Comments on: Genetic Testing During the First and Second Trimester. (Simply Put.)

By: Lowy

Lowy — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

If you are negative for toxoplasmosis, you also need to be careful about eating raw fruits and vegetables…since it is something that is carried by dirt, you need to make sure the fruits and vegetables are cleaned very very well or cooked (which would kill the toxo). When I was pregnant last year, I was constantly worried about it. I would peel apples, quadruple wash any salad greens that were already in a “pre-washed” bag, and in general I would tend to avoid eating salads in restaurants.

Also, about the cheese. You CAN eat soft cheeses or “European” cheeses, as long as they are pasteurized. The important thing is to avoid any raw-milk cheese, which can be soft or hard or American or French. This was good news to me because I love love love cheese, especially kinds like Brie and Camembert, and it is possible to find pasteurized Brie. There’s a brand called President from France – they’re kind of like the Kraft of France – that makes pasteurized Brie and Camembert, and they are both very good.

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is why I want to encourage people to comment. Thank you for that information, Lowy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I love cheese as well. And I had NO idea about the fruit but it makes so much sense. One can never be too careful.

By: jenblossom

jenblossom — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is awesome. I have no idea if I will ever need this information, but it’s awesome of you to put it out there. Well done!

By: Jen

Jen — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, thanks for putting this information out there!
And the 35 thing is so true – my OB-GYN says the exact same thing.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wow…that’s a lot of testing! The only one I was offered was the triple-screen (possibly like your Quad-screen?), but I decline it. I am a wee bit younger than you though, so maybe that is why.

I just thought of one more they will test you for..in about week 36, they do a Group B Strep swab in both lower openings! At least they do in Canada, I’m pretty sure they would in the USA also. Then when you go into labour they will know if they have to pump you full of antibiotics so your baby doesn’t get the GBS or not.. lucky me, I was negative for GBS.

About the deli meats-my OB told me that as long as I bought them from a reputable store..ie. big chain grocery store, not a corner grocery store, then deli meats were fine if I ate them fresh, and didn’t leave them out of the fridge for ages. But do what YOUR dr. says, not mine!

My big thing I missed when I was preggo was the rare steak. It’s just not steak to me if I have to eat it well-done. That is one of the first things I ate when I came home from the hospital!

Wendy

ps. I’m enjoying your journey too! and how ever did you keep from telling anyone for three months?? I told everyone I was pregnant the day after I peed on the stick and got a + sign.

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Man, my own freaking Web site just lost an entire comment of mine. That’s so annoying.

not sure I want to rewrite it I’m so annoyed.

The gist was, I had no idea about that GBS test. That’s insane. I guess by then I’ll be so ready for anything, however, it won’t be a big deal? (I hope.)

I said something about not eating beef because since falling off the veggie wagon, I haven’t gone there yet. And craving pork, which I haven’t really dove into yet. I said something about wanting bacon. :]

Maybe the testing is offered more to women in certain areas? I don’t know. And, yes, the test you were offered is virtually the same thing as the Quad.

By: Sarah S

Sarah S — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yeah, I feel the same way about women who get all worked up about their age and having to have kids before 35. My cousin had her first at 36, her second at 38 and now is having her third (maybe already had it since she was due this month or the next) at 39 or 40. Can’t remember the age exactly, just know she is close to 40 now.

I’m 28 now and I do want kids. I just know I won’t be having any before I hit 30 so it is always refreshing to hear about women who waited. It is so hard right now as most married couples around me seem to be procreating left and right. It does begin to make a woman my age feel a little anxious….like I’m SUPPOSE to be doing the same thing considering I’m still in my 20’s.

Anyway. Kudos to anyone who waits beyond 35 to have their first baby:)

By: Meshbetty

Meshbetty — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nice post Mihow! I love reading all about the whole pregnancy stuff. I guess that is why I am completing a masters of public health (MPH) with a concentration on Maternal and Child health…..
anyway, I had my first pregnancy when I was 30 and my second at 35. I was told by my OB during my second that I really had nothing to worry about. I did end up doing the Ultra-screen thing. I was kinda freaked out by doing it as I didn’t have to do any extra testing with my first daughter. I knew that I didn’t have anything to worry about but still there was that one little bit lingering in the back of my head…a kind of what if the tests doin’t come out right… honestly I have no idea what we would have done if something didn’t come out right…
It is kinda funny though, of all the moms I know out here in San Fran I am probably one of the the youngest. Most of the moms from Isabel’s school are in their late 30’s if not 40’s who have 5 year olds or ones even younger!

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wendy-

Regarding this sentence:

“About the deli meats-my OB told me that as long as I bought them from a reputable store..ie. big chain grocery store, not a corner grocery store, then deli meats were fine if I ate them fresh, and didn’t leave them out of the fridge for ages.”

I think you should get a new OB. That is by and large the worst advice and dumbest thing a doctor can say. A big chain grocery is no more likley to be more sanitary , fresh or hygenic than a corner grocery.

Michele -

You should have toby do some search engine optimizaiton for this post. Its much more informative and better written than anything wikipedia could put out.

By: Lowy

Lowy — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I had my baby in Spain. They did do the GBS test as well near the end of my pregnancy – I can’t remember now if it was week 36 or a bit later. Also, I had blood tests each trimester, so they could check on the usual things like red/white blood cell count, iron level, protein in urine, etc.

Mid-pregnancy (I think) I also had a glucose test for gestational diabetes. In Spain it is standard to do it for all women no matter if you are overweight or not. A friend in the States who recently had a baby had to ask for it. Anyway, this, along with the other blood tests, didn’t bother me since they are non-invasive (if you consider getting blood taken out of you non-invasive!) and I wanted the information.

I also had a very long ultrasound at week 20, which I think is standard everywhere. At that point, they can check in more detail for potential defects or problems with the baby or the placenta or your uterus. They will see if there are 4 chambers in the heart and so on. I think it lasted almost 45 minutes.

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jonathan, in defense of what Wendy wrote, we have it different here in NYC. Sometime, I think we’re spoiled. I would not, say, purchase deli meat from the local Uni Mart in State College, PA but I would probably trust it from Wegmans. Then again, I don’t eat deli meat, so who knows.

I dunno. Just a thought. I think Wendy lives in Canada, things could be different.

I do have an ultrasound scheduled for week 20, Lowy. They told me I had to not pee for at least an hour before. I also have to drink at least 20 ounces of water. That worries me greatly. :] I can’t seem to go much longer than one hour without peeing.

I also have some diabetes type testing much later on. IS that the glucose one you mentioned above?

Thanks for the comments.

By: jonathan

jonathan — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t trust chains. Chains do 2 things that really stick out to me:

a- They’re about profits. When you have a local grocer, they’re about relations. You know your grocer, and they’re semi involved in the neighborhood or community—they work and possibly live there. When you use a chain, you don’t know them. They’re in the business of the bottom line.

b- Go to a local grocer, you’ll see employees as friends/family of the owners. There’s some amount of respect in both directions. Go to a chain, you see high school kids playing catch with the food as they unpack it or serve food at the deli section. Its a nameless minimum wage or union job where you can’t-get-fired vs. people working in small groups where they’re actually accountable.

I’ve seen that not just in New York, but california, england, washington, france, etc. Its just the mentality of people working in small vs large places.

Michele- did you get my message about knitting circles?

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Well, Wendy said reputable food chains. I find Whole Foods to be very reputable. They’re a chain. So I guess it depends on the person and the chain. Also, I find the employees at Whole Foods quite happy and helpful most of the time. The guy at the deli across the street? No freaking way. Plus, crackheads hang out outside and drunks hang inside, that place scares me. I know they’re not all like that, but so many seem to scream “We change the expiration date on our milk!”

I avoid places like Key Foods, Met, etc. I am lucky I have the cash to afford places like Whole Foods and Fresh Direct, that’s for sure. :[

By: jonathan

jonathan — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Whole Foods is very atypical- its a liberal health oriented chain thats trying to compete with local gourmet and health grocers. I think every other chain in NYC ( there’s also d’ag, food emporium, etc), even the nicer ones , is pretty ‘rank’ and dirty—and far more typical of what you find thoughout the world.

Why are we talking about this though.

Babies. Babies. Babies.

Rhymes with rabies, but not as scary.

By: worker

worker — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Question: How much does the amniocintesis cost if insurance doesn’t cover it?

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, enough about where to buy ones deli meats.

I am told the amnio runs about 1,000 dollars but I don’t know if that’s right.

By: Lowy

Lowy — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, the glucose thing is for gestational diabetes. You have to drink a glucose solution and then get your blood drawn about 1 hour later.

I remember having to drink the water and not pee before the 20 week scan. It was horrible and painful to hold it for that long – especially when you’re pregnant. Luckily about halfway during my scan the technician told me that I could pee a little to let some of it out. I really think I might have burst – or more accurately peed my pants – if it hadn’t been for that!

By: Wendy

Wendy — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jonathan, thank you for the advice, but my OB was just fine, and my son was born just fine. I do see the point in her advice-our corner store sells deli meats, but the expiry dates have often passed, while the huge chains sell their stock so quickly, it is much fresher. Anyhow..this is not about me, this is about Mihow!

Mihow, the GBS test is very quick and painless and just involves a Q tip basically. Don’t worry about that one at all!

I forgot about the gest. diabetes test. I believe it is given to most if not all pregnant women in Canada at about 28 weeks. I was given a bottle of orange pop to drink (basically), then had to wait an hour, and they took a vial of blood. If my glucose levels were too high, then I would have been sent for the 3 hour fasting test.

My OB also told me..shhh..don’t tell, that I only needed to drink half the water required for the ultrasound, so only 2 cups instead of 4 cups. I’m not sure how many ounces that is. But I still thought I would explode when they pushed the U/S wand over my abdomen!

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

No no no! This isn’t about me at all. :] But thank you, Wendy.

Hey, I just wanted to write to say that I have received several emails asking about the preblood testing. A few people wonder if it’s going overboard, if it’s being too over-the-top. To be honest, I have no idea. I went ahead and did it because it was covered by insurance and I figured that it couldn’t hurt.

Now, hopefully I don’t step on any toes here, but could this be specific to NYC because the Jewish population is so large here? Is this blood testing thing common elsewhere? Obviously, I only know what takes place here in NYC. So if anyone has anything they would like to add to this, I would be really grateful. I am not sure what to write back to folks when they send me email. The more and more I get the more and more I’m worried I am giving out shitty information. :[

Help me?

By: nervous and small

nervous and small — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“I opted to save hundreds of dollars that would have been spent on feline blood work and let Tobyjoe scoop the poop instead. (Awesome!)”

Well hey…even I consider that awesome!

By: tien

tien — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

i suppose you’re mostly happy about not having to clean the poop. i almost think the pain of childbirth is less torturous than 9 months of scooping poop for the sperm donor.

By: sheryl

sheryl — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for writing this. Just recently I decided that I might want to have a baby, someday. I have not done research or anything. And my family as well as his thinks it is too late, even though his sister just got pregnant at 43, and my sister in law had one of my nieces when she was 44.

I’m going to be 40 in May. I’m not panicked, but I know I have to decide soon.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks so much for all the information about the ultra-screen. I am 12 weeks pregnant. I have mine scheduled for tomorrow and was in two minds about whether or not I should be getting it done. I have friends with babies who only did amniocentesis and no ultrascreen. It was very helpful to learn that ultra-screen is a relatively new procedure and that’s probably the reason why some of my friends didn’t get it done.

By: Careful

Careful — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, there are plenty of post-35 women who have had successful and uneventful pregnancies. That is not to say you don’t take a risk when you leave it later. I always thought I had plenty of time. Although no-one can ever tell me whether the fetal abnormalities I had in my first pregnancy were related to my age, I will never know.

With respect to CVS, it may also be done through the abdomen—it depends on where the placenta is placed in the uterus. Also, results for CVS and amnio both take at least a week or two to get a FULL set of results. The FISH results are a limited but faster test for four chromosomes only.

By: Karen

Karen — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

it was good to hear the the Dr. in New York felt that being 35 was not that big of a deal. I was 38 when I fist got pregnant and I miscarried at the end of my first trimester. I am not 40 and was seeking treatment at a fertility clinic. I found out I was pregnant on Easter Sunday and I didn’t even get the chance to start the fertility medicine. I am 6 weeks and before I found out I had went out with the girls the week before I had 2 MRI’s done for back pain. I didn’t expect to get pregnant because we had tried for over a year and was being treated by the fertility specialist. Who mentioned that our chances were quite slim. I am very concerned about genetic testing. As every woman does, I hope for a healthy baby. It is hard not to worry. If anyone has any comforting feedback I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Karen, the key is to relax. :] I know, easier said than done. I worried myself sick throughout my first trimester especially about having a healthy baby. I put my mind at ease using the tests that were offered to me. (I highly recommend the noninvasive testing if you’re at all concerned and want to enjoy you pregnancy. It did wonders for my state of mind. If there is any cause to alarm, then you can decide if the CVS or the amnio is right for you.)

Relax and enjoy it. I am so happy to hear you are pregnant and without having to use the fertility medicine, that’s great news! I wish you the best. If you want to chat more personally about anything, feel free to write me an email at the one listed at the top right hand side of this page.

By: NYC

NYC — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I had the first trimester screen and things looked really good—a 1/400 for Downs (I’ll be 39 when the baby is born) and a great ultrasound (did this in a major city’s reputable hospital). I was 16 wks last week and had the quad screen at a local hospital. Got a call- my risk ration is 1/5 now! What on earth?! A few OB/GYNs that I know (not my own)said they never would’ve advised me to have the second trimester screen. Now, I’m a mess and have to go for another ultrasound in a week (back to the big hospital). Advice? Thoughts? From the research I’ve done, the baby will most likely not have Downs because of the false/positives that can occur in the second test, plus that ratio is a huge jump—pretty bizarre.

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

NYC: They did tell you that the Quad is notorious for giving out false positives, right? Not that what they gave you was a false positive by any means but I wanted to remind you of that. Also, remember that you were given an 80% chance that the baby is A-OK. I would sit reassured, my friend. The Ultrascreen is so incredible these days, I would be more apt to play attention to those numbers over the ones you received during the Ultrasound. :] I hope that helps a bit. And CONGRATULATIONS! Such great news for you!

By: Piedmont VA

Piedmont VA — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hi, great website. I will be 41 next month. I have a 15 year old daughter and have dealt with the disappointment of undiagnosed secondary infertility since 1991. We chose to undergo no treatment, whatever God wants is what we will have. My husband and I were finally ok with just having 1 who was getting prepared for driving and thinking about college… Lo and behold, March 16 the pregnancy stick reads positive. I am now 10 weeks pregnant and on the fence of being totally freaked out and absolutely thrilled. True, this is a fresh start in our lives, as one leaves the nest another starts their life. It gives us something to concentrate on for the next 19 or 20 years….

I have no reason to believe anything will be wrong, so far this is just like it was 15 years ago. But I am starting out about 30 pounds heavier and that isn’t all that great. But Jenny Craig will be waiting for me after Christmas, so that takes care of that.

I do not know if I should take the Amnio or CVS. I am quite sure it would make no difference in my decision. I’m Catholic, so it’s no question.

But part of me tells me to do it just to be sure. Or to be prepared. I don’t know.

What have other people done. Anyone have a similiar experience? I’d love to chat with anyone who is in the same boat as me. Or at least a similar boat….

Due date – November 12.

: )

By: mihow

mihow — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Piedmont: Not sure if you’ll see this as I’m writing you back rather late.

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. Unplanned or not, what amazing news. You’re going to have another baby. That’s awesome news.

Also, I was raised catholic. I am no longer practicing, and I don’t presume to know what the catholic church would say on the matter, however, I don’t think that your having two tests done, which are totally safe and completely noninvasive, would be considered sinful in anyway, especially since you already have your mind made up about the information you may attain. I can’t imagine that the catholic church would mind your preparing yourself. As far as I’m concerned an ultrascreen is nothing more than another ultrasound. You’re having an ultrasound, right?

Also, knowing that your baby is healthy is a relief for mama. And if your baby has DS, that’s not something to be upset about either. And if you know in advance, well, you can plan better for when your baby is born. When I found out I was going to have a boy, I started to do as much research as possible so I know how to raise a little boy. I felt that I could understand a little girl, but a boy? Wow. Anyway, finding out a little more about your little person prior his or her arrival doesn’t seem at all sinful to me. In fact, I think it might make your life and his or her life easier when the time comes that the two you meet.

For what it’s worth. :]

Anyway, congrats again. Feel free to email me if you want to chat off line as well.