Let's Talk Genetic Testing

[landonsmom15]

My honest opinion is that if you wouldn't do anything with the results, there's no reason for the extra testing. @justinslovo gave many good things to consider, too.

[danvers]

With E, our office offered the quad screening to all moms. I did it. The results can back at an elevated risk level. I was sent into a researching tizzy, lots of crying and crazy emotions. I researched the shit out of my results, the quad screen in general, etc. We were sent for further testing at a specialist hospital an hour away (maternT21)t. And.... Nothing. E was fine. When we sat down with the genetic specialist to go over the results I knew every word she was going to say based on my research.

Our office offers Verifi now. The free-cell DNA tests are more accurate than the quad screen (which can have a high false-positive rate!) I'm getting it done again, despite my experience with E, because I do want to know. I like to research (or over research as often the case) and know what to prepare for. I live in a small town so if the results came up that Baby might have a genetic condition that would need to be treated at specialist hospital or may spend time in the NICU we could plan accordingly. Not all genetic conditions are caught on ultrasounds and I don't do well with surprises.

I got screened for pretty much everything with E and my husband and I know are genetic history pretty well. I can't remember all the tests included this go around but I think it's something like spina bifida, a muscular disability, and then all the trisomys that Verifi screens for as well.

There's my two sense.

Tl;dr version: I think theyre good for people who are researchers and planners but have the tough talks with SO about how you two will handle any info you glean from the tests before you get results back.

[danvers]

Jul 16, 2016 10:27:20 GMT -5 @justinslovo said:

For those that do the testing. Call your OB to ask what the brand of the test is. There are a few test manufacturers that will pay the balance of your bill after insurance. I think Verified calls it the "Peace of Mind" program.

I'm not sure if you need to sign up in advance or after the fact, but it is worth calling.

Yes. Verifi is like 99.00 even if insurance does not cover it. I can't find the brochure from my OB visit earlier this week but I remember discussing costs. I do not have to sign up ahead of time (but now I want to find the brochure to double check that)

i cannot remember what we paid for MaterniT21. I feel like insurance covered most of it and we were no where near our deductible yet.

The tests are super expensive and I barely understand how my insurance works let alone how other policies would cover this. This is indeed a good question to ask.

[sunflower]

I'm really interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on this! My husband and I were just discussing testing and we're leaning towards no but haven't decided. As a teacher I sometimes get a file on a student with a diagnosis before I meet him or her and get scared that I won't be able to meet that child's needs. However, once I meet the student they're just one of my kids and I get to know them and figure out what they need just like every other student. (And usually someone else in the class without a diagnosis ends up challenging me much more.) I don't know if parenting will be similar but I think that if I find out before my baby is born that he or she has something like trisomy 21 then I'll freak out, but if I find out when I meet him or her I might handle it better. For me, I don't think that "good" test results would give me peace of mind because I'm a huge worrier and I'm more concerned that my child will struggle with mental health issues that run in my family but can't (to my knowledge) be tested for. However, my husband is leaning a little more towards the "it would be good to be able to prepare" camp so we may still do the testing.

[sarahh]

I had the testing done with my daughter when I was 35. It gave me piece of mind and I got to find out she was a girl! I'm 37 now so plan to do it again.

[summerrain]

So I had the maternity21 test done with my DDs pregnancy. I was only 28 when I was pregnant with her but due to some things that we found during my DSs pregnancy which were technically soft markers plus the baby we had lost the month before at 12 weeks we decided to get it done. My DH and I both felt we would want to know if there was something wrong with the baby so we could prepare ourselves. I'm not exactly sure I wouldn't spiral out if I was told there was even a slight risk of any abnormalities, but preparation for us is better than a surprise. We already talked about doing it again and now with two losses in the last two years plus the soft markers that now both my children have carried we feel better knowing. When we got the results of my DDs A/S with the soft markers we didn't have to freak out because we already knew the issues would most likely resolve themselves and we didn't need anymore than follow up ultrasounds with the perinatal specialist. We also paid about $300 for the testing but the actually test itself was closer to $3k. My insurance denied the claim so the company just writes off the rest of the balance. My OB told us this all upfront so we knew what to expect when the results and also the bill came and how to handle it. I was very pleased with the whole process.

[kristhegirl]

I qualified for some testing because of genetic risk for breast cancer (which actually it turns out I don't have, but whatever. I don't mind being cautious.)

I'd do it again. There may be accommodations for certain disorders that I'd want to have as lined up as possible, along with any kind of assistance i may qualify for with a child with special needs - that paperwork often confusing and lengthy. I'd want was much of a head start as I could get.

I'm Team Green so finding out the sex is not a big pull for me, but i can definitely see why a lot of people would like that part!

[mikaela20]

For peice of mind, I plan to do any non invasive tests. If something comes back that calls for concern, then we will decide on what the next level of tests should be.

Finding out the sex early is a bonus but not part of my motivation to do the testing.

[bluedaisy0627]

Jul 16, 2016 14:50:03 GMT -5 mikaela20 said:

For peice of mind, I plan to do any non invasive tests. If something comes back that calls for concern, then we will decide on what the next level of tests should be.

Finding out the sex early is a bonus but not part of my motivation to do the testing.

+1

[honda13]

With dd we decided not to do genetic testing. We likely won't be doing it this time around either. I do wish we could find out the sex early, but I'm not willing to do the testing just for that.