Amniocentesis

Okay, had my "Viability Scan" on Friday. This is the appointment before your "Official OB Appt" where they do an Ultrasound to see if there's a viable pregnancy. Well in this appointment my OB discussed me having an Amnio between 14-16 weeks due to my "advanced age" 37. I'm so scared of this test. Does it hurt? What are the risks involved? Is the test worth the risks? Below is what I read on wikipedia that scares me.

"Amniocentesis is performed between the 16th-20th week of pregnancy; performing this test early can lead to injury to the baby's limbs. Most people do the test during the 18th week of pregnancy. The term "early amniocentesis" is sometimes used to describe use of the process between weeks 11 and 13.^[2]. Approximately 6 percent of pregnant women take or consider taking the amniocentesis test.^[3]

Although the procedure is routine, and almost 70% of women who undergo the test report little to no discomfort^[4], possible complications include infection of the amniotic sac from the needle, and failure of the puncture to heal properly, which can result in leakage or infection. Serious complications can result in miscarriage. Other possible complications include preterm labor and delivery, respiratory distress, postural deformities, fetal trauma and alloimmunisation of the mother (rhesus disease). Studies from the 1970s originally estimated the risk of amniocentesis-related miscarriage at around 1 in 200 (0.5%).^[5] A more recent study (2006) has indicated this may actually be much lower, perhaps as low as 1 in 1,600 (0.06%).^[6] In contrast, the risk of miscarriage from chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is believed to be approximately 1 in 100, although CVS may be done up to four weeks earlier, and may be preferable if the possibility of genetic defects is thought to be higher ^[7].

One simple drawback is that administration may be painful.

Amniotic fluid embolism has been described as a possible risk.^[8]"

We chose not to since it wouldn't change anything for us. I am advanced maternal age and the doctors have to give you all the options (blood test screening, amnio, etc). We had lost three babies and didn't want to risk anything. Also, we decided God would give us whatever he wanted us to have in our lives.

Amen!! I with you on that. That's what my husband and I said too. God's not going to give us anything he feel we can't handle, so I think I'm going to decline the test as well. Thanks so much for your feedback, as it helped energize what I was feeling already.

~~Gina

I totally agree !!! If you are keeping this baby, no matter what, then why risk harming either of you unnecessarily ??? Go with your gut : )

I didn't have one and I am 38.

I had a amniocentesis about 4 weeks ago and one with my now 4 yr old daughter. I had no problems with them. Yes it was a litle painful but nothing I couldn't handle.  I had no pain after. I just went home and rested for the rest of the day.  If I have another child after this one I will have the test again.

I am also 37. They treat me like I'm "old" too. I absolutely didn't want an amnio. I'm petrified of needles and we thought it was too risky.

I  had the quad screen test at 16 weeks instead. That is supposed to check for several genetic abnormalities. I would think that should give you peace of mind if you need it. I guess if they see something abnormal on those tests, maybe you'd consider further testing (if it matters to you). Otherwise, personally, I stayed away from amnio. The quad screen was a blood draw only. Then a terribly long wait for results. Mine were fine. Also, I think if they see something abnormal on the quad screen they can check some of that by ultrasound.

Best wishes to you, whatever you decided. Just don't let anyone bully you into something you don't want to do. Everything will be fine. Worrying won't help (I should take my own advice...LOL)

Kina

You're absolutely right Kina! I refuse to let them bully me into the test, as I have faith and my faith tells me I'm okay. However, I hear the Quad screen can give false positives. Is this true? I don't want to be scared all pregnancy over a false positive. Amnio sounds really risky and I'm just not sure if it's a "well worth it" risk. I'm still unsure and soooooooooooo confused. HELP!!! LOL . Thanks for the feedback Kina.

~~Gina

Gina,

I honestly don't know about the false positive rate for the quad screen. I guess I was going to worry about the results when we got them. Luckily, everything was good.

The only statistic my doctor gave us was that before the test, with my age, I had a 1 in 600 or so chance of having a downs syndrome baby. After he saw the results of the test, I had like a 1 in 7000 or so chance. So, that sounds like good news. As far as the other stuff they checked for, he never said anything.

Best wishes.
Kina