21 wk update and question

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I haven't posted for a while, congrats to those whose pregnancies are

progressing, and Ula and , of course!! For all those

experiencing difficulties (Beth, ) my heart goes out to you,

big hugs and take care of yourselves.

I don't know how the rest of you are doing with this, but I think the

PG hormones are making it really difficult for me to cope with the

events of the last week. I am in Canada, but close to New York and

the media coverage here is pretty extensive - 24/7 almost, it is so

overwhelming and devastating. My soul just aches for all the victims

and families ... plus, I can't help but wonder what kind of world I

am bringing this baby into ... but anyway, all I can do is pray and

hope for the best.

I had my 21 wk checkup today and everything is sort of okay, except

for two things - with my spotting and some other issues, somehow the

lab overlooked doing the triple screen (AFP) test at 16 weeks. I

believe this tests for the increased likelihood of Down's syndrome or

spina bifida, among other things. I went for the bloodwork today,

but my doctor thinks that 21 weeks may be too late to do this test.

Does anyone know more about this? I know some people opt out of

doing it altogether, due to the high rate of " false " positives, I

just don't want to end up getting scared needlessly again.

The second thing was that my 20 wk US showed a low-lying placenta. My

doctor just said to take it easy, minimize lifting and watch for any

spotting/bleeding. That seems sort of like " canned " textbook advice

to me. I am concerned that there may be other precautions I could

take - bedrest maybe? Perhaps it will resolve on its own, and I am

just being paranoid. Any thoughts/experiences on this would be

appreciated.

Take care all,

Lia

EDD Jan 21/02