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teggers · Guest

anyone with information or input please let me know!!! i am 35 and pregnant for the 4th (and final) time. all of my other pregnancies went fine. last week i gave blood for the alpha-feta protein test and the results came back as high. dr. didn't say how high but had to give more blood and schedule an ultrasound and amnio. what is this test? how accurate are results? anything you might find helpful information to me please let me know and help my worries!

ok just got the second test results and they say 3.6? what is that?

Kendra04 · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 147 Location: Georgia

I am not a doctor so of course this isn't professional advise. Wink

But, my best friend's mom is a nurse at an OBGYN office and she said that a lot of the time they will come back as false positives (high). She even suggested that I didn't do it because if (it being my first kid) it did come back positive they then would do the amnio and make me begin counseling on how to deal with a handicapped child. Also, I believe it is like more than 60 % that come back false. This is just what I have been told-- I am 18 yr. old pregnant w/ first child. I do not know if this is different for you since it isn't your first. I hope this helped you. Very Happy

Mom of 2 · Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 303

From the way I understand it the results just show how much of chance you may have of your childing having some problems such as spina bifida and down syndrome. It doesn't show if something is wrong or not. Many people have there's come back high and nothing is wrong. They do further testing in case something is wrong you can prepare or decide to end the pregnancy.

AmyV · Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 25

I second that. My mom does ultrasounds for a living and tells me there is a high false positive result for the AFP test. Maybe that's why my insurance won't cover it Sad

. I'm debating whether I will do the test or not. With this test, positive results could mean something is wrong, or it could mean nothing at all and all is fine.

The next thing they will do is schedule you for a level 2 ultrasound (that's what my mom does) You should definitely do that. During that u/s, they will look for defects associated with your test results.

They can't see everything with an u/s (internal stuff etc) so even if the u/s is nomal they will probably offer you the amnioentisis. That is where they can for sure tell you if something is wrong or not. However there is a small risk of miscarriage when you have that test done. But it will tell you decisivly if something is wrong or not. I would weigh the options on the amnio test with your doctor. Make a list of questions and ask them all.