Early Screening With Panorama

It was December 21, 2007, and I still owned the showroom, and my sales team was tying up loose ends before getting ready for our 2 week holiday hiatus. We planned to close early that Friday, followed by a late lunch. Jason happened to finish work early too, so he met us at our favorite lunch spot back then, Balthazar SOHO.

I remember ordering a burger, which I had requested medium-well, but when it came to the table, it was pretty rare. I would have normally sent it back, but for some reason, I was in the mood for it that day, so I enjoyed the burger. After some laughs, some holiday cheer and long goodbyes, Jason and I hopped on the subway, when I suddenly started to feel nauseous. I immediately thought it was the undercooked meat, and the onset of food poisoning. Jason suggested that I could be pregnant. Laughing aloud at his comment, I totally didn’t think so. On our way from the train, we stopped at the local drug store to pick up a pregnancy test. At home, I was overcome with nausea, but decided to take the test, and sure enough I was pregnant! We both were super happy, and totally shocked, and still to this day, it is one of the best Christmas presents either of us had ever received. We shared the news with our families at holiday dinner, and looked forward to the world of new experiences that were in store for us in 2008, before Ryder’s arrival in August.

The next day still in disbelief, we were a little panicked because we were full into the holidays and most offices were closed until the New Year. We searched and looked up doctors that would take our insurance and made our first appointment, but it wasn’t until the new year. I immediately ran to Barnes and Nobles to purchase What To Expect When Expecting amongst other books. I all of sudden started worrying about what I was eating and staying away from all the food that pregnant women shouldn’t eat. And as much as we were over joyed about our news, I was just so anxious like any soon to be mama would be, especially since we had to wait a few weeks before seeing a doctor.

Now, 7 years and three children later, I am blown away by the way times have changed for young mamas, especially with all the new technology available. I recently learned about Panorama, a DNA screening test, which can tell parents important information about their pregnancy. Made from parent company, Natera which is pioneering next-generation accuracy and reliability through its complete suite of pre-natal screening tests, Panorama is a non-invasive pre-natal test, safe for pregnant women, that screens for the most common and severe chromosomal anomalies in a fetus as early as 9 weeks of gestation. Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) helps rule out the possibility of certain fetal conditions, including down syndrome, better than ultrasounds and blood screenings. The early test examines fetal (placental) DNA in a mother’s bloodstream, to determine whether a developing baby is at risk for certain genetic diseases.

Another incredible part of the Panorama procedure is that parents can determine the gender of their baby, with the lowest false positive rate of any prenatal screening test, for the commonly screened chromosomal abnormalities, trisomies 21, 18 and 13. Panorama can be administered as early as nine weeks into pregnancy, using a simple blood draw. Diagnostic tests, like chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis, are invasive tests that provide definitive answers about the presence or absence of a chromosomal abnormality in the baby, however these procedures are associated with a risk of miscarriage of up to 0.5% or 1 in 200.

I know many my mom friends planning pregnancies are considering non-invasive testing. If I became pregnant again, I would do the same, especially since I’m no longer in my twenties and risks increase as you get older. It is extremely reassuring to know that we have an option of non invasive procedures with Panorama, before opting for the more invasive test.