I don’t think I’ve really talked about this yet, but after last night’s update, now seems to be the perfect time.
At my appointment back on 11/10, I was told by my midwife that I am a carrier for cystic fibrosis. I’ve written about what this would mean before, so here’s the information from a previous post:
According to the March of Dimes website, 1 in 29 Caucasians carry the CF gene. What could it mean if I’m 1 in 29? The only way to have a child with CF is if both parents carry the CF gene, and the chances of this happening are 1 in 800. If both parents carry the CF gene, there is a 25% chance that the child will have cystic fibrosis, a 50% chance they’ll be a carrier, and a 25% chance they neither have CF nor carry the gene.
As of now, we’ve already been defeated by the 1 in 800 statistic because I AM a carrier. Next step? My midwife suggested Justin call his doctor and have them write the lab request for the cystic fibrosis profile, as it would be easier for insurance purposes. So once we know whether he is or not, what happens next?
If Justin is not a carrier, we have absolutely nothing to worry about. As mentioned above, both parents must carry the CF gene to pass the disease. If we find out that Justin IS a carrier, we’ll be sent to a genetic counselor, as there will be a 1 in 4 chance of our baby having CF.
Let me interject with this. If Justin is a carrier, it will mean nothing as far as the pregnancy goes. We will continue on and take what challenges God has prepared for us. In fact, I’m not even sure I’d want the amniocentesis to determine if we ARE that 1 in 4. It is what it is, and that’s that.
Now, on to last night. Justin saw his doctor, and after the usual formalities, he told her he needed the cystic fibrosis profile. She gave him a hard time about it, saying she’d never ordered that for a father before, and she didn’t know why they didn’t just do an amnio as the baby either has it or doesn’t at this point. Lady, while that is the truth, let me ask you this: would it make more sense to do a non-invasive blood test on Justin that has no risk of miscarriage, or do an amnio when it could be completely unnecessary if he’s not a carrier? Justin’s odds of being a carrier are 1 in 29. Why on earth wouldn’t we first figure out whether he is or is not a carrier before doing an amnio?
Luckily, after her comments she obliged, so at this point, we’re waiting for Justin to get to the lab, and then we’ll wait for the results. If she had refused, I would not have been nice, and would have shown up at her office this morning for a little “chat.”
His doctor is very young, and that’s obvious by her comments to him last night. It’s great to have book smarts and years of intense medical training, but when something like this is said, it makes me wonder. And maybe I’m wrong. If anyone knows why her comments make more sense, please educate me. I just don’t see how doing an invasive procedure that could be completely unnecessary and has a risk of miscarriage is more logical than doing a simple blood test first. Let’s rule out the 1 in 29 chance before we go any further.
