amniocentesis-have you had one?

Question

I am 9 weeks pregnant and 37 years. The doctor says I should have one. I have heard that they are very painful and could be harmful to baby. Other than they age thing everything else is as normal as a younger person. How bad does it hurt?

Answer 1

Im 22 years old and i have had one but in your case i say you should have one since you are 37
They are not very painful and if your afraid of having one done what are you gonna do when you give birth even if you think youll get a epidural it hurts just as much and they do numb you before... your doctor can rest your fears about harming the baby if he is skilled and experienced then you really should have nothing to worry about

the pain in almost non exsistant but if you get worked up about it it might make it more uncomfortable

Answer 2

Dr has recommended this as chromosomal defects in the fetus are more prevalent in women over 35 years i.e. downs syndrome. An amnio is the only way to tell for sure. Before you say yes to an amnio (it does have a risk of misscariage - some literature says 1:200 others say 1:400) ask Dr about integrated pre-natal screening. This is a SCREENING only and gives a numerical risk of your baby having downs syndrom or nural tube defects. This is how it is done. Approx 12 or 13 weeks you go for a blood test and ultrasound on the same day (the ultrasound is an NT ulterasound - they measure the nuchal fold on the baby and a reading of 3 or more could indicate problems). However, this is not the end of the screening. At approx 15-17 weeks you go for another blood test. All these test results are then combined and the numerical ratio is given i.e. 1:5000 or 1:100. Based on this screening you could then decide re the amnio. i.e. if the risk of the specified defects was say 1:2000 and the risk of the amnio was 1:200 you may opt not to have it. If, on the other hand the risk of the defect was 1:100 and the risk of misscariage from the amnio was 1:200 you may decide for sure to have the amnio. Also with the amnio you need to think what you would do if the result was positive i.e. the baby has a defect. If you know that you would terminate for sure then it may be good for you to have the amnio. However, if you know for sure that you would not terminate you may want the amnio to be prepared for any difficulties baby may have.

So try to get the integrated screening if you can. This is a hard decision i.e amnio or not.

Good luck

Answer 3

An "amnio" is usually done when a woman is between 15 and 20 weeks pregnant to determine whether her baby has genetic or chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome ,cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, Tay-Sachs disease, and Huntington's disease. Neither the multiple marker test nor ultrasound will pick up these problems. Only amniocentesis can provide the information needed to diagnose them in the womb.
Your Dr. suggested this test because of your age... ( Still young to me though :)
If your gonna be over the age of 35 on your due date you need to have the test done. The risk of having a child with a chromosomal defect rises as a woman ages. dont let that scare you though.. the test is a safelty percasuion.
As far as pain goes they give you a shot that actually numbs your stomach before they stick the longer needle in you....this proceure does have a small percentage in causing miscarriages.. the best thing you can do to reduce this risk is Ask your practitioner or genetic counselor to refer you to a doctor with plenty of experience, preferably one who does at least 50 amnios a year.
the more "practice" as Doctor has had in this the better... good luck and dont worry...

Answer 4

I guess the first thing to consider is what you would do with the information. If you would not terminate no matter what the results are, then there's no point in getting the test.

Amnio is risky -- it has a 0.5% chance of causing a miscarriage. That's something else to consider.

Most people, if they are considering an amnio, will get a nuchal fold scan along with blood tests at around 12 weeks. This just involves ultrasound so it's much less invasive and poses very little risk to the baby. The scan alone will detect about 80% of Down Syndrome babies but has a 5% false positive rate. That means 20% of babies who have DS will go undetected while 5% of non-DS babies will be falsely identified. The blood tests will help narrow it down further.

For myself I have decided against all testing. I'm not about to risk CVS or amnio and if I'm not going to do those two, then to me there is no point in the nuchal fold scan either because if I get a positive I won't want to follow up with CVS or amnio anyway. I'm just going to wait for the Level II u/s. I am younger than you though... I'm 32.

P.S. I totally disagree that having an amnio "protects your baby". Having an amnio is protecting yourself, not protecting your baby. If you test positive for Down Syndrome they can't fix your baby, the choice is to terminate or not. This is protecting yourself from having to have a DS baby, which is a valid choice. But it's not exactly protecting your baby. If you want to protect your baby then don't subject him or her to interventions and tests with a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage.

Answer 5

I don't know if I will be of much help to you. I went into labor at 30 weeks and they need to do one to draw fluid from my baby's lungs to see how mature they would be. I was terrified, however it wasn't that painful---aside from my contractions...It took just a few minutes I closed my eyes (OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND). With this being early in pregnancy there are the risk of miscarriage, as without having one. The benefits of having one like the doctor suggests are greater than the risks---to make sure that you have a healthy normal baby developing. Good luck with it and please remember it's not that bad.... Just keep your eyes closed and think of protecting your baby!!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

I would question why the doctor wants you to have one. If blood tests came out in the normal range and ultrasound seems normal in measurement etc. why have one? I would ask. I watched my sister have one once. It is a long needle and they use ultrasound so they stay away from baby and they draw out fluid. I believe they ended up poking her twice. She was fine through it. Nothing you cannot handle if you need to have one. They do not do amnio at 9 weeks however. Ask your doctor what is going on.

Answer 7

I had my amnio final month and that i became additionally scared to dying. The technique is uncomfortable in spite of the incontrovertible fact that that's amazingly rapid and that's it. I noticeably advise it for peace of ideas. in basic terms shop your eyes closed at an analogous time as they are doing it and carry somebody's hand. My husband became no longer allowed interior the room with me. I had 2 nurses and my wellness care professional it is been doing amnios for 19 years. I completely have faith him, he cautioned it and we went alongside with it. This attempt is remarkable that it may distinguish the proper nature of any subject that would exist. i think of the advantages of understanding outweighs the hazards (and soreness) of an amniocentesis. confirm after the technique, you lay in mattress all day in any different case that eerie sharp soreness won't bypass away. you would be superb. the toddler would be superb. i'm the worldwide's best chicken and would do it lower back without question. waiting for the attempt effects can tutor to be the worst area of the approach, my effects got here lower back in basic terms final week (I had the amnio Nov sixteen) with a ninety 9.9% fee of detrimental.

Answer 8

an amniotcetesis has a 1 in 200 chance of CAUSING a miscarriage. That is greater then your odds of 1-having one now, and 2-having a downs baby.

unless you would rather abort the baby then have it if it wasn't perfect, then there is no point to having the procedure.

Answer 9

They have a blood test you can have done first that can help to detect down syndrome and other birth defects and if those results come back abnormal then have it done. I had the blood test done ad it just put my mind at ease. It is not nearly as accurate as the amnio but it was worth it.

Answer 10

I had one done at 14 weeks with my second child there not very painful not even close to childbirth I had mild cramping afterwards but other than that its not too bad. I did not get numbed aith any spray they told me they couldn't.