2nd Trimester
BrookeAWestling
member
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possible VSD and amnio?
BrookeAWestling
member
Hi ladies,
Have any of your lo's been diagnosed with (or suspected to have) a vsd (ventricular septal defect)? I had my anatomy scan this past week, and a follow up, where they think they have detected a VSD. The genetics department at Kaiser is now urging me to have an amniocentesis performed, as vsd can sometimes be linked to downs. However, both myself and the baby's father were born with this condition (it fixed itself without any problems), and our 1st trimester screening gave us a less than 1/100,000 chance of downs. I am very reluctant to expose my lo to the risks associated with amnio, but am unsure of what to do.
Have any of you been in this situation? If so, what did you do? any thought/advice are appreciated.
Thanks
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Re: possible VSD and amnio?
First, sorry to hear that you are in this situation. I know how stressful it can be. My bloodwork came back with a 1/110 chance our baby would have down syndrome. Once we had an ultrasound done and there were no markers for it, they dropped the chances to 1/330 but still recommended we do an amnio.
It truly is a very personal choice, but my husband and I decided to have the amnio done. We talked to a number of different doctors, both that we knew through seeing them as patients and that we new personally as friends and all of them said if they were in this position they would have it done to know definitively one way or another what was going on. Yes there are risks, but they are VERY minimal. There is a less than 0.5% chance of miscarriage. We wanted to know so that we could be educated and prepare ourselves for the possibility of having a child with DS.
That being said, I know how controversial the amnio is, especially on these boards. Every post I have seen about them is met with most women saying they would never have an amnio done because of the risks so I may be in the minority.
I had the amnio done yesterday morning. It was not what I expected. It was only a slight prick and a minute of them taking the fluid out. They monitored the baby the whole time and after they were finished. We were able to see the baby and the fluid on the screen in front of us the whole time. I have been home in bed since and will remain home and in bed until tomorrow morning. They recommend at least 24 hours of rest after, but we decided I would rest for 48 to be safe. They warned us I might see spotting or have cramping but I have had neither so far. I hope this info helps a little bit. You and your baby are in my thoughts!
Did they find any other indications of DS in the sono? There should be other physical signs of DS in the sono, aside from the possible VSD. Have they scheduled you for a fetal echo yet? They can't tell much about potential heart defects in a regular sono, but a fetal echo will give you much more information to help you prepare. Prayers, and good luck!
Our Journey
Thank you for your input....
After talking to the perinatologist for a while, we've decided to hold off on the amnio for now. We would only consider terminating in a situation where there was a deformity so bad that it would prevent the baby's survival outside the womb. There are no other signs of anything additional being wrong (just the vsd and the fact that there is only one artery in the umbilical cord rather than two...both of which can be, and typically are, isolated anomalies). The doctor also told me that the vsd, upon closer inspection, was definitely there, but was measuring only about 2mm, and that they typically don't pick up on them until they are at least 3 mm. It just seems so unlikely that a life threatening deformity/syndrome would not show any more symptoms.
We're going to do the fetal echo as well as a follow up detailed u/s, and go from there. If nothing else shows up, we will keep an eye on the vsd and say a prayer.