Pregnancy - Amniocentesis

DigForVictory

Youngest now 11 - no recollection of pain, much clearer memories of worrying like a daft thing.
I ended up with my To Do list in half hour increments between the test and the results...
Plan a distraction, and/or full-concentration treat for After. Race track afternoon or something - get the photos of you driving that Porsche! Then get stuck into the To Do list.

kingfisherblue

I am assuming that you have a higher than average risk of Down's Syndrome if you are going to have an amniocentesis. If the baby does have DS, some consultants will be fairly certain that you will abort if the test is positive, at least in my experience, so be aware that there may be an expectation even if you want time to decide. Obviously you can't take too long, but ask for a couple of days if you aren't sure.

I say this because a scan showed an abnormality in my second child. Although most children with this particular problem are not DS, it can be an indicator. Even though I was 32 weeksregnant at the time, I was expected to have an amino, and was told by the consultant, 'Well, you didn't have an amniocentesis and it's too late to abort, but what do you expect when you don't have the tests?'! As it happens, my son does have DS, but I understand that parents have the right to choose whether to go ahead with pregnancy or to abort.

I had CVS with my next child, as I just needed to know, but it was clear that an abortion would be expected if my second son also had DS. The doctors couldn't understand that I wouldn't consider abortion, but I just needed to know. It wasn't the Down's that bothered me, it was that my first son was born with four rare abnormalities that required surgery when he was nine hours old, and I needed to know if any of those abnormalities were likely - tests were not available, and scans only showed a chance of being possible from about 28 weeks.

My second son was born without any health problems at all. My first son, given just four hours to live before his surgery, is now 15 and doing well

Whatever the result, and whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best x

Spendless

I agree with what kingfisher has said. You do need to be clear that you will make a decision once you are aware with some staff. My 1st pregnancy was terminated due to him being so severley disabled he wouldn't have survived more than a few mins as best case scenario. In my next pregnancy I was asked about the triple blood test and told that 'there was no point in having it, if I wasn't going to terminate a pregnancy'. I didn't agree, I wanted to know for my own peace of mind and would decide once I was in possession of the results. As it happened I raised the issue in my next appt with different midwives and they were happy for me to go ahead and this was over a blood test not an amnio!

Having said all that, the pregnancy I did terminate no-one put pressure on me to do so. They left me and OH to make the decision between us.

pauletruth

unless your planning on terminating after a positive result don't have it your just risking the child for no gain.

kingfisherblue

pauletruth wrote: »

unless your planning on terminating after a positive result don't have it your just risking the child for no gain.

Easy to say, but what if you don't know what your decision will be? Also, with my second son, I just needed to know whether he had DS or not - my chances were around one in 100, the same as a forty year old, but I was ten years younger. I knew that if he did have DS, I wouldn't terminate, but I still felt that I needed to know so that I could prepare myself. I couldn't face the rest of my pregnancy without knowing, as I would have worried myself sick.

The OP is presumably able to decide whether to have an amniocentesis or not, regardless of whether she knows if she will choose to terminate or not, if the baby has DS. She will be aware of the risks, and I can fully understand that she may want to know.

OP, I would suggest that you do what is right for you and your partner, both in regard to having an amnio and whether to terminate if the test is positive. Nobody else can tell you that you should or should not have the test.

Good luck x

maisie1234

I thought they had lost popularity over the years. I did have one but 16 yrs ago. Didnt hurt, dont look at them preparing, keep your eyes shut and keep still.

I wanted one done because I did want to know about Downs. I know what I would have done.

Some people want to know to prepare themselves and the family. Its not really for us to judge on their reasons. Has the NHS agreed to do one? There is a slight risk of miscarriage.

an9i77

The non invasive test is called the harmony test. It takes a sample of the mother's blood which has foetal dna fragments in. Its then sent to America to be tested so it takes about two weeks to get the results. It's only been around since the start of the year in this country, so is expensive although I think it has come down in price a bit now since it started (it was £750 but I've heard of places doing it for less than £500). Which is expensive but if you didn't want any risk of a miscarriage (though testing) then may be worth it.

penguin83

I had it done at 20 weeks with my now 10 year old daughter. I don't remember it being painful just a strange sensation. I just looked at the screen (they scan you while they do it) and watched baby jumping around.

I was 18 at the time and had just been told that due to what was seen on the screen my baby was at high risk of having Downs Syndrome. I had to know. I was young, it was my first baby and I needed to be prepared. If you had asked me before I would have said I wouldn't have any invasive procedure, but until you are in that position you cant know for sure.

meer53

I had a CV test followed by 3 amnio tests with my daughter 13 years ago. The CV test was to check for Downs, the amnios were because i have a problem with my blood and they had to keep checking the baby's blood to see if she needed a transfusion before she was born. Luckily, she didn't and was 5 weeks early but perfectly healthy.

I didn't find any of them painful. The nurse told me that the only nerve endings are in your skin so once the needle is in, there is no further pain. It helped me a lot to understand that.