Miscarriage after a CVS screen

[razzdazz]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone here has miscarried after a CVS screen and if so how many days after did it happen.
I lost my baby boy at 22 weeks into my pregnancy from a genetic condition and I could have as high a risk of recurrence as 28% with this pregnancy. i have been offered the CVS but am so scared of the miscarriage risk as i have lost other pregnancies (early) as well. The thought of having to deliver another lost baby is also dreadful, with I guess a higher risk.
Please do share any experiences if you feel you can.

[Endogirl]

Hi razzdazz. I'm afraid I can't really provide you with any insight as I was fine after our CVS and didn't miscarry but I didn't want your post to go unanswered.

The chances of miscarriage are quite low, normally less than 1% and you can ask your hospital what their rates are if that would make you feel any better about having it done.

I'm so sorry that you've had problems in the past. I recently ended my pregnancy at 16 weeks as my little girl had fatal Turner's syndrome so i can really sympathise with you not wanting to deliver another lost baby.

I'm sure there will be ladies on here who can comment more on your original question, but for now, good luck if you do decide to have the CVS and keep posting on here as you'll find lots of lovely support for whichever action you decide to take.

xxxxx

[manitz]

hi razzdazz. I guess how you decide to go forward depends what the genetic condition is. I have had two terminations - one for a massive heart problem and one for T21. Each can be indicated by the nuchal scan so I considered cvs but my nuchal came back relatively low risk, I then had a detailed scan at 16 weeks to look for soft markers. It didn't give me a definite ok but was really positive and I have also had a cardiac scan at 19 weeks to look at the heart in full.

If I now have a baby with a syndrome at least I know it's unlikely to be a sick baby so I opted not to have CVS and am happy with that compromise for me. However as endogirl said the miscarriage rate for CVS can be lower than 1% depending on who does it so you have to make a decision that you can live with and which will cause the least stress during the rest of your pregnancy but I would definitely suggest that you ask your consultant what other types of screening are on offer for the type of genetic problem your baby had.
x

[razzdazz]

Hello to you both and thank you for your replys. The condition my baby had is a lethal one that can be detected at around 16/17 weeks by scan. If found again I would have to terminate the pregnancy as the baby would have no chance of life. The cvs would spare me the distress of having to go through the delivery again as I would be early enough to go into theatre. When I put it like that I guess it may sound selfish of me. I am awaiting dna results from myself and hubby this week that will determine the actual risk of recurrence and will have to base my decision on that.
Thanks again.

[manitz]

i agree completely and I don't think it's selfish not to want to deliver. I was exactly the same with my termination for T21. I've had two c sections and was terrified of rupturing plus my previous termination had been very traumatic at 26 weeks.

I had my (T21) termination at 13/14 weeks but they said I was too late for surgical and had to deliver anyway. To be honest I was dreading it but it ended up being extremely cathartic and I was bizarrely proud of myself for the way I dealt with the labour on my own. I was also really pleased to see the fetus as I could see the hydrops which had contributed to my decision to terminate so had none of those 'what if they are wrong' thoughts. I was also pleased that it didn't look as much like a baby as my other child because it was so much earlier. It was a very different experience for me second time round.

I find the more facts I have the more the decision becomes obvious, I hope your dna results help you come to a decision that is right for you. x

[Wingdingdong]

Have you looked at the ARC (Antenatal Results and Choices) website? www.arc-uk.org -there's also a telephone helpline. I rang it with specific questions and the woman was very informative.

According to them, of the miscarriages that happen following a CVS, the majority occur within 72 hours, the rest within 1-2 weeks. I was told the same thing re amnios. However, the ARC website does make it clear that nobody knows how many of these miscarriages would have happened anyway...

I know what you mean about delivery. We're still waiting for results of investigations at 18w and I just don't want to think about the what ifs. Having already had an EMCS and two D&Cs as well as miscarrying naturally at 16w and 10w (though the 16w was blighted ovum so no foetus to be seen), I've been weighing up the future risks versus the emotional trauma and trying hard not to think about it.

FWIW, I felt the same way about the amnio - didn't want to take any risk at all with my m/c history - until I realised that a) the risk of something being wrong was so ridiculously high (95%) compared to the risk of amnio (

[Rachee]

I have just had a cvs, and the misscarriage rate is very low, nearly none existant these days, unless the baby is a poorly baby... it only seems to be the poorly ones that don't make it.
look at the operators stats.... my consultant has never lost a baby to a cvs , other than a baby that turns out was going to be fatal anyway....
it's worth asking....

[tinkerclark]

Hi

I just had to write as I have felt I'm the only one out there going through this sort of difficult time. Though it seems not (I do not wish the feelings I'm going through on anyone).

I had a surgical termination on Saturday at 15 weeks due to a CVS confirming down's. We sent two long weeks considering our options following a 10mm nuchal fold at 12 week scan and matching bloods. My risk factor for down's was 1:2 so the CVS was a formality.

I couldn't face a medical termination - I feel like I've been through enough. I've told family and friends I had a miscarriage because the decision to terminate a pregnancy with down's is a personal one and unless you face it yourself there is no right to judge. If you'd asked me before I would have been adamant that I would have kept the baby : / However my views changed after lots of research and reading on medical & learning problems associated with down's.

Another extrenuating part was that this was an IVF pregnancy (frozen egg cycle) paid for by ourselves (as my husband had a non-reversible vasectomy before we met) and from the same batch of eggs we have a beautiful two year old girl (of course a shining light in this whole story). So there were a few raised eyebrows as to why I decided to terminate by the hospital staff at the nuchal scan and at the termination clinic which made things even more upsetting.

So our next step is to wait a few months and go through IVF again. I will then be 41 so the risk of down's increases again. There is hope as our clinic now offers genetic screening before implantation (more £££ but I never want to go through this heartache again).

I don't know if this is of any help but your post made me feel I'm not alone so thanks for that x

[herecomesthsun]

The risk with CVS at the Fetal Medicine Centre is 1 in 500. I was told that there is an element of risk during the procedure itself. If that goes well the risk falls to 1 in 1000. the risk, according to Prof Nicolaides, only persists for a few days and then reverts to what would have been the risk anyway at that stage of pregnancy. Both the FMC and ARC would be very supportive of you wanting to know esp given your past experience. Good luck x

[razzdazz]

Sorry for what you had to go through tinker and no you most certainly are not alone.
I decided not to have the cvs as my dna results came back with a 1% chance of the condition appearing again. Also, the test for the particular gene takes 2 weeks to come back and by then it will show on scan. For me the cvs was just going to be yet another stress for me with less advantages that it offers to others. So my fingers are still tightly crossed.

[Sanush]

Can anyone pls recommend a doctor who has good experience and a high success rate with performing CVS in London? I am at 10 weeks and worried about this procedure...any help very much appreciated

[bemybebe]

I believe consultants have their own mc risk statistics and it is worth asking for the specialist with experience and low rate of losses. Good luck!

[razzdazz]

Hi sanush, I have never used him but I believe many on here recommend Prof Nicolaides at the harley street fetal medicine centre, he does have very good statistics as I did a lot of research when considering a cvs. Good luck.