Amniocentesis at 35wks?

[SnookyPook]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has experience of this? We had low risk screening at 12wks and normal range NT. At 20wk scan Baby was measuring small resulting in referral to foetal medicine as was 3rd centile. Regular monitoring since then. Although he is fairly small all over, it is largely being driven by the femur measurement. No other soft markers of anything. Doppler checks and amniotic fluid have remained perfect.

We initially refused amniocentesis due to risks and the fact he was looking happy and healthy in other ways. However, as we now approach birth we thought it could be good to be prepared just in case there is anything genetic going on that we could start getting out heads around.

I've had steroid shots the last two days and will be in first thing on Monday.

Does anyone have experience of the amniocentesis at this gestation? Did it trigger preterm labour? And was it for a similar query? Happy to hear experiences. Compared to lots of this board I know this seems a very minor issue but of course the waiting for results etc is still playing on my mind as well as the questions over the unknown.

Appreciate any comments. Thank you!

Hello lovely. I haven't been there but I gave my next fetal med appointment at 32 weeks and know that now we have increased fluid, short femur and a kidney issue this may be something that's suggested.
What centile are your measurements on now? All. The best for Monday xx

@MrsM89 ah thank you. He's <3rd centile but largely driven by femur measurement now as his HC and abdomen have picked up at the last few scans. Last estimated weight we have was 3lbs12oz at 33+4.

How are you feeling? It's not nice having to contemplate possible issues - especially at this stage. Hope you're doing ok! Feel free to keep me posted. All the best for you and little one. 💗

I had a high risk combined test (which I think was mainly due to my age), and was offered the NIPT and/ or amniocentesis. I opted for the NIPT, which was low risk, and so declined amniocentesis.

Baby was always measuring small (my previous baby was also small) but growth then slowed right down around 30 weeks and I was offered amniocentesis again, but I knew the risks and wouldn’t have had an abortion at that stage anyway so declined it again.

I also didn’t personally feel that if there were problems knowing at 30+ weeks would help me, but appreciate it might help some people prepare.

I then developed pre-eclampsia which explained the slow growth. Baby was born at 34 weeks (0.5 percentile) and did have a very rare condition but not one that would have been picked up by amniocentesis or caused his slow growth or small size.

My previous baby who was also born small didn’t have any issues and is an incredibly big and robust toddler now.

Is this your first baby? I think some people just have small babies. That seems to be the case for me.

@nc14 thanks for sharing. Yes I think you're right. I have a 3yr old son who was 5th centile at birth - a surprise as he'd been 50th at 20wk scan and never flagged as small on fundal height measurements. He is now 91st centile for height and we're always being told how tall he is! This one was obviously smaller earlier but hopefully it is just that I make small babies. I was only 6lbs4oz myself at term and my Sister was 5lbs11oz! So small babies do seem to run in the family too. Sometimes too much knowledge can be a bad thing and I think all the early scans and monitoring just got in our heads a bit. Anyway, we'll find out soon.

@SnookyPook Your elder son sounds similar to DC1 - he went from 6th percentile of to 95th percentile at 2 and is the biggest child in his class. If your elder son was anticipated to be bigger it might be he was always smaller and they got the measurements wrong, so it didn’t trigger the same worry. I believe it’s not an exact science and they can be very off in their measurements. DC2 wasn’t anticipated to be as small as he actually was and DC1 was predicted to be smaller. Best of luck 💕

Update

Just had the initial screening results back and all normal ☺️

We're not likely to get the full micro-array until after he's born but hopefully that will be fine too. It's a relief not to be facing a diagnosis this late in the game.

Thanks to those who responded and supported xx

@SnookyPook That’s great news - what a relief! 💕

Still awaiting the micro-array but little man arrived yesterday, dinky but perfect! 5lbs7oz at 37wks on the dot. 2nd centile but doing great. Acing his obs and feeding well 🥰 None of him looks out of proportion and we're not expecting any issues with the full results. 💗

Full micro-array also clear 🥰 ironically at least two different midwives have commented on his long legs! 🤷🏼‍♀️🙃

Congratulations 💐

Aw, congratulations! 🥰

Just reading this and I am in exactly the same situation as you - 2nd baby and 1st also small born on 7th centile (he’s also 3). This baby has been 1-2nd centile but everything else normal (normal NIPT also). So wasn’t planning to got for amino - it’s helpful to hear of your experience and congratulations!

@Gracebaker glad you found it helpful! How far along are you now? Hopefully you're similar then and just make small babies! Samuel will be 8 weeks on Monday and is still small but growing happily along his 0.4th centile and thriving in every way. Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy! 💗