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Original poster

I am 41 - if you were 41 would you have an amnio?

69 replies

pinkytheshrinky · 13/10/2011 17:24

I had my nuchal scan yesterday - now found out they no longer test for Edwards' and Patau's syndrome just for downs. A friend of mine today told me that she passed her nuchal with flying colours and ended up finding they had a severely affected downs baby at the anomaly scan (she ended the pregnancy) - she was younger than me when this happened. I also have another friend who terminated a pregnancy because of Patau's, she did not have a nuchal done as she would not have terminated a downs pregnancy but her baby's condition was incompatible with life so she ended the pregnancy.

I have to say I do know I would end a pregnancy if my baby had downs - I am not asking if you think this bit of it is right or not. What I am asking is given my age would you have a amnio anyway? just to make sure? I have 4 other children, two of whom have disabilities so it is out of the question for my family. I am suddenly very nervous about it all, much more so than I have ever been about previous pregnancies. Have you any words of wisdom ladies, I am in a it of a turmoil about it all.

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Bearcrumble · 13/10/2011 19:06

There's no upper limit for having an amnio - a friend had one at 31 weeks.

stuffthenonsense · 13/10/2011 19:07

Just out of curiosity, have you considered not getting the amnio and IF something is wrong at birth then putting baby up for adoption? I know a number of people who foster/adopt specifically SN children simply because they love them. Could that be an option or would that be just as traumatic? (Im not judging here btw, i couldnt possibly imagine being in your position now, i hope everything works well for you)

Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 13/10/2011 19:08

no stuff I would not consider that, not at all

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Northernlurker · 13/10/2011 19:57

Stuuf - I sympathise with the OP very much on that one. She has older children. Hopefully everything is ok and they can welcome the new baby with easy hearts but imagine continuing a pregnancy but telling your dcs the child will not be part of the family. That is imo likely to cause massive damage.

Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 13/10/2011 20:10

Yes Northern that is also why I would want to avoid a late termination. I have a 10 year old DD and it would break her heart apart form anything else it would do to DH and I. She is too old to hide things from and when you have a tangible bump then it is harder for them to understand. I obviously have not told them yet that we are expecting a baby because I want to be sure that everything is going to be ok.

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sunnyday123 · 13/10/2011 20:20

i would have the amnio for peace of mind - i didnt have any with my 2 dds but if i every have a 3rd i would definitely as theres so much more to think about - the impact on the whole family etc. You have obviously thought carefully about what you would do so it seems best to go ahead and get tested, despite the overall risk being small. I would do asap if poss though to enable you to relax and enjoy your pregnancy!

goodnightmoon · 13/10/2011 20:23

cvs is 13-16 weeeks and amnio is after 16 weeks. it sounds like you are worried enough to need one of these tests. I am 41 and 30 weeks pregnant and thought I'd want a yes/no invasive test. But after a good combined test result with the nuchal and bloods, plus a long talk with the sonographer, I decided my chances looked pretty good. Nothing showed up at the anomaly scan and I had another private, wellbeing scan yesterday and that all looked fine too. There are no guarantees, and baby could have a host of issues that wouldn't be covered by any test, but for me it's been a path of least resistance to have faith everything is ok and deal with it later on if it's not. I just couldn't bear having to make a termination decision.
I actually worried more with my first child, at 38, and spent most of the pregnancy wishing I had had a CVS/amnio. He is fine though.

whackamole · 13/10/2011 20:44

In your circumstances, I would.

DMG · 13/10/2011 20:59

I had my DS at 43 and went through the same debate myself. The question I asked myself was if I didn't have the amnio and he was born downs, how would I feel.

The procedure itself was easy, quick and pretty painless - my DS is now 2 and a few months and causing chaos!

notlettingthefearshow · 13/10/2011 22:08

Because you are thinking about the test a lot, I would definitely have it. It is important to you, and this is very understandable in your situation. Don't worry now about how you will react to it - just do it and see how you feel with the outcome. Good luck.

coccyx · 13/10/2011 22:18

I would have the amnio. then you can decide when you have the results

coffeeaddict · 14/10/2011 12:06

I am 41 with 4 DC already, pg with DC5 and also worried about 'running out of luck'. After MUCH agonizing I had the amnio. It was quick and simple and I felt so much better afterwards. Now 29 weeks pregnant and I just feel a whole lot calmer! So I would vote yes.

imip · 14/10/2011 22:44

I'm 40 and on my fifth pregnancy. I had a scan at FMC and would highly recommend it. There are other places that also do similar indepth scans. I appreciate your childcare issues, I guess I can only say that you would have the same issues if you went for an amnio with greater risks, if that makes sense. I thought I just couldn't continue being this lucky at 40 (even though dd1 was stillborn and I've had my share of heartache), I just needed to have as much (non-invasive) peace of mind. Good luckwhatever you decide.

screechyhead · 14/10/2011 22:52

I had odds of 1 in 127 at St Thomas' at 39 years so I went to FMC and the scan was so thorough, I didn't need to go for amnio. I was of the same mind as you on Downs, so I think that FMC is a good alternative to amnio....

Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 15/10/2011 08:16

Well I have my booking appointment on Monday (bit late I know but I went on holiday) I know my midwife really well (she delivered my last two at home and did all my ante-natal care at home too) - I do think she will be a good person to talk to about it. If my risk is low after the nuchal and bloods I expect that any further testing either amnio or cvs will have to be paid for privately anyway.

I am minded that maybe a CVS at FMC might be the way to go actually because it can be done sooner. I have to wait until 16 weeks for an amnio and that seems an age away. The miscarriage rate at FMC for cvs and amnio are the same at 1% and I believe at my age my natural risk for miscarriage is higher than that anyway.

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Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 15/10/2011 08:20

coffeeaddict, yes I feel that I could 'run out of luck' as it were. Only a year ago good odds were enough for me but talking to my lovely friend and knowing that when younger than me she essentially had the all clear on a baby very badly affected by downs has just pushed it for me. I want to be able to relax and this will (probably) be my last baby.....

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LurcioLovesFrankie · 15/10/2011 08:48

1st pregnancy at 41 - decided I would only have amnio if risk of downs was greater than risk of miscarriage. Nuchal plus bloods came back ok, so didn't have amnio. But close friend, also 41, did even though really low risk,because she wnted to be sure. Part of her reasoning was that if the child did have downs, and was an only child, there would be no-one to look after him/her after she and DH were dead.

imip · 16/10/2011 07:37

I was surprised when the FMC quoted the same miscarriage rate as the NHS for amnio. I had been told that it was lower, and I wonder if in fact it actually is, but they couldn't state that??? The thing about FMC is that you have the amnio when you have the scan. Their scan looks for a lot more markers than the NHS scan. My NHS scan was the day before my FMC scan. Two different nuchal measurements - NHS 1.6mm FMC 1.9mm. That's a big divergence for me. My odds came out virtually the same one in 15,000 (well, 15,000 and something for both but I am buggered if I can remember). FMC seemed very unworried by my results, so I left it at that. Good luck!

Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 16/10/2011 07:48

Well the NHS rate depends on the individual Consultant,the one I have at my local hospital is excellent. My local hospital did quote a 2% rate for CVS, I am assuming this is because it is done earlier?

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lovethislife · 16/10/2011 07:57

Sorry what is a CVS and FMC.

Pinky - it is great that you have an excellent consultant. Wishing you a very boring normal pregnancy!

Franchini · 16/10/2011 08:05

I am 37 - we had 3 rounds of IVF to get pregnant and I decided not to have the tests as I knew I would keep the baby whatever the outcome.

If you have decided that you do not want a child with downs then go for the tests/amnio.

Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 16/10/2011 08:22

Yes I do know what I would do if there were a chromosomal problem. If I knew I could carry on a pregnancy no matter what I wouldn't take the risk of having the tests in the first place. I am just so worried about causing a miscarriage but there is a risk attached to all things.

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Original poster
pinkytheshrinky · 16/10/2011 08:26

Are the embryos for IVF not screened anyway? My friend had IVF and that was done to make sure they were healthy.

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pinkytheshrunkenhead · 19/10/2011 17:37

Ok, I got my results today and the risk is 1:1168- DH and I are having another chat about it tonight to try and decide what to do.Thanks to everyone for giving their experiences and advice. I will let you know what we do.

TooImmature2BDumbledore · 19/10/2011 20:17

I had an amnio on Monday and luckily it was clear. I am now freaking myself out with every twinge in case it heralds a mc. I am 28 but my risk factor after nuchal came back as 1:10. I found that before the results came back I was terrified of a positive, but now I have them I am cursing the risk I took. I know it makes no sense! I think you really have to weigh up the miscarriage risk with the Down's risk before you can decide.