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Debi,
It is an early Saturday morning and I cannot sleep. I have been checking the posts, hoping for some insightful perspectives on positive quad screen results that others have been faced with. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. My heart breaks for you, having lost your son. Until I had children of my own, I never understood the level of protection, loyalty, and devotion a parent has for a child. Up until yesterday, I took for granted uneventful pregnancies, normal test results, and healthy babies.
Fear is my biggest challenge right now. I am petrified about facing up to making a very grave decision if the amnio confirms the quad screen. I have always been pro choice, everyone faces different circumstances in their life. I, too, now face an unexpected circumstance. Therefore, termination is an option that my husband and I have discussed. I am 35 and my husband is 43. We look at things in terms of 25/30 years from now... what kind of responsibility does that mean for us and potentially others?
Certain people in our life have laid on feelings of shame and guilt. This baby is a gift from God and you take it, no matter what. I think to myself... that is real easy for them to say... with healthy children of their own who will one day, grow to be self-sufficient and independent. Others will judge and I feel very weak in having to live with that stigma. I'm afraid of those whispers that will linger for years... why?
Before, I go... can you please answer some specifics for me?
The doctor said my results for DS were 1 in 60. Does that mean I don't have a risk for T18? Or, is it all included as one diagnosis?
After the amnio... did you take time off of work to rest?
Do you think the quad screen is even more efficient and reliable than the triple screen? That being said, the results of the quad screen are more likely to be true than the "older" triple screen tests?
I also wanted to say that my height and weight are appropriate for my age, etc. I am 5 feet 6 inches for height and my pre-pregnancy weight was 137 pounds. Obesity is not a factor in my test results.
Thanks, Debi. Give your girls a big hug.

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