My best friend has been for a scan today and been told there is a high risk of downs syndrome She has to go for a test where they take some of the placenta and test the chromosones or something and then apparently they will be 100% sure either way, i have never heard of this (and neither had she) Does anyone know anything about it?

if its called amniocentesis http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/amniocentesis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

My cousin had it for this pregnancy, as she had high markers, hers came up as nothing wrong and she is due in Jan with no problems so far
x

(debs has added the right one a few posts down CVS)

p.s its the amniotic fluids they take not the placenta

Is it an anmnio? Not sure what the process is but I think they go into the womb with a needle and extract fluid to find out the risk.

I hope your friend is ok. I know of two people in this situation who chose not to have the test and their children didn't have downs x

yep it is amniotic fluids, did she have a nuchal scan? I had bloods taken at 16 weeks but didn't need any further follow up.

It's called Chorionic Villus sampling hun. Here's a bit of info:

Chorionic villus sampling
Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) is an early testing alternative for high-risk pregnant women, including those with a family history of birth defects or women over 35, and CVS can be as effective as an amniocentesis in detecting chromosomal problems and genetic defects, including those mentioned under Amniocentesis.A doctor performs a CVS procedure (some women say it’s kind of like getting a pap smear) to obtain a tiny sample of CV (chorionic villi) from a baby’s placenta on the wall of the uterus. It’s not as scary as it sounds, and it usually takes only a couple of minutes for the doctor to get the actual sample. The greatest risk with a CVS is miscarriage, and it does pose a higher risk of miscarriage than amniocentesis – but for high-risk pregnant women, doctors say the greatest benefit of a CVS procedure is early detection, since doctors usually perform a CVS much earlier than an amniocentesis (between 12 – 14 weeks gestation). All of these tests are to help ease or assuage any concerns the doctor may have detected during a regular prenatal check-up. The important thing to remember is protecting your health and your baby’s.
Hope everything turns out well for your friends hun
xx

Thanks for that Lisa, no its not the amnio is def the placenta. From the link you posted it sounds like it is that CVS she is having. Will keep fingers crossed for good news as she seems convinced it will be bad

Oops sorry ladies - hhmm? if they are deffinately taking from the placenta then it will be CV test otherwise an amnio takes a sample of the fluid around bubs.

xx

^^^^ oh its that one then!

Thank you all and for this info Debs, this sounds like the one. They will find out the results next week so at least they will not be waiting weeks or anything x

just to add kate it's her decision whether to go ahead or not it's not a compulsory procedure.

Poor lady! Does she know what she would do if it came back not good results?

My cousin ( I say my cousin, but its my cousins OH!) said she hadnt been able to decide what she would do before she had the results. TBH I dont think I could, until you have a definite answer its hard to know how you will feel.

pinkyd wrote:

just to add kate it's her decision whether to go ahead or not it's not a compulsory procedure.

Yes, she deffo wants to know, i have to say I would be the same as i would feel like i needed to know x

Lisa I think she is not sure but i think she may decide not to go ahead with the pregnancy. It is a very difficult decision isnt it.

I hope it's good news x

it must be so hard for her, its difficult to think what you would do in that position, my nephew on OH's side is downs so it was hard for us waiting on results, lets hope everything is ok for her. xx

really hope it all turns out well for your friend xxx

aw bless her such a worry. but I know 2 people (who are actualy related to each other weridly enough)
but one had like a very very high % she would have a downs baby, like it was nearly 100% sure it would be.. went ahead with the pregnancy and she was born fine! no problems at all, they said it being born normal (that sounds awful) was like 1% or something stupid.
then her sister had the same test nope had a very very very very low chance lowest it can go... and she was born with downs.

hope all works out, such a hard hard thing, thats why I didnt have the test, didnt want to know, didnt want to be faced with a decision like that, I would have carried on Im sure, but must be so hard xx

Oh Kate I hope it all comes back clear for your friend. xxx