Triple screen - Page 2

[Bkwyrm]

I'm having it done next week. I'd rather know - and Downs runs in my father's family.

[radish]

For the same reasons as most, we did not and will not have any of the tests. My DH is Jewish and they keep pressuring me to have a genetic specialist meet with us...even got a phone call to set up the appt.

I have a first cousin born with spina bifida and she is my age (28)

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by radish

For the same reasons as most, we did not and will not have any of the tests. My DH is Jewish and they keep pressuring me to have a genetic specialist meet with us...even got a phone call to set up the appt.

I have a first cousin born with spina bifida and she is my age (28)

If your dh is Jewish, the issue only exists if you're ALSO of Jewish descent. You can only pass along the disease (and the other diseases they test for in the Jewish genetic testing) if both parents are carriers. Dh and I had the genetic testing before ttc, because Tay Sachs is a HORRIFIC disease, causes months and sometimes years of suffering for the child and is always fatal before age 5. We wanted to know if we had a chance of it before we got pregnant--turns out I'm a carrier, but dh is not. If we had both been carriers, we would probably have adopted--a 25% chance of that kind of suffering would be too high for me.

[Mamatoto2]

Originally Posted by radish

For the same reasons as most, we did not and will not have any of the tests. My DH is Jewish and they keep pressuring me to have a genetic specialist meet with us...even got a phone call to set up the appt.

I have a first cousin born with spina bifida and she is my age (28)

Just like NYCVeg said, the "Jewish" diseases that they test for are only important if you are both of Jewish descent because they are recessive so you'd need both people to be carriers of the recessive gene to have a child with the disorder. That said, when DH had the "Jew panel" done (as we're both Jewish, and I was already pg so they said it would be more reliable to test him) I remember learning that Cystic Fibrosis is more common among caucasian couples than Tay Sachs is among Jewish couples....for all I heard about being the risk of TS (as a Jewish woman) I had never been educated about the risk of CF (as a Caucasian woman). Just something I thought was of interest.

[radish]

That's weird, she (OB) made it sounds like mixed-race couples were at a higher risk (???). She knows I am not and have no heritage that makes me a risk so I dont know why she put so much pressure on genetic counseling.

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by radish

That's weird, she (OB) made it sounds like mixed-race couples were at a higher risk (???). She knows I am not and have no heritage that makes me a risk so I dont know why she put so much pressure on genetic counseling.

That's...bizarre. Really. My super mainstream sister, who got every test in the book and had a completely mainstream OB, didn't even get the testing b/c her husband is not Jewish. And believe me, they tested for EVERYTHING. Your OB sounds like she needs to do some research!

[ChattyCat]

You can still be a carrier for Tay-Sachs even if you're not of Jewish descent. It's just much, much more common among Jews. Just like anyone can be a CF carrier, but again, it's much more likely among Caucasians.

An interesting note about CF screening: The test only searches for some of the genes that can cause CF. You can still be a carrier, even if you get a negative test.