16 Week Prenatal Check-up

My husband and I went to my 16 week prenatal check-up together. We brought our younger son Tres, who is 15 months old. We wanted to bring him to show my OB who he delivered.

My Obstetrician went over the results of the MaterniT 21 test again, this time with the both of us. He said the results of the test point strongly to Down Syndrome. (Again the test has a 99.4% accuracy rating.)

He said that he would like to do a regular fetal ultrasound in a couple weeks for anatomy of the baby and see me afterward. (On a side note: He was willing to see me in the clinic on the day that he doesn't take clinic appointments and go out of his way for us.) He referred us to Genetic Counselors that would be able to assist us more in talking to us about Down Syndrome and some things to expect as well as resources. And then he would like to do a more in depth fetal echo cardiogram of the heart about 25 weeks pregnant. He said when I am about 30 weeks pregnant that he would like to do stress tests and fetal monitoring about twice a week since women who carry babies with Down's have a higher risk for stillborn births. He said he was not clear on why that was, but it just is.

He said that I could go into spontaneous labor and have a normal vaginal delivery if the baby tolerates it. He said he wouldn't see why I wouldn't be able to hold my baby after he is born and have skin-to-skin contact as long as he is doing fine.

He also said that the hospital I am delivering at has a great NICU and that if the baby needed surgery, it would be transferred to another hospital like Children's or Michigan State. Which honestly put my mind at ease because I didn't know if the hospital I plan on delivering at had the resources if needed and we really like and trust our Obstetrician and wanted to keep him.

Yes, we asked what we were having as the MatertiT 21 test was able to determine the sex of the baby. It's a BOY!!