So, I paid to have an NIPT test drawn when I was 12+2 and it cost me 299€ in the country where I live (which is Germany).

My gyn, however, neglected to tell me that there is a restriction on how soon you can get your results back in this country. The foetus age has to be *beyond* 12 weeks. Therefore, the pregnancy has to be 15 weeks (for foetus age of 13 weeks). This is to stop sex-selective abortions.

The really annoying thing is that they told me my results had come back within just 6 working days... but they couldn’t tell me what they were. The only thing they could legally say was that my results came back negative for all abnormalities, which was obviously a relief. But they couldn’t give me the details, couldn’t give me the odds, and couldn’t give me the sex. To be so patronised by the state makes me so very angry.

So I patiently waited until I was 15 weeks, after watching all the other mums in this group get their results as and when they came in, only to find that my gyn had, once again, neglected to tell me she would be going on holiday and her office was to be completely closed. I couldn’t contact the lab because things don’t work that way in Germany - everything has to go through the gyn. They don’t bend the rules for anyone - it is not the German way.

After first being told my gyn would be back today I called the office only to receive a voice message saying she will be back this Monday, by which point I will be 17+6 and will have waited **5 weeks 4 days** for my bloody NIPT test results.

And the real kicker? I always had my anatomy scan scheduled for 18+2, which is just three days after my results should finally come in. So I’m paying 100€ per day for every day I know the sex of this baby in advance of my anatomy scan. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Three whole effing days. What a waste of 299€!!

So, to all the other mums who got their results back so soon, spare a thought for me please...