Will This Be On The Test?

By Meagan Francis

At some point (usually at multiple points) every pregnant woman has to make a decision about prenatal testing.

As a young, relatively healthy mom who's had easy pregnancies in the past, I'm fortunate that it's not something I have to stress about too much. I know which tests I am comfortable with, which ones I don't feel are necessary and which I'll take a "wait and see" approach to.

But for a lot of moms testing is a fact of life throughout their pregnancies, meaning many, many, manymanymany needles.

• Of course, the easiest test (for the mother--my babies have never seemed to love the sound waves coming off that wand too much) is the ultrasound, which most women get at least once during a pregnancy these days, sometimes multiple times.  Near the end of a pregnancy an ultrasound is often given to check on the baby's size, but as Pamela at Little Baby Lump found out during her recent ultrasound, the estimate can be off by a lot--up to a pound in either direction is what I've always been told. So, don't go counting on a wee 7-pounder or fearing a 9-pounder based on a late-term ultrasound...it probably won't be all that accurate at judging size.
• I'm not big on needles, and I'm especially not big on the idea of needle entering my pregnant belly. For that reason, along with knowledge that both procedures carry some risk, the idea of amniocentesis and CVS both give me pause, but I briefly re-considered early on in this pregnancy when several women I knew were dealing with finding out their babies had genetic disorders. Katie Allison Granju, dealing with the risk factor so unglamorously titled "advanced maternal age", weighs the ancient question: to test or not to test  for genetic issues, at her Babble.com blog.
• I won't be able to avoid the needle in a few weeks, when my midwife will be checking my blood's sugar levels to check for gestational diabetes--something I certainly hope I am not diagnosed with, as I think a diet like One Fabulous Mom describes would kill me. Instead of doing the dreaded glucola test, we are doing what's called a post-prandial test, which means I get to eat a normal meal and then see how my blood sugar reacts to it. (phew). Another option I've heard is eating 18 Brach's jellybeans...apparently it delivers exactly the same amount of sugar into the blood, without dealing with the disgusting drink, so check with your care provider to see about that and other research-based options, like the ones described at Contentment Acres, if you're really dreading the drink.