i am 14 weeks pregnant and need advice on amniocentesis?

Question

I am 37 -the dad is 43 we are both generally healthy- i have anti phospho lipid syndrome but feel great
also, when can i know the sex? Thanks

Answer 1

I've worked in health care for several years and this is my theory on that. I personally would NEVER have an amniocentesis if something is wrong with your child it's going to be wrong anyway, you run the risk of infection and or your child possibly dying as a result. I am in the same age category as you and I'm a parent, our age is what alters these blood work results and makes physicians want to do those tests. Chances are that if you take care of yourself then nothing will go wrong, our age just sticks us in that "high risk category."
You should be able to tell the sex of the child around the fourth month. Congrats to you & Good luck :-)

Answer 2

Ok, since you are a healthy mother-to-be, amniocentesis is the removal of the amniotic fluid from the amnionic sac. This test is done for women who are over the age of 35 and pregnant. This is only to ensure that the baby you are carrying is not prone to ectopic pregnancy, or has down syndrome, or other physical problems, or sometimes certain physical problems can be hereditary. Find out in your family if you have aunts that have children after 35 and see if they had any type of complications when they were pregnant. When women age, so does their eggs. The older the eggs are, the more problems may occur, especially if you dont eat right, which can lead to high risk pregnancy.
But dont panic, do what you keep doing, you have a supportive husband and you keep up on your health.
As far as sex, as long as you dont have further complications it should be ok to do it! But You have to be very careful because you are high risk pregnancy because you have Antiphospholipid Syndrome, and your are over 35. The further you get into your pregnancy, you have to be careful. If you have further questions about having sex that wont harm you, ask your OB/GYN or family doctor about it. Check out the website below more about amniocentesis.
I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 3

Hey I work for a maternal fetal specialtist and I can say everyone has there differences with amnios. Very quick and easy only takes 2 minutes and its guided directly to the sack by an ultrasound Normally they can be done starting at 16 weeks. An amnio is the best sure way to check for any chromosone fetal abnormalities. Also if you decide that an amnio is just to much for you check into a nucle fold test. Its a test where they check the fold on the back of the fetal neck along with checking nasal bone structure which is also an indication of any down syndrome the baby may incure. Hope this helps

Answer 4

I've been told that an amniocentesis would cause more harm than good for women under the age of 32. Basically, the older you get when you get pregnant, the higher the risk is for the unborn baby to have down's syndrome. As far as when you can find out the sex of the baby, you'll have to wait until you're about 20 weeks along. Good luck to you.

Answer 5

Generally amniocentesis is a given procedure for a pregnant woman above the age of 35 as more complications may occur for an older woman. This is advised by Doctors to avoid birth defects and abnormalities like down syndrome. Its normally done around the 4th ot 5th month generally. You can know the sex of the baby when you are about 16 weeks. I would advise you to go thru the procedure for yours and the baby's long term benefit. God Bless!!!

Answer 6

I believe the amniocentesis is done around 22 weeks. Unless you want to know and be prepared for a child with defects or want the option to end the pregnancy for birth defects, I would say don't do it. The tests are not 100% accurate anyways so you can prepare for a problem that does not exist, or be prepared for a healthy child that turns out has a problem. If you are ready to love your child no matter what, let it go and save the money. You can find out the sex at your first sonogram (around 4 months) if the baby lets you see.

Answer 7

i'm not sure what your question is about amnio....
are you asking about the procedure b/c of your syndrome??
if they need to perform one to check the baby for the same syndrome then be aware of the risks...i believe an amnio has about a 1% chance of causing a miscarriage.
they basically take a really long needle and insert it into the uterus and draw out fluid from the amniotic sac, then test it.

i would consult with your dr to be sure that it is necessary and the good outweighs the bad.
listen to your OB, but always ask questions!!

also, b/c of your age you should be in the "high risk" category. that means more dr visits and a closer monitoring of your progress. it's not a bad thing, it's to ensure that you and baby are happy and healthy!
please be sure your dr. puts you in this category. my sister-in-law should have been and her dr insisted she didn't need it....she delivered at 27 wks. thank goodness baby Jordan is now a happy healthy 16 pound baby!!!! we love her, but it was scary times and they still don't know what happened...maybe if they paid more attention to her they would have picked up on something...she had some warning signs....dr ignored them.

so, be sure to ask lots of questions, buy the book "what to expect when you're expecting", talk to other women who have given birth in your family....be sure you are comfortable with your dr and you feel safe in his/her care.

take care and you are going to love pregnancy!!! i'm 7 months and i think it's just great!!!

oh, and you'll probably find out the sex at your big 20 wk ultrasound. that's when they look at the baby and measure everything, thier organs and bones, etc....
that's when we found out:)

Answer 8

amnio can detect problems with the baby. Most often they do it to give you a chance to decide to end a pregnancy if a problem is found. If you would have no wish to end the pregnancy no matter the outcome then the benefits do not outweigh the risks. IMHO. There is a risk of miscarriage after the procedure, and the sex of the baby can be determined by ultrasound. Its your call---good luck to you

Answer 9

i had an amnio with my first child. I was 22. my husband was 36. if you are mervous about the big needle going into your stomach, just look at the ultrsound monitor when they are doing the procedure. that calmed me down when i had it done. Docs dont do an amnio unless its absolutly neccessary, so dont listen to people about whether or not to do it. its better to know if something is wrong with your baby so you can prepare for the birth than not knowing at all.

Answer 10

Check out the website i posted as the source. Gender can be determined at 18 wks., however most doctors wont do an ultrasound until 20-25 wks.