Question for dopers who have given birth: Do they test for Down Syndrome in early pregnancy? What month do they do the tests? And what else do they test for? Does Downs typically run in family lines? My wife and I are going to start trying sooner than later, we are both in our 30’s and we’ve been doing a lot of reading on the subject of having children later in life.
What else can dopers tell me about pregnancies later in life?
I had my kids at 36 and 38. Both pregnancies were pretty much normal, although I had to be induced because I don’t go into labor on my own for some reason. The first time my water had broken and nothing was happening. The second time, the doctor was concerned that my son was getting too big to be delivered easily. (He ended up being 9 1/2 pounds and 22 inches long.) Also, at the beginning of my second pregnancy it took a while for the hormones to ramp up, so the doctor kept me on progesterone for the first trimester.
Amnio is done sometime in the second trimester, I believe. We chose not to have it done, because we would not have aborted in the case of Down’s. We did have ultrasounds done and they can tell you about some possible problems just using that information.
I think having kids late in life was good for us. I don’t think I was as resentful of their demands on our time as some younger parents seem to be. We’d already done our partying (such as it was) and traveling and such.
I don’t have the information with me, but there is a maternal blood test that can look evidence of Down Syndrome or Neural Tube developement problems. (Proteins from the fetus can enter the mother’s blood stream. That’s what they are testing.)
I had this done recently. A blood sample was taken when I was 18 weeks pregnant. If you would like more information, I can email it to you when I get home.
Good luck to you both. 
I had an amnio done at pretty much the last possible minute, and that was in the 16th week. This was 7 years ago, though. There is also a very early-stage test that can be done for high-risk pregnancies–my aunt had it done, she was 42–which is not as common, and is done before 12 weeks. CVS might be the name? Some acronym with C in it, anyway. Babycenter will be sure to have the information.
Aha! Babycenter: CVS info
We (well, my wife) had a blood test called a quad screen done around week 16 that tests for proteins and hormone associated with Down Syndrome a few other genetic conditions. If the results had indicated that there was a significant possibility of a problem (1 in 300 or so), we’d go ahead and have amniocentesis to make sure (the quad test can’t determine anything definite, only probabilities, while amniocentesis can determine things definitely but carries possibilities of complications). As it was, the results came back saying the chances were extremely low, so we left it at that.
That is very interesting, I see your point. My wife and I live next to a young couple…probably 20-21 years old with a 13 month old. They are constantly fighting, even yelling at the baby at times… I hate hearing it from our house, which is 500 feet from theirs.
Having a baby in your mid-30s is hardly “later in life.” In your 40s, maybe.
Fertility drops dramatically in women after age 35 or so, which is a good reason not to delay getting pregnant if having a baby is really important to you.
I was almost 40 and my husband was 41 when our son was born. We had been married for 16 lovely child-free years. Waiting was the right choice for us, not necessarily for everyone.
When a friend’s mom found out I’d be having a baby at around 40, she said “hah, having a baby at 40 won’t kill her. Having a 2-year-old when she is 42, that will!” A good joke with a bit of truth to it. But honestly, my son has kept me feeling young.
Phlosphr, I worked in a cytogenetics lab (about 4 years total) that did the amnio and CV testing for Down syndrome, and any other similar complication. Here’s a real quick and dirty explanation of how things work. (I’m sure I’ll later be corrected by an actual MD, but here goes anyway). When I worked at the lab the technology for pre-screening women was a triple screen, the current technology is a quad screen. I don’t have any numbers, but the quad is considerably more accurate in predicting complications. This (the higher accuracy of the quad screen) has cut down on the number of amnios and CVs performed. (CV = Chorionic Villi Sample = they actually go in through in vaginal canal and take an ever-so-small sample of tissue that, while technically from the fetus, is not the fetus itself.) That being said, the pre-screening process is geared to give false positives instead of false negatives. If it’s a false positive you can always get another test (amnio or CV) to confirm. If it’s a false negative, you’re screwed. Amnios and CVs do carry some risk of complications, but they’re really low. If you look at the percentage of miscarriages after one of these procedures and then compare that to the risk of spontaneous abortion, it’s basically zero. So, to answer your actual questions, yes they do “test” for Down syndrome, and a number of other things, in early pregnancy with the quad screen. I can’t remember what month they actually do the tests, and they test for lots of stuff, not just Down syndrome. Once a patient has given birth to a baby with Down syndrome she is considered to be at a higher risk of another Downs pregnancy. But it doesn’t, “run in families” in the way that other complications do. Of course, if one of you has a Robertsonian translocation, you’ve got a higher risk. Your risk of that is sufficiently low that now I’m just showing off.
Of course, IANAD, and this is not medical advice, etc, etc, etc.
This information is out of date. The latest studies are showing that fertility drops sharply after 30, not 35, which is what they used to think. cite.
Doctors are now discouraged from using the terms “high-risk” and “low-risk” when counseling patients on Down’s testing. They are now supposed to give you actual numbers based on your age group. Rather than only testing and automatically testing all mothers over 35 (old protocol), all mothers are to be offered the procedure after informing them of the frequency of Down’s in their age group. Here’s the chart for that, by the way.
Here’s a great article on the issue that covers the testing options: Prenatal Testing for Down Syndrome
My stepmother had my half brother when she was 44 and my father was at least in his early 50’s. He came out perfectly healthy and is now most likely keeping them young at 7 years of age 
I am 38 and I have a 5 year old, a 7 month old and another one (oops) due in September. I’ll save you doing the math, baby #3 will most likely be less than a year younger than child #2. And yes, we do know how babies are made…
That being said, I was not ready at 20, 25, or even 30 to start my family. I was traveling 3 our of four weeks every month until age 32 and we lived in a small apartment in the Chicago suburbs.
Now, I have been able to move back home to Iowa, and be financially secure to have a nice house and send my kids to Motessori preschool… two things that would not have been able to coexist were I ten years younger.
I see parents in their early 20’s struggle to make ends meet and I am thankful that we decided to wait. My wife and I had our fun times (partying, travelling, etc.) when we were young and could enjoy ourselves. I’ll be 56 when my youngest graduates high school, which I can deal with. It gives me good reason to stay in shape to keep up with my brood.
Kids are great. It is even better when you have money and can make time for them. These things are much easier if you have a few years under your belt.
Kids are great, but everyone is going to have different circumstances, and I don’t think we need to make a blanket statement that it’s best to have kids later. There are many happy parents in their 20’s, too.
Here’s another kind of test: Nuchal translucency screening.
I’m 39 and about 9 1/2 weeks pregnant, and we are looking into this test along with the quad screen in the upcoming weeks. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that these will turn out well and we can avoid amniocentesis.
Keep in mind that these tests need to be done within certain time frames, so you’ll need to pay attention to that when you schedule doctor or genetic counselor appointments.
The OP asked about pregnancies later in life, not in ones 20’s. The only blanket statement I made was from personal experience, which is what the OP is looking for.
In IMHO, maybe, but this is GQ.
Then you should petition to have it moved.
Woah, easy guys! I think **JXJohns **probably clicked on this thread’s link in this IMHO thread, also started by Phlsphr. He probably didn’t realize this was a second thread.
The thread is fine where it is, hoss. Don’t get yer drawers in a bunch.
I’m guessing WhyNot has the right explanation of the miscommunication.
Getting back to the GQ nature of the subject. Our five year old actually had a twin while in utero that through an ultrasound was suspected of having Down’s. The nuchal folds in the neck of that fetus were noted as being abnormal. A subsequent amnio confirmed the suspicion of Down’s Syndrome.
This baby did not survive the pregnancy but my son is happy and healthy today almost six years later. Subsequent pregnancies have had no such issues.
I understood and respect what you originally posted. And I am looking for people out of their 20’s to respond. Since my 20’s and my wifes were a blur, we’re trying to make all the right steps now. Though financially secure now, we feel it’s the best time to start having kids. I’m VERY Happy to be financially secure when we have children, I wuld not have wanted the extra burden of living check to check like when we were in our early 20’s… That being said, I know several people who are doing perfectly fine at 36 years old with a 14 year old daughter… No biggy, but happenstance and L.I.F.E stepped in and we are now having our children in our 30’s…