Quad Screen?

So, prior to being pregnant I had never heard of a quad screen...didn't know what it was, didn't know what it tested for, didn't know what the results were indicative of. However, you can bet that when I received the call that our test results were positive for Down syndrome, I was online researching. I cried and cried as I read about Down syndrome and then I rejoiced as I heard account after account of those whose test results had been a "false positive." Though the test brags only a 5% false positive, it seemed that everyone I talked to had either received a false positive or knew of someone who had. Surely we were in that category, too. I mean, we had no family history of any kind of birth defect, chromosomal disorder, etc. We were both young and healthy. We had done everything right. How could we possibly be having a child with Down syndrome?

Regardless, we went through two Level 2 ultrasounds to see if there were markers of Down syndrome present. We didn't receive anything definitive. Doctors are so worried about covering their butts and being liable that they don't give you anything useful. All we got was, "Well, he could possibly have a short femur, but then again, he could be a healthy kid who's just a little slow growing. His nasal bone looks a little short, but kids w/ Down syndrome typically don't have a nasal bone at this point. It looks as though there could be a bright spot on his heart, but I can't really tell." After seeing three different specialists, including a perinatologist to do a heart scan, I felt confident our child was fine (though our chances were one in seven). I don't think the nagging ever left Dan, though.