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AFP stands for Alpha-fetoprotein, which is a blood test done during the second trimester around 15-20 weeks to check the level of AFP in a pregnant women's blood. A high test result can indicate that a baby has a high risk of neural tube defect like spina bifida. But a high level can also mean that the due date of the baby is wrong or that the mother is carrying more than one baby. A low level of the AFP test can indicate genetics defects such as down syndrome (trisomy 21 or 18).

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"My prenatal visits with my doctor was once every four weeks. Some doctors will have you come in once every three weeks. On July 13th, during my week 16 visit, I had some blood samples taken from me to do an AFP triple screen, quad screen and CF test. Basically, they test your blood for a certain level of AFP in your blood. So by using a scale, they can determine if you have less, or more than you should have, which could mean that you have a higher chance of carrying a down syndrome child. The test does not mean that you will have one, it just shows that you might be at a higher risk. The test uses your age also to calculate the percentage. The older the pregnant woman is during her pregnancy, the more likely that your test will come back positive. Again, this just means that you might have a 1:83 ratio instead of 1:205 ratio for a down syndrome baby.

During my prenatal visit, the nurse also listened for my baby's heartbeat and it was in the low 140s. I was a little worried, because it seems to have slowed down since the first time that they listened to the heartbeat which was in the 160s. But I was told that this was normal and that a baby's heartbeat can fluctuate anywhere between the 120s and 160s. The nurse also checked my weight and told me that my weight was down and that I needed to eat more. I told the nurse about the headaches that I was having and the vomiting that came with the headaches. I started to take Tylenol to relive my headaches. I know that was the reason why I have not been gaining the weight. I weighed in at 131.5 at this checkup while the last one was 131lb.

A few days later on July 18th, I got a phone call from my doctor's office and a nurse told me that my AFP test results came up positive but the CF test was negative. That was not a great feeling to have when all you want for you and your baby is to be normal and healthy. The nurse had me come in to talk about the results. When I went in to see the doctor, she went over my numbers and told me that I was higher than normal. I basically had a 1:86 chance of having a downs baby. However, this test does have a very big chance of false positive. About 5 percent of the test always comes back positive, but only about .5 percent actually deliver a baby with down syndrome. At my age, a normal person would have at least 290+, therefore I was considered at a higher risk.

I could not believe that I would have an unhealthy baby. My doctor recommended a level two ultrasound and an amniocentesis if I were interested. The level two ultrasound can check for any abnormalities with the way the baby was growing, the spine, head, bones, etc., but its never a hundred percent accurate. There are other forms of down syndromes that does not show up on ultrasounds. If I wanted to be almost a hundred percent sure, I would have to do an amniocentesis. I told the doctor that I would schedule for the level two ultrasound and wait on the amnio. The earliest that they were able to get me in with the specialist was over a week later.

We went ahead and had a level II ultrasound as well as the amniocentesis just so we can be almost a hundred percent sure of our baby's condition. Two weeks later, we were told that the result came back negative. We were very thankful and happy with the result."