9 Replies
Factors to consider: - Age: before or after 35 - Price: Oscar is cheaper $200 vs NIPT around $800 (public hospital, private charges more). - Accuracy: Oscar (blood & structure test) 90% vs NIPT (blood test) 99%. - You can also find out baby’s gender from NIPT but not Oscar. If you think your risk is low (age, family genetic history etc), can go for the cheaper test. For me, due to a combination of factors, I chose both as both tests cover different areas. For subsidized patient, there is subsidy (50%) for Oscar. If the result is low risk, don’t need to do NIPT. Can also read the post/article below: https://community.theasianparent.com/q/should-i-go-nipt-oscar-nipt-1200-oscar-400-i-33-year-what-girls-th/1175206?d=ios&ct=q&share=true https://www.mountelizabeth.com.sg/healthplus/article/prenatal-test-pregnancy-trimester
At first my partner and I wanted to do just NIPT/Harmony, but eventually settled on both. Oscar/FTS, although promising lower accuracy rate of 90%, actually does structure test which can detect heart defects and other conditions. Heart defects are 7 times more common than Down syndrome, and we feel that at our age of 38, we want to cover all bases. If you choose not to do Oscar, you can still detect structure anomalies at week 20 but that gives you only 4 weeks to do amniocentesis to investigate further. You cannot terminate the pregnancy beyond the 24th week, FYI. Best to find out everything way ahead of time to figure out your next moves with minimal stress.
i chose to do both Oscar and NIPT even though NIPT has higher accuracy in terms of detecting genetic anomalies because Oscar also involved scanning the structure of the baby while NIPT is purely blood test to detect genetic anomalies. During the Oscar scan, they checked fetal anatomy like whether skull, heart, spine, abdomen, bladder, hands, feets, etc. are visible.
I did both Oscar (FTS) and NIPT at the same time. because Oscar screen for structural defects, but NIPT dont. NIPT has higher accuracy in the blood test results, so yes save the unecessary wait and worry if Oscar comes back with risk, and you need to do NIPT afterall. Less surprises, more assurance. Personal choice and depending on your budget too 😊
NIPT. Its quite common to receive high risk result from oscar through friends experience and scares the parents to be. They ended up going with NIPT and results was okay. Go with NIPT from the start rather than worrying and spend on both eventually I personally did both test since they cover different test results
Thanks everyone! I have decided to go for NIPT test as the doctor didn’t mention any need to do both test. I would go with the more accurate and comprehensive test
I did NIPT at nuh and despite its about $800, I have no regrets as it gives a very comprehensive test result and show you the gender before 20 weeks
Would recommend to do both tests for a peace of mind!
If cost is not a concern, do both!