1st Trimester Screen

Just to be on the safe side, we have decided to pursue a 1st Trimester screen for Down Syndrome. We went to see Dr. Rosemond, the perinatologist in Athens and he performed another ultrasound (Yay! Another peek at the little'n!) and drew some blood. We got a good long look at our little bean (~20 minutes) and I only had to give about 7cc of blood so that's good. The ultrasound revealed a nuchal translucency(1) measurement of 2.4mm; slightly larger than Ali got last week but still within the normal range. The blood test will be checking the levels of two or more pregnancy proteins.

One protein that is always measured is called PAPP-A (pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A). Its levels tend to be lower than usual in pregnant women carrying a fetus with Down syndrome. The other proteins that can be measured are the beta human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), total hCG, and inhibin A. The levels of these proteins tend to be higher than usual in pregnant women carrying a baby with Down syndrome.

Please don't be alarmed - our chances for having a child with Downs are very low but we wanted to check just to be sure. If you'd like to read more about the test click here. Of course we will post again when we receive the results next week.

Our next appointment with the midwives is June 11th and no, they most likely will NOT be able to tell us the gender but we'll keep you posted as to any new developments. Remember to check the Photo Gallery for some new head shots of the little guy/girl. 6.3 cm and 155 bpm for those of you keeping score at home.

(1) "Measure[s] the size of the naturally occurring fluid-filled space at the back of the baby's neck (called nuchal translucency). Thickening in this area can be a sign of Down syndrome, although thickening can also be found in normal fetuses."