Have you had an Amnio?

I made an appointment to get an amnio in 2 weeks, and I am starting to wonder if I should go through with it. The doctor who I will be seeing says his personal loss rate is only 1:800, which is good. My 12wk screening results were good for my age (39), and listed my risk for downs as 1:120, which is "good", but I just want something more concrete than a screening result. But I am worried about something going wrong. :nails:

I would love to hear stories from those of you who have had an amnio... what was your experience was like?

Haven't had one Hobbs but will keep FX yours goes well, if you go. Stressful either way isn't it? That's definitely the LEAST fun part of pregnancy ... even worse than all the gender worries for sure, is the worrying about your bean being a-ok. Sounds like you've got great odds so far though that all is well :)

Thanks begonia. You're right, it is a huge worry, and even if the tests comeback okay, I worry about stuff they can't test for, like deafness, etc. Pregnancy is so stressful!

I have never had an amnio either but if I'm lucky enough to get preg again - I'm 39 too- I will have to decide what to do as well. Your numbers look good. Try not to worry. I'm sure all is just fine! Pregnancy is stressful at times- I agree. Good luck!!

Thanks mydream. I hope you get pg soon!

I had one done with my Ds1. I was 18 and had a 3rd trimester amnio. I'm not sure what the risk difference is with an early and late amnio. Either way i'm sure it's pretty scary. I remember being terrified both with how it would affect the baby and with being "stabbed" in the abdomen.. However I don't remember it being as bad as I thought.
I guess you need to ask yourself what the results would mean to you and your family.. It's a great sign that your screening came out good. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Good luck. I never had one done but my sister in law is 43 years old and just had one. She was very nervous something would be wrong with the baby so she opted to have it done. Everything turned out fine and baby looked great. It did put her mind at ease.

Thanks for the reassurance. I am worried about the procedure as well as the results... this whole thing is making me a wreck. :worry:

I had one with DD3. I did even think of that now Im 37 I guess I will have one again? If they offer I will do it for sure.
It's not a big deal ! It only hurt a little when the needle go thru the muscle that's it. You see it all on u/s. It don't take long.
After I got some mild cramps when driving home , they say some cramps are normal .

I just was reading on babycenter a thread by someone who lost their baby after the sac leaked and then broke after the amnio. :( This is why I wanted a CVS instead, because I was less attached to the baby a few weeks ago, and it would have been easier if I lost it then. But who wants to risk that at 15 weeks? Ugh, the more I think about this, the less I want to do it...

Flava, how come you had one with DD3 and not DD4?

I had one with DD#5 and it was easy as. Didn't hurt, had a tiny bit of cramping and spotting for the next day or 2. Lady at work had one about 2 months ago and she was also fine and had no issues.

I had one with my twins. Was a little uncomfortable but not painful. I was fine. I was hoping it might make me deliver but it didn't.

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Originally Posted by Twins6boysinall

I had one with my twins. Was a little uncomfortable but not painful. I was fine. I was hoping it might make me deliver but it didn't.

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When did you get yours? I will only be 15 weeks.

hobber- because some blood test was not so good with DD3 so they did it. But with DD4 everything was fine and so I did not need one.

I've never done it.
I was strongly advised to do it when pg with DD2 bcos I've had the threatening m/c at 10 week ( profuse bleeding, I thought it was real m/c) so my ob/gyn wanted to make sure everything was OK. I refused to do it and here is why: I've asked myself and DH what would we do if the results came back indicating DD2 had chromosomal issue?

Our answer was : nothing. We were going to keep the baby no matter what.

With this pregnancy my ob/gyn also wanted me to have amnio due to my age ( 39, like you :) ) She said my initial risk for Down is 1:80, but my double test (PAPP-a and beta hCG) came back great so I've decided (again) not to do it.

I'm a bit more concerned then with DD2 but I don't want to risk m/c.

You have to have bed rest for 2-3 days after amnio to reduce m/c risk.

HM - you can look at it this way, you have a 84% chance that everything is aok with the baby. Pretty awesome odds! What was his/her nt measurement?

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Originally Posted by Kitten

HM - you can look at it this way, you have a 84% chance that everything is aok with the baby. Pretty awesome odds! What was his/her nt measurement?

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I don't know the NT measurement--no one told me--just that it was normal. My concern now is that I keep finding stories on the internet about people having downs syndrome babies without seeing any markers on the u/s--that scares me! I am just so torn about what to do. I am terrified of the amnio causing a miscarriage. But I am terrified of not getting it and having a sick baby without knowing it. I wish someone would just tell me what to do!! And I wish I was younger so the odds were on my side.

Also, I thought 1:120 was less than 1% odds? I am bad at math, so maybe your calculations are correct.

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Originally Posted by Hobbermittens

I don't know the NT measurement--no one told me--just that it was normal. My concern now is that I keep finding stories on the internet about people having downs syndrome babies without seeing any markers on the u/s--that scares me! I am just so torn about what to do. I am terrified of the amnio causing a miscarriage. But I am terrified of not getting it and having a sick baby without knowing it. I wish someone would just tell me what to do!! And I wish I was younger so the odds were on my side.

Also, I thought 1:120 was less than 1% odds? I am bad at math, so maybe your calculations are correct.

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I know this is old but, what happened Hobber? My husbands cousin had all "normal" results and her daughter was born with downs. Considering this is baby number 4 and last baby I feel that I have to be100% sure!

I never did the amino. I was too scared. My son is totally healthy. I did have a slight bit of worry still, but the dr told me that the fact that my 20 week u/s was totally normal was a very reassuring. Are you thinking if having an amino? They are supposedly pretty safe, but I just couldn't go through with it.

Thank you for you response.

Yes definitely. If I didn't know someone personally or who wasn't related to my DH who had "normal" results and ended up having a child with DS, then I wouldn't consider it but I just can't shake the feeling that I need to do it...

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Originally Posted by BabyCakesTor

Thank you for you response.

Yes definitely. If I didn't know someone personally or who wasn't related to my DH who had "normal" results and ended up having a child with DS, then I wouldn't consider it but I just can't shake the feeling that I need to do it...

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Have you heard of MaterniT21 blood test? It's something I am considering as it is just a blood test so no risk but seems to have good statistics. Most likely not covered by insurance though. Worth looking into.

would not risk the health of my baby at all when there was no reason