knew I wouldn't abort and I hate getting poked so I didn't take it just so I wouldn't have pain. The church isn't entirely against abortion, the rare cases are Rape, Incest, and if the Mother's health is in jeopardy(with a lot of council and prayer). As far as knowing ahead, I have taken a college class about early childhood disabilities for my degree, so I already have enough knowledge in case the baby was born with something.
I've done the test with all 3 of my kids. My first, it came back that there was a risk for down's syndrome and so we had a 2nd higher tech ultrasound done to find the odds of her having down's syndrome. The odds were low, but we were still freaked! She was fine, and I told myself I wasn't going to have it done in the future, but as I got pregnant with my other children, I still opted to do it, cause when it came down to it, I would want to be prepared, and I then knew, that there were false positives so I wouldn't have worried as much if it came out "positive" again. Obviously, I think it's fine to have the test. It doesn't mean that we'll have an abortion if there's something wrong. I think preparing for something like that would help rather than having it sprung on you at delivery. That's just me.
I got it done with all three of my kids. I wanted to be prepared if I needed to be. But reading some of the other comments it made me realize that it would be a long pregnancy knowing that there was something wrong and that my baby could possibly die. But I would still do it!
Like I said earlier, if you want to get poked for the fun of it go ahead. Two weeks later in the mandatory ultrasound, they'll find out more info. than a blood test could ever show. Either way.
I don't think its a big deal either way. I decided not to do it 1- I hate needles and 2- I worry enough anyways. So I opted out because I felt like I'd keep it no matter what. My nurse is the one who actually talked me out of it. She said things that scared me!
I don't remember if I had it done or not, but I think I did with at least Carlaya. I think it was just on the list of things to test for when I had my second round of blood work. My SIL always gets it done too. For the same reasons as you- its good to know IF something IS wrong so you can just be ready for it.
You are not liberal at all.
I don't know why I didn't do it. Probably because my insurance didn't cover it or something like that! Although, now that I think about it, I would MUCH rather know ahead of time if something were an issue. Then I have time to prepare for it and do some research. Hope your test is fine and you have nothing to worry about!
I hate needles, but I did it with both of my boys. It wouldn't have changed my decision at all to go full term and have them if the results had been different, but at least this way we knew (in our case) that there was nothing to worry about. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. It only matters what feels right to you.
When it comes down to it...we need to do what feels right for us, not other people. Just another reason why we shouldn't judge each other. We never know fully all circumstances for why someone makes a choice.
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