Amniocentesis or not?

dianah36

I'm curious if anyone else really struggled with trying to decide whether or not to have amniocentesis? I'm 36 and my risk through the First Look was 1in 1800...I can't decide. I had a miscarriage in the summer so the idea of making it this far and potentially causing my own miscarriage really freaks me out.

Jamaicanlove

I'm not having it down. ?The results from the NT testing was good enough for me. I'm not risking it.

ljlkm

I had an amnio.  The risk of having a miscarriage due to amnio is about a quarter to a half of a percent.  So, a 99.5-99.75% chance of not having a miscarriage due to amnio.

b.heather

It was no struggle for me. I'm not willing to do amnio unless there is a really big risk of a major problem that could be somehow fixed or reduced if it was diagnosed early. I'd just never forgive myself if I did the test and something went wrong. I'm sure it is an individual choice though that each woman has to consider.

 

 

Temp159135562506975

there is a lot of talk about this on the 35+ board.

I am 36 and was offered the amnio- even though my NTS came back with a 20y/o's risk.. it's standard to offer it to over 35 moms.... We declined.

I think it really has to do with a few things:

-what would you do if you found out something was wrong (like 100% knew, which is what the amnio does).  If you would not terminate... then to me it sways the answer towards "no amnio"

 

-can you handle NOT knowing if something is wrong until the day you deliver?  if the answer is yes- again, answer sways towards "no amnio"...

We decided even before the NTS that we would not have any further testing done- b/c of the m/c risk... esp with twins- it's double the risk.  We would not terminate no matter what- and we are OK with not knowing (b/c Lord knows there are a million things that can be wrong AFTER baby is born, etc).... but i do not fault anyone for wanting to know- or terminating if it's something they can't deal with.

it's such a personal decision- a hard one for many to make.

for what it's worth- a 1 in 1800 chance is pretty damn good! remember... a 1 in 100 chance is still only 1%... and 99% chance everything is OK...

vanceandlori

It really is a personal thing. I did it-- I wanted to be best prepared for what the results were.

If our baby had Down's and I had no plans to terminate, I would educate myself as much as I possibly could about Down's and if I needed a special type of doctor, or what type of services there were out there for a child like mines.

[Our baby doesn't, thank goodness, but I'm just saying 'if']

Like pp said, the risk of m/c with an amnio is less than a percent. But then again, it's an extremely personal decision to make.

julygal

Your risk of miscarriage is low with an amnio, but your risk of something being wrong with the baby are even lower.  I don't know how far along you are, but if it were me I'd wait until the 18-20 week u/s and see if anything comes up then that supports the need for an amnio.  If they see no markers for downs at that time, then I would say the statistics are in your favor.   

I am under 35 and our 1st tri screening came back with excellent results.  However, at the 18 week u/s they saw a significant marker for downs or heart defect (1 in 3 chance something was wrong with the baby). We opted to do the amnio at that time along with a fetal echocardiogram, because the risk of something being wrong with the baby was more likely than something going wrong with the amnio.  Also since our odds were so high that something was wrong, I could not handle the the unknown.  All our tests came back normal and I had no side effects from the amnio.

I agree it is a very personal decision, and I think the above posters gave you some good things to consider. Good luck.

jolis_petits_bijoux

I had amnio.  It was a tough decision.  Like PPs said, it's a very personal decision... does your perinatologist's office have a genetic counselor?  She can discuss your risks with you in further detail, and help you make the decision that's best for you... if that makes sense. 

I was also petrified of miscarriage caused by the amnio, but the risk is 1:1600 if you have amnio performed by a perinatalogist who is very skilled with the procedure. 

Though the specialist who performed my amnio had 0 bedside manner, I felt comfort in the fact that he performs about 3 amnios/day, and has been for 14 years.  Yep, I asked him that.  I also asked what the miscarriage risk was (specificially to their practice) and they said that though they can't even be sure it was caused by the amnio, in the history of their practice, only one post-amnio miscarriage has been reported.  They quoted me that 1:1600 chance.  I still felt guilty, subjecting my unborn child to such a small chance.

I'm not sure what the First Look is, but to me, 1 in 1800 doesn't sound bad.  If there's no apparent reason for the amnio other than your "maternal age", I would probably opt against it. 

Pesky

I decided to see what my odds were after the NT scans (I was 35 with DD and am 37 with this one).  In both cases, the odds of m/c from the amnio were far greater than the odds of something being wrong with the baby.  So I decided to forego it.  The OB said he and his wife (a L&D nurse) used the same reasoning -- unless the odds were worse than the m/c odds, they passed.  1 in 1800 is a really good number.

dianah36

thanks for all of the great info...I have a lot to think about.

 

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