After my visit with the obgny today, I went to the lab so they could take out what seemed like all of my blood to get the lab work done for two tests. One was to test to see if I'm a carrier for cystic fibrosis. It's recessive, so Jessie and I would both have to be carriers for there to be any chance of our baby having it. So if I'm not a carrier, then end of story - everything good on that front. If I am a carrier, then Jessie has to get tested, and if he's not a carrier, then everything still good on that front. Neither of us has any family history of cystic fibrosis that we know of, so I'm not really worried. I just think it's a good idea to get tested to be absolutely sure.
The second test is the AFP or 'triple screen'. It tests for things like neural tube defects and chromosomal abnormalites, genetic defects, like Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida. Alot of women choose not to do these tests. Since there's no family history on either side, and since I'm not considered high risk, it wasn't absolutely necessary for us to do it either, but we wanted to make sure. Of course we would NOT terminate the pregnancy either way, but it always helps to be prepared, so we want to know.
