I just need to rant

I am almost 42. Why are there people out there who assume that just because I'm over 40 and pregnant then I "need" to have certain prenatal screening, testing or genetics counseling? People who don't even know me personally are questioning my decision to not do certain screenings.

We elected to bypass Nuchal Translucency Screening after my OB informed me that it would require (a) the MSAFP (which is a crock of a blood test) and (b) genetics counseling. I've already had genetics counseling TWICE. I wouldn't have had it the 2nd time but we got railroaded in to it because of a change in my OB's clinic policy which I wasn't informed about ahead of time (all Level II ultrasounds now go through their genetics clinic rather than the OB clinic) . I don't NEED genetics counseling again. The decision to bypass NTS and genetics counseling were both questioned - though not by my OB, he knows full well how I feel about this.

My OB and I will be discussing the "requirement" for genetics counseling before I schedule my Level II scan this time. I refuse to sit through a 25-year-old preaching her statistics to me and acting like I'm doing a disservice to my child by not having an amnio solely because of my age. The fact is that women younger than 35 years give birth to about 70 percent of infants with Down syndrome (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Health/story?id=1296512). So, pardon me for not wanting to rush into having a needle stuck into my belly that risks this pregnancy more than I'm willing to risk it.

After my level II scan, if there are some questions about the health of this baby - then absolutely, we'll do an amnio. Had Annie had a heart defect, I would've had an amnio (babies with heart defects of moms over 40 often have chromosomal defects). I'm willing to have an amnio if there is a valid medical reason. My age is *not* a valid medical reason. I'm willing to have an amnio in order to make sure we have the medical and support systems in place at the birth of this child (that's to answer those who think one only does an amnio if one is going to terminate the pregnancy -- that's a crock-full as well). But willy-nilly testing because, "Oh, I'm over 35 there might be something wrong with this baby"? Not on your life. Women over 35 are perfectly capable of having normal, healthy pregnancies and normal, healthy babies. If you don't like my choices, get over it.