Spina Bifida?

Angela - posted on 07/10/2011

SInce the amniocentesis test carries a slight risk of miscarriage, you need to decide whether it's worth going ahead with.

They carry out these tests so parents can find out before they give birth and decide on an abortion if they want one. You obviously would never consider abortion so your only benefit in having the test would be to set your mind at rest.

At the moment, as Amy has said, you still have 14 out of 15 chances that your baby's NOT disabled.

Only you can decide though .......

Amy - posted on 06/29/2011

You have a 14/15 chance of no spina bifida! :) You have such a wonderful attitude, and I know that IF your child were to have spina bifida, YOU will be the best mother for him/her. God knows exactly what he is doing! The best you can do is to prepare for "the worst". You are already a wonderful mother to this child. :)

LaQueta - posted on 06/28/2011

Thank you so much ladies for all the encouragement and advice. When I found out yes I cried about it (the humanly thing to do) then I gave it to the Lord. I know there is nothing wrong with my baby the nurse even said with their special high tech equipment they did not see anything. I go back to the specialist on the 19th and I will keep you all informed. But like you all said if God didnt want me to have this baby he would not have given it to us. I will never kill one of his creations thats not my choice. But it is comforting to know that if my baby does have it, baby can live a normal life. Im just concerned about my babys well being not myself. thanks so much and more posts are welcome. It really helps.

Katrina - posted on 06/28/2011

I have known several people with spina bifita. My niece had it. There are other ways to tell if there are developmental issues other than the amnio. I never had one because I was not going to have an abortion. Remember that God does not give us anything we can't handle & the doctors are often wrong. My one friend who has spina bifida, you would never know by looking at him. He does have pain issues, but leads a typical life, works a physcially demanding job, married w/one kid. Give all your concerns to the Lord. Tell him exactly how you feel. He can handle it, and then ask for his help.

Karen - posted on 06/28/2011

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I had the same reading from my blood draw, and my son didn't have spina bifida at all. There are twins on both sides of our family (my husband's family, and my mother's cousins were twins), though, so the combination of being part Asian and my family tree having twins was why the test showed up as spina bifida.

Karen - posted on 06/28/2011

I know this is scary, but there are reasons why the blood draw might show a 1 in 16 risk of having a baby with spina bifida. If you have any Asian or African American in you, then you may get what's known as a "false positive," that is, the blood test may indicate a higher chance, but there's actually nothing wrong. Another reason why you might get a false false reading of spina bifida is that you might actually have twins. Blood draws for twins often show spina bifida when there isn't any spina bifida at all.

I don't know how far along you are, but you might ask your doctor if he or she can see whether there's any spina bifida by using ultrasound. If that isn't a good way of finding out, then it's probably a good idea to do the amniocentesis. The test will prepare you--and what's very important--the doctor, to save the baby's life and fix the spina bifida if it exists.

There are many procedures and surgeries these days to fix the spina bifida so that the child will live a normal life, no different than anyone else. If the doctor knows now for sure, then he or she can do something to fix it, even before the child is born. Yes, there are risks with the amniocentesis, but it's a pretty small one, and it's something doctors have done for decades and decades now, so they're very practiced at it.

If your child does have spina bifida, then it's best to know now, so that he or she can get the surgery needed as soon as possible. There are plenty of kids who get that surgery and are just fine and living a normal life.

Good luck, and I'll pray that all is well for you and your baby.

Laurie - posted on 06/27/2011

Your baby is a blessing from God and he will give you all you need to take care of the little one with or without spina bifida. I adopted my four year old who has spina bifida. We took her in at 7 months and we were told she would not walk or crawl. She runs and climbs like every other four year old. She does have urinary and bowel issues that will affect her the rest of her life, but I would take that over not having her in our lives. God placed this little one for us to raise and its been a joy even when she gets sick with UTI's often, too. Trust God in this and he will guide you.

Erica - posted on 06/27/2011

1 in 16 doesn't sound that bad to me - my doctor's told me with my last pregnancy that my child had a 1 in 20 chance of Down's Syndrome based on some test results (she is fine). The good news is that spina bifida is one of the birth defects that they can sometimes repair during the baby's development in the womb - so you have more options than having a child with a birth defect or terminate the pregnancy. My oldest child was born with severe clubfoot and some problems with her hands and doctors gave us a pretty poor prognosis - today my daughter is 9 and can do just about anything any other kid can do. Keeping you in prayer!

Marissa - posted on 06/19/2011

One of my friends at church had a baby born with Spina Bifida. She wasn't supposed to crawl or walk with out braces. She is 2 and She can keep up with my son who is almost 3. No braces, perfectly healthy!! Do NOT let what the Drs say deter your faith. We serve a great Healer, the ultimate Physician!! There is a reason that drs "practice". Put it in God's hands! I'm praying with you!!

Carla - posted on 06/17/2011

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, honey.

My mother had a horrible pregnancy with me, and was hospitalized or on bedrest most of her 9mos. They told her to abort me because I was be mentally incompetent, blind, crippled, you name it, it would be me. She had prayed for 6 years for a child, and trusted God against the odds. I came out seeing, hearing, blonde hair, blue eyes, walking and intelligent.

Faith says we don't look at circumstances, we look to the One Who made us, and loves us more than anyone else ever could.

No one can make this decision for you, however, I want to remind you that God is more than able, and if you place your child in His arms, he/she will be safe.

God bless, honey, keep us informed.

Suzie - posted on 06/17/2011

love your child the chances are there yes but god only gives you what you can handle the amniocentessis could abort a perfectley healthy babyyou will be scared but the truth is if there is something wronge with the baby it should show up on an ultra sound as well