Has anyone had to terminate for chromosomal reasons?
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Anonymous
| OP, I'm sorry you're going through this. I am not sure if your doctor has mentioned this, but you may get confusing results from the microarray. I say this as someone who has a child with a brain condition that was caused by a tiny chromosomal deletion (we did not find out until after birth). We have been told by our geneticist that many people carry tiny genetic deletions or duplications, and so sometimes it can be hard to interpret the results of a microarray that shows a deletion or duplication exists. That's because sometimes doctors don't know the significance of a duplication or deletion unless there is a population that has the same issue that has been reported on in scientific literature. You or I could be walking around with a genetic deletion and not even know it. So it's possible you could get a result that says your baby has a small genetic deletion, but they may be unable to tell you what that means (as opposed to if you had a baby with Down's, they can say 'these are the possibilities and we know this because there have been so many cases of Down's reported on in the literature). I want to also tell you that even if they do find a genetic issue where there is some scientific literature, they probably still won't be able to give you a definitive answer as to what it means for your child. Many genetic issues present themselves with a range of possibilities. For my child, we were told he could be severely retarded or just have mild developmental delays. It's a total crap shoot and it totally sucks! I'm not saying this to scare you, but just want you to be prepared for receiving information that may not be easy to decipher. In a way, it might be easier to know your child has an issue that is totally incompatible with life because your decision might be more clear. It's a tougher decision when they can't tell you for sure what it means for your child. I wish you the best through all of this and hope your doctors will give you as much information as you need to make your decision. |
Anonymous
| Very going point PP. My son was born with a severe birth defect that was correctable with surgery. When we were considering TTC #2 we did genetic testing on our son to see if it was a fluke or genetic. Turns out he had a small portion of one chromosome (#5) that was duplicated. My husband and I were also tested and I have the same duplication. I'm perfectly healthy and do not have a history of birth defects in my family. We are the only two people in the world known to have this so basically we have NO idea if it's related to his condition or just a meaningless duplication. The geneticist we met with said these things are very common. Anyway, I hope everything in your case comes back normal. |
Anonymous
| Thinking about you OP. |
Anonymous
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Hi all...it's the OP. Doctor just called (yes, on a Saturday, I adore her). Guess what? Come on...say it with me...WE STILL DON'T KNOW. The full CVS results are negative. So basically we have no idea what might be causing what we have seen on the ultrasounds. The micro array may or may not tell us more, as a PP has noted...and that won't be back for two more weeks. We have an ultrasound this coming Wednesday...hopefully it will shed more light.
The doc did say the slow growth might be due to the baby just getting chromosomes from one parent rather than both (bizarre, I didn't know that was even possible)...apparently in those cases it is actually possible for the baby to be fine, just tiny. Might also be due to my bicornuate uterus. Or it could be something else altogether, perhaps dire, perhaps not. At this point i am just shrugging my shoulders and resigning myself to more waiting... What else can we do? It would be funny if it weren't so totally not funny. So, tune in Wednesday evening for the next installment. Thanks again for all your support. |
Anonymous
| OP. Ann here. I am sorry this is taking so long to get resolution. My fingers are crossed for you. |
Anonymous
| I can't believe this is happening to you guys. I am so sorry. Can they push the ultrasound to Monday so at least you guys can get a better look at things? Ugh, I just don't know... |
Anonymous
| I'm sorry this saga is never ending - especially during a time in your life where you should be celebrating. All I can think of is you are being the best mother right now by doing everything possible for this little one. |
Anonymous
I'm so sorry PP. I mean, I am happy that things look genetically normal so far, but it's so awful to not know! And I know this because my DD had a translocation (parts of two chromosomes switched places), and like a PP said, there is very little in the literature about this particular switch, so we didn't know whether she would be healthy or not. We went through the whole rigamarole with testing at Children's, all showing everything to be normal (more or less), and then they still give us the caveat that everything could be anatomically normal but the child could still have developmental problems, there is a continuum and she could be anywhere on the continuum, blah blah blah. Long story short, DD was born healthy! She still seems healthy and robust (maybe a little too much so on some days, but I am not complaining!!!) at 10 months, but I still worry. I feel like I will never stop worrying, wondering what the translocation will finally mean and when symptoms will appear... a year, three years, ten. Anyway, I am rambling as it is almost midnight and I should be getting work done. My message here is to never give up hope! After all the prenatal worrying, things can still work out ok. Have faith. I'll be thinking of you. |
Anonymous
| OP - just read this thread and am sending more hugs your way. From all of your posts, you sound like a very strong woman. |
Anonymous
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NP here. If you have Kaiser, your regular OB will perform any medically-indicated surgery up until the legally-allowed time period. In DC that is 26 weeks, I believe it's a bit shorter in Maryland and Virginia.
I'm sorry for your loss, OP. This was a big fear of mine, having had four friends go through it, so I asked the same questions of my OB when waiting for the tests. |
Anonymous
| My thoughts are with you, OP. |
Anonymous
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This is the OP one last time. Our story ends here.
We miscarried naturally at about 1:00 this morning, at 15w1d. We were already at GW--I'd been having terrible cramps and some light bleeding, and since I had also been told I had placenta previa, we knew we couldn't ride it out at home...I wasn't interested in bleeding out. Within 30 minutes of our arrival I was bleeding scary amounts and, we later learned, had passed the baby. We were in the ER all night and then the OR this morning; they had to do a D&C to address the bleeding and get all the placental tissue. But the odds are good that we will never know why this baby didn't make it. Physically i am ok, though i feel like a car has driven over my uterus (though i will say, the team at GW was amazing--kind, competent, caring). Emotionally, I am as you would expect; we knew this loss was very possible but that doesn't mean we aren't aching with grief. The part that is really saddening me is that we lost our tiny baby in that horrible filthy bathroom off the ER lobby--what a terrible, tragic, completely wrong place. It's going to take me awhile to grieve that particular loss. But we at least have this: we know we did all we could, and we were at least spared the suffering of having to make the agonizing choice to terminate. Now we know for sure that this baby would never have made it. If that's what the outcome had to be, i am thankful to nature for taking her course. I remember the Charlotte character on Sex and the City saying after an adoption fell through, "That wasn't our baby. We just haven't gotten the baby we are supposed to have...yet." That's what I'm trying to remind myself: that as much as we hoped it would be...this wasn't our baby. All we can do is hope that the next one is truly ours. Thank you once again for everything. |
Anonymous
| OP - you are incredibly strong and have had a great outlook through all of this. Hugs, and best wishes for "your" baby in the future. |
Anonymous
| I'm so sorry, OP. You sound incredibly strong. I hope you find the closure you need, and you will get "your" baby. |
Anonymous
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So so sorry OP. This was your baby, just not the one you get to keep with you. Please don't be surprised if you go in and out of grief, in and out of feeling strong and "accepting". Some days I am very "zen" about our big loss, sometimes I'm sad, and sometimes I'm very petty and mean (inside my own head, of course).
I am very glad that you didn't have to make that big decision, that you were given the gift of certainty. Please take care of yourself. |