Amnio decision

[Mooney1]

Hi - I'm currently 28 weeks pregnant and need to make a decision on having an amnio.
My son has just been diagnosed with a serious genetic condition which has caused him development delays and retractable epilepsy.
Amnio would confirm if fetus has same condition, which is 50% chance of been passed on genetically.
Personally I want it as I need to prepare myself OH unsure, but as it is I have no joy over this pregnancy as desperately worried about what DS is going through.
So please can you give me advice on risks associated with amnio going into 3rd trimester.

Hi Mooney,

Having an amnio in the third trimester is considered a very low risk procedure (complications occurring less than 1%). Pre term labour as a result of an amnio later in pregnancy is extremely rare.

If you feel that getting an answer sooner rather than later would help with anxiety and preparing yourself if the result is positive then I think it is worth doing.

Sorry you are going through such a worrying time

I had an amnio at 27 weeks and again at 29 weeks as the first failed. It was worth it for me as I couldn't cope with the uncertainty. There were no complications afterwards and fetal medicine gave percentages of less than 1% miscarriage/early labour.

Thanks for your answers how long does it take for results to come back? If they are testing for a genetic condition wouldn't that take a lot longer?

I'm not sure about amino
But I had a cvs as my son has a genetic condition and results took 4-5 days so I imagine around the same, I'm 34 weeks and results were clear with a 1 in 4 chance xx I understand why you would want to no I couldn't of gone through this pregnancy without being tested, good luck x

Sorry Mooney have only just seen your reply. It does depend on the kind of genetic testing you are having but a full karyotype analysis can take as long as three weeks to get the results. The more straight forward genetic test for Down's Syndrome and other trisomies tends to be around a week. So you need to be a aware of the longer time frame for more complex or rare genetic conditions. Your consultant can give a more accurate answer on the waiting times as it will vary a bit depending where you are.

I had an amnio in my last pregnancy as me and dh are carriers of a genetic syndrome. We have 1 in 4 chance each pregnancy. I'm currently 9 weeks and booked in for a cvs in a months time. They couldn't do this test last time so I had to wait a few weeks for amnio. I think the risks are pretty low but there is still a risk. Hope you get the answers you need x

Hi - just be mindful of what having the amino means. I have had all the scans etc and as a result have found myself terminating at 20 and 29wks. If your baby was found to be positive for this condition would you continue with the pregnancy? If it's for information only, that's fine, but just be aware of what the medical staff might expect you to do with the information. Btw, I had a cvs with my first and an amino with my second, and while I found them a bit uncomfortable, they were no problem and over quickly. It probably depends on the expertise of the person carrying it out as much as anything. All the best.

Thanks me and my partner have made the decision to not have the amnio and we are just going to test the baby when born. There is 50% chance that the baby will have same condition as our son. Obviously if we had known that this would have been the case initially would probably not have carried on with the pregnancy.

Unfortunately when it was revealed that my son had the genetic condition we felt like the pregnancy had progressed too much to terminate. Regardless of having an amnio.

That's great, really wishing you all the best.