Genetic Counselor

January 14, 2008
11:49 am

We were supposed to see a Genetic Counselor right after our Level II ultrasound on Wednesday, but since my consult with the perinatologist* started late and lasted longer that expected and John had to go back to work by the time the u/s was actually over. I was tempted to cancel my apointment with the GC altogether (because at the time I saw no value added in talking to her) but John pleaded with me that I talk to whoever I could about my anxiety, so I rescheduled my appointment with the GC to Friday morning. John picked me up at home at 9:45 and we headed downtown to Hartford Hospital. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but I've gotta say, I had a GREAT consult with the GC: I feel much better about my blood and u/s results (she did a great job in explaining those to us), while, of course, continuing to understand that they offer me no guarantees (but, refreshingly so, she didn't focus on the possibility of what could go wrong - no matter how unlikely - but on the fact that everything was very positive).

THE CONSULT: She started it by asking John and I about our family history (whether everybody was healthy, etc. - John's family is 100% healthy but I have 2 cousins - that I learned genetically don't impact my baby - with mental problems). She then went over our blood test results and explained to us, in detail, what each of the 4 elements of the quadruple screen meant. My main questions was in regard to timing - I had my AFP at week 21 and 3 days when the cut-off is at 22 weeks (the lab doesn't have data past that time) - I was concerned, in the event I had miscalculated my conception date and I was actually later in on my pregnancy, I asked her if the results were still true considering the facts and if the data had been compromised, as a result. She reassured me that I am OK there, as the lab wouldn't have performed the tests if they didn't have data to measure my blood count against. Then we went over the level II u/s results. She said that the doctor (perinatologist - for definition, see below) who performed it was one of the most experienced doctors in the Hartford area, that my results were fantastic, that the machine was very accurate and that the odds, of us having a baby with special needs, based on these tests were much lower than a risk of a miscarriage with us having an amnio. She asked me to think rationally about whether the amnio would make sense - and even though "rational" is not a word that is in my personal dictionary these days - considering the results and how against it John is, I've decided not to have it.

The hard thing about this pre-partum depression is the unpredictability of how I'm going to feel. I've been doing really well for the past couple days but I have no idea of what's gonna hit me in the next few days. As a result of doing well, John and I were able to pick colors for the baby's room (pink, light brown and the paneling will be ivory), we bought a car seat at Target, we decided that we would try and work on organizing the house to get ready for baby, etc... The crazy thing is, I feel so good when I'm doing things for her, I love it when she throws kicks and punches and shows me that yes, she is here to stay and I love looking at my belly and actually "seeing" how fast she's growing now (I believe at this point, babies grow quite rapidly - weight -wise it is about 6 ounces/week)... It feels so real. I am just hoping that I can keep this up and that I can somehow stay somewhat positive for the next 3 and a half months... We'll see

* Perinatologist: An obstetrical sub-specialist concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications. Since the perinatal period, depending on the definition, starts at the 20th to 28th week of gestation and ends 1 to 4 weeks after birth, a perinatologist logically could be a obstetrician or pediatrician but, in practice, a perinatologist is an obstetrician. The comparable area of pediatrics is neonatology. A high-risk baby might be cared for by a perinatologist before birth and by a neonatologist after birth.