Later on after I got married, every one around me were all expecting boys! I started to worry, what if I only have sons and no daughters?! My mother-in-law had all sons and I thought having a girl would be a refreshing experience for the family. I started to yearn for a girl instead.
My perception started to change after going for the nuchal translucency scan at 3 months.
Combined with my blood test results, I was told that my baby had a higher risk of having Down's Syndrome. We saw the results before seeing the doctor (occupational hazard la, like looking at psychological reports, doctor's memo). Hubby and I knew what she wanted to tell us. We were sent for counselling to help us decide what to do next. In my hastiness, I asked to be scheduled to go for Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) the next day.
So what is CVS all about? (extracted from Wikipedia)
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), is a form of prenatal diagnosis to determine chromosomal or genetic disorders in the fetus. It entails sampling of the chorionic villus (placental tissue) and testing it for chromosomal abnormalities. CVS usually takes place at 10–12 weeks' gestation, earlier than amniocentesis or percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling. It is the preferred technique before 15 weeks.
Although this procedure is mostly associated with testing for Down Syndrome, overall, CVS can detect more than 200 disorders.
And the risks:
Risk of miscarriage in CVS is about 0.5 - 1%. Apart from a risk of miscarriage, there is a risk of infection and amniotic fluid leakage. The resulting amniotic fluid leak can develop into a condition known as oligohydramnios, which is low amniotic fluid level. If the resulting oligohydramnios is not treated and the amniotic fluid continues to leak it can result in the baby developing hypoplastic lungs (underdeveloped lungs).
Basically, the procedure is similar to Amniocentesis but instead of drawing the amniotic fluid, the placental tissue is retrieved. This will enable us to find out the chromosomal makeup of the baby. In other words, we can also find out for sure if baby is a boy or a girl.
Why did I do it? If my baby has DS, I want to be prepared on how to care for my baby. Special needs or not, the baby is still my child. As an educator, I have also seen how people with special needs achieve more than what we usually imagine. We needed to wait 2 weeks for the results to be out. I also had to go back for a scan to check whether there are any abnormalities in baby's heart.
After the procedure, I had stomach cramps. It was exactly like menstrual cramps and I felt horrible. I had to rest at the clinic for awhile before going home. I started to ask myself what did I just do?? I cried when I reached home as I realized I had put my baby at risk. The thought of what I had done could cause a miscarriage made me feel so guilty and I just kept saying sorry to baby.
Thanks to my church friends for praying, soon I felt a sense of peace enveloping me. Though I had 2 weeks of waiting, I did not feel anxious. I also had a revelation on what it meant to be at peace. No matter what the results, I know God has prepared us. I also kept monitoring myself to see if I had any bleeding/discomfort.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment."
Fast forward, on the day of the cardiac scan, I was more excited to see baby. Thoughts of whether baby has DS or not did not bother me at all. Baby's heart was found to be well-developed, doctor also confirmed that baby is healthy and is a BOY :) Boy or girl, it doesn't matter anymore. I was just so thankful to God.
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