CVS/Amnio testing?????

Ok now i know its a little early to be thinking about this but it has crossed my mind ever since we started to ttc.

In this country they will only give you a cvs or amnio if you are high risk, this means either automatically if its due to age or if you have previous child with the condition. Otherwise you get a blood test and a percentage odds based on the test and your age (which if then seems high you get the test). I don't qualify under any of these facts so it would be an elective private test.

As some of you know i have a child with special needs (severe dyspraxia) who needs more than a so called 'normal' child, two other boys, a job and a uni degree (both of which in the grand scheme of things aren't that important but its one more time pull) and ME (which although i am in good health at the moment i do have to consider what if i struggle in the future). Anyway if the worst were to happen with this baby we'd cope, families do and the baby would be loved (and i do realise that the test can't rule out anything like my son has) BUT if we knew there was a problem i would seriously consider whether to continue with the pregnancy (not something everyone agrees with i know but just being honest) as i have to consider the welfare of the children that i do have as well.

Anyway i am considering the cvs test and i wondered if anyone has any experience or opinions to offer as i can't talk to anyone else as noone in real life knows i'm pg and my dh thinks its a bad idea (were young, the odds are slim etc). I am worried about the risk of miscarriage but don't want to go all through the pregnancy worrying about this.

Also i'm not sure how early its done in the UK or if anyone knows anywhere where they have had it done. I would want it done early in pregnancy (as i don't believe in abortion after 12 weeks - again personal opinion and i have never been put in that position to know how i would react) but i know there is a balance between miscarriage rates if its done early (and i don't want to risk a healthy baby for my paranoia).

Anyway sorry for long post - any help i'd be most grateful

I know in the USA, we can get a CVS between 9-12 weeks. I was going to get one this last pregnancy, because I was 39, but I changed my mind about it (I almost got an amnio later in pregnancy but chickened out then too). My son is healthy and I am so glad I didn't do the tests! But I understand why you would want to know. I got the blood tests and several u/s (including the NT scan at 11 weeks) and they all looked good, so I went with that. Can you get a NT scan? That gives you a good idea of what the risks are, and if you seem high risk based on that, maybe then do the CVS.

Good luck with whatever you do. It is a tough thing to decide!

Here in the US they offer you the CVS if your NT scan comes back abnormal/high risk. My chances came back 1 in 9 that baby had downs. This was last year I was 35 when baby was concieved 36 shortly after. I did the CVS and the doc inserted the needle through my abdomen it hurt for a minute as the needle went in. Of course my luck she had to reposition and do it again. All while using u/s, results are definitive. I had absolutly no pain (except my heart shattered & still is), or cramping after. I was assured the miscarriage rate was extremely small. At least you can know and prepare for the arrival or make the decision to not carry through with the pregnancy. If I passed the NT scan I sont see a reason why you would do it though.

There is also a new blood tests here in the US you can get as early as 11 weeks. They draw blood from your arms so there is really no associated risk. However, it only tests for Trisomy 21 (Downs), Trisomy 18, and Trisomy 13. But, there really aren't the risks associated with other tests so I think it's really great. It's called MaterniT21.

I was in the same position as you. I have a special needs child and really don't know if I could handle another but those tests scare me so much. The miscarriage rates are too high for me to want to consider them. I don't know if I could actually handle termination either so I just leave it be. I am really young still and have very healthy eggs and my doctor said I shouldn't worry. I think he is suppose to say that though, ha.

Thanks girls, yes the do the nt scan here but i had a bad experience of that before and don't trust it. With ds3 they said he was on the high side and it wasn't normal but when combined with my age and the triple test that the odds were not that high but it really worried me. They sort of brushed it off because of my age but the uc tech at the time seemed quite concerned and all my doc told me was that it was only an odds things anyway even the best odds you could always be the one in however many and that the only way to tell for certain as to have the amnio test but by that time after the nt and blood tests results (as no one rushed anything over here) i was 15 weeks and decided not take it any further, he was only my 3rd we would have coped and i really strongly don't believe in m/c that far along the baby is viable and a baby by then so there was no point in taking the test and risking the risks involved with it when i knew the outcome would make no difference but i worried about it all the way through my pregnancy.

This time and given the time and attension that ds1 needs as he's getting older i don't think we could deal with a baby with downs and yes although the risks are small as i'm only 30, the clomid and the swaying things and the bad le diet and everything else just feels like it ups the odds and do i want this worry hanging over my last pregnancy, i really want to enjoy it. No idea if that makes sense to anyone but that was my reasoning behind it.

That blood test sounds great though - no risk to baby and i get my peace of mind. Do you know anymore about that, how much it costs or anything?

Aaaargh, I just wrote you a very long response about my CVS and my stupid computer ate it! A very much abbreviated version--I am happy that I did a CVS, but I don't think I would have done one if I didn't have significant risk factors. In my case, I am 38 and I know I have conceived at least three chromosomally abnormal babies in the past year, probably four. So I felt that my risk of having another with chromosome problems was high enough to justify the risks associated with the test.
If I were you (younger than me!), and had never conceived a baby with abnormal chromosomes, or had repeated miscarriages, I probably would not have considered it. Also, keep in mind that many places will not do CVS before 11 weeks since the risk of causing birth defects (specifically, missing limbs or missing fingers and toes is associated with CVS) is higher the earlier you do it. CVS is safest of all after 12 weeks. Only places that have their own on-site lab can give you preliminary results within 24 hours--places that have to mail the tissue samples out for analysis take 4-5 days for preliminary results, and up to 2 weeks for full results. So it's possible you might not get results before 12 weeks, no matter what.
Do keep in mind that studies have not shown Clomid to increase the likelihood of chromosomal abnormality in your eggs--in fact, the opposite is true: for women with very long cycles, Clomid tends to cause them to ovulate much earlier, which means the eggs are actually less likely to be overly mature, and thus more likely to be normal. Some studies *have* suggested that their may be a higher risk of birth defects in Clomid conceptions, but these birth defects are not linked to abnormal chromosomes. They are the kind of thing CVS would not detect. Other studies have not found this at all--it's pretty controversial, and may not have any validity whatsoever.
For me, I had a whole bunch of chromosomally abnormal conceptions without Clomid, and my first normal one in a long time with it.

Well it depends on just one thing. Would you really, and you might have to do some soul searching here, REALLY consider termination an option if there was a problem?

If you wouldn't, then it's easy to not test. Testing carries risks too, and if you'd never end the pregnancy based on the results of that test then it makes no sense to risk it.

With DS3 we had a thickened nuchal scan come back from the standard first tri screening test (bloodwork and u/s) indicating possible Downs. Scared the bejeebus out of us, had a genetic counselling session which scared the crap out of us even more. We were scheduled for an amnio and everything, but then decided we'd never ever terminate no matter what. So we ended up cancelling the amnio and let what may, may....and figured if the baby had Downs it was meant to be and God's will and found peace in that decision. Turns out DS3 was just fine anyways, but we wouldn't have regretted it even if he was not.

So I guess you have to really really figure out if you would ever actually make the decision to terminate, and if you wouldn't then the tests aren't worth the potential risk they can cause since they ARE invasive.

The MaterniT21 test is as of now only available in the US. Some insurance companies cover the test. Mine did not but it was still only $235 (for a great piece of mind!). If you google MaterniT21, it will pull up their website and you can find out which cities the test is available in. I agree, CVS/amnio is very scary with all of the risk!!

Also, your OB may know if it's available where you live. My OB sent me to a hospital that offers the testing where I live. (By the way, they still do an ultrasound to measure nuchal fold, etc- but it's mostly as an extra precaution)

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Originally Posted by LacePrincess

Well it depends on just one thing. Would you really, and you might have to do some soul searching here, REALLY consider termination an option if there was a problem?

If you wouldn't, then it's easy to not test. Testing carries risks too, and if you'd never end the pregnancy based on the results of that test then it makes no sense to risk it.

With DS3 we had a thickened nuchal scan come back from the standard first tri screening test (bloodwork and u/s) indicating possible Downs. Scared the bejeebus out of us, had a genetic counselling session which scared the crap out of us even more. We were scheduled for an amnio and everything, but then decided we'd never ever terminate no matter what. So we ended up cancelling the amnio and let what may, may....and figured if the baby had Downs it was meant to be and God's will and found peace in that decision. Turns out DS3 was just fine anyways, but we wouldn't have regretted it even if he was not.

So I guess you have to really really figure out if you would ever actually make the decision to terminate, and if you wouldn't then the tests aren't worth the potential risk they can cause since they ARE invasive.

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In previous pregnancies it would have been a no - flat outright no i'd love my baby no matter what and i couldn't have done it. This time around (although you never know until your faced with the reality) i would say yes (if it was around 12 weeks - no later) for all the reasons i stated earlier and particularly the wellbeing of my sons in general and my son with SEN i could not handle a child with that severe type of special needs in addition to all the others and my own health issues (I have ME so when i'm ill - not that i have been for 8 years now - i'm really ill). It would not be fair to that baby or my others.

Shame there is no less invasive way to tell early on, its amazing what doctors and technology can do yet this seems so barbaric, maybe i will have to wait until i have a midwife and taker her opinion (i don't get to see someone til 9 to 10 weeks around here so i wanted to have a plan beforehand)

I had the CVS done with my last pregnancy. It was done at 11 weeks 2 days and I got preliminary results in one day. I would absolutely do it with future pregnancies. I already have a special needs child and it's very hard. I don't know if I would tx but I would want to be prepared for any serious issues.

CVS and amnio carry risks but they are very, very small. Most of the studies done on the risks were done when ultrasounds were new, like 30 years ago. As the technology has improved the risks have gone down. The risk of miscarriage is between 1 and 200 and 1 in 400. The better experienced the doctor, the lower the risk.