have an amnio or not

[positive]

had results from triple test today, have high risk of out baby having downs syndrome 1:60 (i'm overweight and know this can effect the results). booked for emg scan tomorrow - 20wks scan was due on 23rd nov.

dont know what we are going to do, last preg ended in mc at 19wks and know the risk of having an amnio. at 38 this may be our last chance of having a baby.

any advice would be appreciated

positive, it depends what you would "do" if you had a result which told you that your baby definitely has Down's Syndrome. if the answer is "nothing" then I wouldn't bother.

I was told by my doctor not to have the pre-screening test if I had no intention to have the amnio is the test proved that I was at high risk. So I declined the pre-screening test.

However this is an incredibly personal decision that you have to make yourself. If the amnio shows that your baby has down's syndrome, what would you do? As Bundle says, if your answer is nothing then I wouldn't have the amnio.

This is a hard one.

If you would welcome the child if s/he had DS then why risk a mc by finding out? Having said that, if you knew before hand you could get lots of info and support now.

If you feel you would terminate if the baby had DS then you need to have the amnio but accept there is a risk you could m/c a NT child.

I wish you luck with your decisions and suggest you talk to the Ante-natal Results support line.

i suppose what i really wanted to know is it easier knowing before baby is born?

The only thing easier about knowing before the baby is born is that you wouldn't be surprised to find that your child has down's. Plus I suppose you could find out loads of information beforehand about how to deal with the condition.

My husband and I had a big conversation about all this previously and I think we both surprised ourselves with how under-prepared we would be to accept a disabled child into our lives. Not that we wouldn't love that child as much as a child who is not disabled, I just think that we didn't really consider the chance of having a child with disabilities.

So I guess being prepared beforehand would have it's positives but does it outweigh the risk of a MC? Only you can answer that honey.

Good luck x

I'm sure it would be easier, knowing, but given your previous m/c and the risks associated with amnio, it sounds like you're not keen.

I had amnios with both pgs and definitely don't regret them.

I had an amnio with dc3 (I was 35, living in Switzerland, where this is what all mums over 35 were strongly recommended to do). I had experience of 2 mc so was worried. Fortunately, I had a fantastic doctor, recommended by my own Gynae, who carried out the amnio and he had a great reputation - ie very few of his patients went on to miscarry.

Although I was kind of railroaded into making the decision to have the amnio, I don't regret it. I had thought very hard about what I would do, as my partner was not at all supportive in a practical way and I knew all the responsibility of raising a disabled child, in a foreign country with no family support, would fall on my shoulders. I knew I could not cope, so I had decided before the amnio that I would terminate the pregnancy if serious problems were indicated. I think you have to have an idea of what you would do in any eventuality to make this worthwhile.

Good luck

i feel i want to know before hand but my hubby has said he just couldnt cope with another mc but he physically hasnt to go through either (sorry that sounds selfish)

Hi there, Congratulations on your pregnancy and I'm so sorry to hear about your previous loss.

I had an amnio with my first pregnancy. I was 34 and my risk was 1:189 not high risk at all, but the way I was made to feel at the hospital you would have thought that it was the end of the world! I am also overweight. The results were clear.

I also had a CVS test (smiliar to an amnio) with this pregnancy (I am 21 weeks) as my risk for downs was 1:89 and my risk of Edwards syndrome was 1:50 these results were from a nuchal fold scan and it was my bloods that brought my risk right up ( in isolation the blood results were 1:25 for downs and 1:8 for Edwards) again the result was clear.

I have wondered whether my weight could have been the cause of the results of the bloods.

I know how hard it is to make a decison based on a load of statistics that mean very little to you, I tried to think in terms of percentages - there is over a 98% chance that your baby WON'T have downs - really very good odds.

As previous posters have said it really depends how important it is for you to know one way or another before your baby arrives. For me it was very important, particularly in the case of Edwards syndrome.

It's a very personal decision. Take care of yourself x

(Edwards syndrome was our risk too, not Down's, but this decision is v personal to you)

We were told our baby was ar risk from Edward's too but at the 20 week scan.