to scan or not to scan...

13wks 6days is QUICKLY approaching and thus we must schedule the nt scan and bloodwork if we are, in fact, going to go ahead with the scan.

my vote: yes.

kenny's vote: i see why you want it done and if it's under $xxxx, then yes, do it.

the pros...
1) it's the least invasive genetic screening currently available. it will tell us if baby z has a high risk or low risk of being born with trisomy 13, 18 or 21 (down's syndrome).
2) i will feel much better after getting the results and seeing that things look "normal", as it would be our first look at baby z.
3) it would give us plenty of time to have further testing done if we were high risk. we would have more time to make a decision and have more options.
4) we would have time to prepare ourselves mentally and financially for a special needs child if baby z has trisomy 21.
5) if baby z has trisomy 13 or 18 and we terminate the pregnancy, we will be ttc sooner and potentially pregnant again sooner.

the cons...
1) i'm not sure that the procedure is covered by insurance, so potentially $600+ out of pocket for us. YIKES! i could think of A LOT of things that that amount of money could buy.
2) if i don't get it done, i will wonder and wish that i would have had it done up until the moment that baby z is declared healthy after s/he comes out of my vagina--which is still a LONG TIME from now, as this pregnancy isn't even half over yet.
3) the scan could give us a false negative. WHICH WOULD BE BAD! and i'll probably still have that in the back of my mind until baby z is born.

i'm going to call aetna tomorrow to find out if the procedure is covered. i'm really hoping it is, then we can go ahead with it and i won't have any worries that we're wasting money on an unnecessary procedure.