Last week I had my blood drawn to screen for neural tube defects. My results came in today and my AFP number was 2.88, which is considered a positive result (a normal result is less than 2.5). However, this doesn't mean that there actually is a problem -- the odds are 1:72 for a spinal defect in general and 1:144 for spina bifida.
We will meet with the genetic counselor again next friday and go over the options for further testing. Most likely she will recommend doing an amniocentesis to see if the the amniotic fluid also has elevated AFP as that is much more diagnostic. Last week Dr. P. did look at the baby's spine and brain and didn't see any obvious signs of a problem; however she said that very small defects are often not visible on ultrasound that early.
Please cross your fingers that this is just a false positive!
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