Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT)

Has anyone done the Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) blood work before?

[name_u]Reason[/name_u] you chose to? Thoughts on it, etc? Did you doctor encourage it or prefer another screening method?

Yes, I did the Natera Panorama NIPT at 11 weeks. [name_f]My[/name_f] doctor recommended it since I am 35. Results came back in 6 days. It also tells you the sex of baby if you want to know.
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband wanted to do it because he had anxiety about baby being healthy. It was a big relief to get results so soon at only 12 weeks.

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Yes, we opted for it as well. [name_f]My[/name_f] OB suggested it because I’m a first-time mom, and my insurance fully covered the test. He also recommended a genetic carrier test that screens for 288 genetic markers, but we opted against. Got the labs drawn last [name_m]Thursday[/name_m], and got results back [name_f]Tuesday[/name_f]. It was such a relief…and I’m impatient, and wanted to know the gender asap :joy:

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@whatchamacallit @leapingliz

Thanks for the feedback. [name_f]My[/name_f] understanding was it took much longer for results to be processed.

I have to look into if insurance will cover any of it. I believe it is around $500.

They overcharge the insurance like crazy. We chose to pay around $200 out of pocket and not go through insurance. I think some people have even gotten it for $100 by paying out of pocket. It depends on what company you’re working with probably.
But if you can get the insurance to cover it then that’s great! Might take a little longer to go through but not much. :blush:

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Yes! I had the Natera Panorama blood test done close to 10 weeks. [name_f]My[/name_f] doctor recommended it because I’d had previous losses and had nearly lost that pregnancy, too. He was curious as to what answers could be found and whether or not I was a carrier of anything.

I’ll be honest, I wanted answers to those questions but I also wanted to know if there was anything to know… if you catch my drift. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I wanted to know early on so we could prepare and research, should something be found. I was really nervous but we came back low risk for everything. It gave us a measure of peace to know that chances looked good for me carrying the baby to term.

I also felt comfortable doing the test because it was so non-invasive for the baby. Simple blood work, which I needed done anyway:

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Yes, I did but much later, around 24 weeks. There was one area of question on our full anatomy scan at 20 weeks. Our doctor gave us 3 options: this test, a referral to a high risk OB for more in depth ultrasounds, or do nothing as it was likely nothing to be concerned about. We did nothing for a few weeks and then I decided it was worth it for me to have some piece of mind and be prepared at delivery if something did happen. They took the blood at my 24 week appointment and I think the results took about a week. All was fine, praise the [name_m]Lord[/name_m]!
[name_f]My[/name_f] OB’s office referred me to a program with the testing manufacturer. If your insurance denied it, which mine would have under these circumstances, I agreed to complete a survey post testing and results, we would only be charged $200. That is the route we went.
I went back and forth on it. Mostly because it didn’t matter if something was wrong. It was our baby and we were going to have it either way. Ultimately, I went through so I wasn’t stressing in my head for the last 20 weeks. I was just in the cusp of the age line for it to be recommended anyways.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps!

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I am definitely leaning towards wanting to have it done. I’ve always been a more information the better type person. [name_f]My[/name_f] previous pregnancies have been highly monitored but have never had it done before. We unexpectedly had to have an amnio with our last pregnancy. I am older this pregnancy.

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I didn’t have it done with my first pregnancy (for a number of reasons), but we did choose to have one with my other two pregnancies. [name_f]My[/name_f] twin brother has a syndrome (nothing too dramatic or severe) that can be detected by a NIPT test. Nobody could tell us for certain if my children actually had a higher risk, but we wanted to make sure. Not that it would be a huge deal for us, but it’s best to be prepared. [name_f]My[/name_f] third pregnancy were twins though, and because of this the specific condition could not be detected with a NIPT test, but we had it done anyway to put my mind at rest about other possible problems.

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I had a screen initially and the full testing when one of my numbers fell below the threshold. It was all free because of universal healthcare in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] plus I was going to be 35 at time of birth. To my knowledge everyone is entitled to have the screen, but doctors will strongly recommend it for older moms due to the higher likelihood of issues. If something comes up via screening, then you get the fuller NIPT test.

It was scary to know that one of my tests was suspicious, but the actual number on the screening was very low and was set so to catch anything possible.

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Amazing it was at no charge for you being in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] :canada:

I looked into it and believe it would be $500 + tax but I am super excited as I believe it will be fully covered. I will check with my OB this week.

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@whatchamacallit @leapingliz that’s great your results came back very quickly!

[name_f]My[/name_f] doctor put the referral in and plan to go very soon for it. Also hoping we get the results back fast!

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