Ive now got 4 weeks to make my decision, amnio or not? How did you decide?

[nosleepwithworry]

I have pretty much made up my mind to go ahead with the amnio.

Lots of reasons, but dont know anyone who has had this.

We have spoken to the specialist midwife, know of the risks etc, but still feel awkward and unsettled.

What got you through? What were your thoughts on the lead up to the amnio?

What about after, were you sore? How long did you take off work?

Sorry for the million questions, just need to talk to some one who has been where i am going.

Thanks xx

Hi nosleep, was have been following your other thread too - you have many "fans"!!

In my last pregnancy, my plan was to have a NT, then use the resulting risk to decide whether to have an amnio or CVS.

As I would have most likely terminated, I would have wanted the option of knowing earlier via CVS rather than waiting till 16+ weeks for amnio & results.

I'm not sure if that helps you any, but am hoping everything goes well for you xxxx

I think Youoldslag has explained very clearly. I had an amnio at about 17 weeks as bloods came back higher risk, probably because i was almost 40.

DP and i were so stressed till the amnio results came back. I 'would say have the amnio, so that you don't have to worry for the rest of your pregnancy.

good luck!

Hi there everyone, am reading this thread with great interest as having similar dilemma.

nosleepwithworry when you say you just want a certain answer rather than a risk factor I know exactly what you mean.

Last pregnancy I had a nuchal scan done privately and the results came back very low risk so decided not to have amnio. This time I will be older (40) and I just want to know, especially in ight of what youoldslag has said about the other things amnio can tell you (I was just thinking about downs last time).

I get very anxious when pregnant so unless I got a very low risk result from the nuchal (doubtful now due to my age)I would want an amnio anyway, so am thinking of bypassing that altogether, but this also makes me feel guilty due to the miscarriage risk.

AAAArgh tough decisions. Wishing you all the best nosleep and thanks youoldslag for that very informative post.

I chose not to have them as I had no risks for anything and was young (24), and knew I would go ahead with the pregnancy in any case.

If I were older or had higher risks I would have one, I think, though again I would go ahead with the pregnancy no matter what. But if there were problems, it'd be nice to be prepared.

Cheerful Yank, I mean this in a kind way and I am in no way arguing with you here. However, when you say "I would have gone ahead with the pregnancy in any case" I would just want to say that nobody knows what an amnio can throw at you.

For example, a mother may find out that her child may not live past a few days, or that maybe the pregnancy may not be viable because of abnormalities . As tragic as these outcomes can be, there is no way anyone can know for sure what their reaction will be until they have all their results (which hopefully are good).

I was preparing myself for a baby with Downs and had decided to continue with the pregnancy. Nothing prepared me for the out of the blue result which was a lot worse.

My nuchal fold said 1 in 20 for Downs but turned out to be a chromo 7 problem which I had previously never even heard of.

I think I am just saying the vast majority of results are good, but be aware of the unexpected.

youoldslag - without wishing to upset you I too chose not to have any testing with my last pg. I was 42. I too knew I would not terminate if I got bad results so I therefore decided against even having a nuchal fold measurement.

This followed a pg at the age of 40 where I did get high nf results (1:50). After much indecision I decided the risk of mc was too much for me to risk so decided not to have an amnio. I decided that I could live with the not knowing for a few months.

However, I was extremely relieved that I did not have an amnio, as at 18 and half weeks I realised that my baby had indeed died and I then had to be induced. It is believed that my baby did indeed have some sort of 'abnormality' and that is why she died.

Given my time again I would not have terminated if I had known she was going to have limited life or some other problem. Although I completely understand why others would chosen that path.

YouOldSlag I know what you mean, and I'm sorry if I came across as...flippant, or something. :)

I guess what I meant was, the doctor told me that he would be screening for spina bifida and Downs, and I wouldn't terminate in either of those cases. I wasn't thinking about the host of other abnormalities that the test could reveal.

I realize it's a highly personal and sometimes agonizing choice. I just meant for me personally. If it turned out my child would be in terrible pain, I suppose I would rethink.

Don't worry Cheerful Yank, I didn't think you were being flippant at all! I am always careful to be sensitive and kind on the ante natal threads and I was just adding my tuppence worth to the discussion.

CeCe- just read your post. I am so sorry for your loss. That's awful. Please accept my condolences.

Some gut wrenching stories here, i am hyper aware that there are absolutely no guaruntees at any stage of pregnancy.

Every day for me is a milestone, every day done is...well, a day done.
I am not thinking anyway ahead of the end of today.

Thing is, for me, its not just Downs, its the serious health implications that are possible with Downs, the cardiac issues, the possibilities for life limiting illness's is very real.
Its not just Downs, it is also true what others have said on here, its the other chromosomal problems that are a possibility and can be detected.

At 42,this means that i also have a life limited, i wont be here for ever, i cannot commit to invest in being around for a child then young adult with severe health problems. I also have my little boy. I cant now do this to him.

So i need to know, absolutely and without doubt.

Also, for me, i have ruled my fertile life with stats. 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, i have always been that number 4, always with every single one of my miscarriages.
I knew by counting the people around me who anounced their good news, that this spelt doom for me and my pregnancies.

Well, no more, i refuse to rule this wonderful, amazing, surprise baby by probability and by what may be. For once i need concrete facts.

I feel so much more confident in my future plans thanks to you all sharing and and your kindness. This is difficult subject, bringing back torturous memories for some of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart xxxxxx nananapsxxxxxx

Hi nosleepwithworry, sorry to read of your past losses. I know you have mentioned that you're not interested in the first trimester screening. Just another perspective on FTS from 2 viewpoints.

I will be 39 having this baby and like you I was going to have amnio but also opted to have the FTS at 12 weeks. This was for the reason that my sister had terminated a DS pregnancy 2 years ago after an amnio. She had to have a termination at 17 or 18 weeks which was much more traumatic for her as the baby had started moving by then and she was showing. She wished she'd had the FTS which would most likely have flagged the high risk, she could then have had CVS to confirm the diagnosis and the termination would have taken place at an earlier stage. As I felt pretty sure we'd terminate for DS/Edwards/Patau I decided to have FTS so that if I was high risk I could have CVS right away and a termination if we were confirmed with a very serious abnormality.

The other reason why I feel FTS is worth having is as follows:
As it turns out my FTS risk for DS came back as 1 in 2000 and for Edwards/Patau it was 1 in 4000. They also could see the nasal bone on the scan which, from reading up on research studies online, is very significant and may bring the accuracy of the FTS up to 90-95%. Like you I had wanted certainty from the amnio and did not feel a probability would be enough. After calculating my false negative risk to be between approx 1 in 1500 and 1 in 3000 I decided not to have the amnio, to my own surprise. I had had two m/cs earlier in the year and felt very nervous about the amnio having successfully gotten to 12 weeks.

The false negative risk with the FTS at your age would be higher: 1 in 433 (assuming that FTS picks up 85% of DS cases and that your age-related risk of DS is 1 in 65). However, if they can see the nasal bone at your FTS scan then the false negative risk is down to 1 in 650 (if testing considered 90% accurate) and 1 in 1300 (if testing is 95% accurate). I've heard that the m/c risk for amnio can be as low as 1 in 1600 however, which is still lower than your best false negative risk. So that is another consideration.

Anyway, all in all I feel with the FTS it's more information at an earlier stage which you can process and use as you wish; and one can still have the amnio at 16 weeks if needed for peace of mind.

The NT done by a good sonographer plus blood tests gives up to 90% accuracy. Even more actually. The Fetal Medicine School accredits various clinics to provide the tests to a quality standard.

The risk of mc from amnionis small but why risk it if an accurate nuchal screen gives you a really low risk? I understand why you want certainty but you have nothing to lose by a nt. it would be the starting point of all the info you need to be fully informed.

I know you have reslly made your choice but imo the nt is worth the cost ( not alot) to be fully informed.

Have been following your other thread Nosleep and sending positive thoughts all the way.

To share my experience - DC1 had condition picked up on 12 week
scan that was not compatible with life. I had an amino after this was picked up so they could run further tests to give us some answers before we interrupted the pregnancy at 17 weeks. I thought any subsequent pregnancy I would 100% have amino or cvs to give me peace of mind.

Turns out with DC2 the risks presented in scan were low for conditions 1/9000 vs 1/500 risk for miscarriage during amino. I surprised myself by opting not to go for amino as a result. DC2 was just fine.

I still thought I would go for amino again -DC3 had placenta in position that would have made amino trickier -so again found myself deciding not to do it. DC3 arrived 5 days ago and is also doing great.

I am the sort of person that thought I would want definitive answers especially after such a traumatic thing to experience bad news with DC 1. I surprised myself by being quite level headed and being able to make a decision that felt right in the moment, even though it was not the decision I expected.

Wishing you all the best.

mrsdeedee when you refer to FTS do you mean the nuchal scan or other screening as well?

Hi totalfandango, by FTS I mean nuchal scan plus bloods.

I had an amnio on thursday. I am 22 weeks pregnant, 42 yrs old and thought I would have one automatically as a result of age but it wasnt offered.

I had a 1 : 2129 chance after the triple test, so we decided a 1 in 2129 chance was really ok and much better sticking with those odds than a 1 in 100 risk of miscarriage after amnio. however anomaly scan has come back with poor outcomes and I have to say it didnt cross my mind not to have an amnio at that stage. They did it straight after my scan (in the same room), covered me in cleansing stuff and it was no different than having blood taken from your arm, just takes a minute or two longer. All done in 5 mins. I have been having a few period like pains which started yesterday and are still happening, but not constant, every few hours.. premilinary results come back early next week.

I have done some more googling and there is more up to date research that suggests a lesser risk than 1 in 100 in this current day and age.. and some obs state their rate (0.3% for example in Cardiff).

I have posted separate thread below my current issues.

Nosleep, I'm so sorry this is another bridge to cross for you. I can understand your concern. I don't have any experience of what you're going through, but when dd1 was born the midwives took every opportunity to look at her - they thought she had Downs. The two week wait was awful. All was well in the end luckily. Here's my hand to hold. Good luck and I pray all is well with your little miracle.

I had an amnio 14 years ago,and i felt no pain at all,just like a pinch were the needle went in,and then no pain at all,the nurse held my hand and was very reassuring,they even let me look at the baby on the scan as the needle went in,i was totally calm,and the nurse commented on it,i dont know why i was.

I went home and stayed in bed all day,had like little cramps,but nothing else. I was a 1-50 risk of downs and had three other children to consider.good luck.

/ / / / ZOMBIE THREAD / / / / /
My amnio hurt a lot. For days afterwards.

Hello nosleep . I'm 24 weeks now and am planning to have an amnio late in my pregnancy (beyond 30 weeks) once I'm well into clear viability, to try to minimise miscarriage risks. I've come back with a 1:130 downs risk (I'm 36) and I knew I'd want the baby anyway but I would like to be as prepared as I possibly can be for his birth, and also so that the appropriate medical professionals will be ready for him. A friend has a boy with Downs (undetected on NT scan) and he said the hardest part was only finding out at the birth and that they felt very alone,, but that once they were a few months in and "in the system" the care and support was brilliant. So I guess my personal reasoning is as much from
a practical perspective as an emotional one.