Amniocentesis experience

[Crazybabylady14]

Hi just wondering if anyone could share their experience of having an amniocentesis test?

Just had a call to say my risk is 1 in 28 and due to the presence of a twin that didn't make it I can't have the non invasive test.

Head is swimming at the moment and just wondered how painful it is - if at all, what happens - do they do an ultrasound scan first etc.

TIA

Please ask about the SAFE test. It’s the only one that works with Vanishing Twin. It’s accuracy does reduce to 95% in this situation but could be worth seeking before invasive tests. All the best x

I’ve had two amniocentesis (I’m a carrier of a chromosome issue). Although they were nerve wracking procedures I found the hospital team to be very reassuring and thorough. It was all very calm with minimal pain and seemed very routine to them. I believe the risk of miscarriage is much lower than the 1% generally stated if you have an experienced doctor and team. I had a full anatomy scan before each amino. Happy to answer any other questions and best of luck with it all x

Thank you both so much for your replies. SAFE wasn't mentioned but my partner and I have a meeting tomorrow to discuss everything and ask questions so will ask about that.

I'm very lucky to be under one of the best rated women/feral medicine hospitals in the country so I'm sure they will be very good at the procedure. The FMU midwife I spoke to twice today was incredibly nice on the phone. She said that results should be back in 2-3 days so while that feels an age I can't really ask more than that. It's just hard as my blood couldn't be tested at the dating scan and then the sample taken at 16wks was too clotted so now am feeling movements, the idea of there being a baby has become very real.

That should be fetal- bloody tears 🙄

it did hurt tbh. Not terribly, but noticeably.

Baby was fine. He's 13yrs old now. Just to say that a bit of pain doesn't mean a disaster will happen later.

They scan before, during and after the procedure. The procedure itself was much quicker than I was expecting - about 10 minutes or so. I just closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. It hurt a little, but nothing too bad. It felt more weird than anything else - a sort of drag sensation.

I had one in March. The procedure was fine, I didn’t look but you can see the needle going in on the ultrasound if you like. The needle is pretty big but it is apparently much better than the needle required for a CVS. They showed me the fluid afterwards and I was shocked by how much they’d taken but it is a standard amount. I could barely see where it had happened and I was lucky not to have any cramping afterwards although this is apparently very normal. I did some research into the miscarriage risk and there are a few things that eased my mind 1) the demographic of women having Amnio is typically older - so higher risk of miscarriage anyway and 2) the babies on which Amnio are performed are at a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities that may come with a higher risk of miscarriage anyway. Essentially - the chance of miscarrying if you’re baby is healthy and you are young is lower. But it does happen.

Good luck - it will be fine I’m sure x

Just had the results earlier this evening - all clear!!!! And it's a little girl 🥰

Amazing news! And congratulations on your little girl 💗 enjoy the rest of your pregnancy x

Fantastic news!!

Hi Everyone, I’m looking for advice really and peace of mind.
I had an amniocentesis on Monday as had high results for DS on both NIPT and the 12 week bloods.
I had to ring yesterday to see if they had my results back as they said no later than Thursday. I spoke with my midwife who told me it may take another week as they can’t be certain my cells haven’t been included in the sample and they need to grow the baby’s cells a little to be 100% sure they aren’t giving me a false negative, although my consultant was very happy with how clear the sample was. I’ve been so positive throughout this whole 4 week ordeal and I have a gut feeling my baby is okay but has anyone had any experience of this that they can share with me.
Thanks in advance x

@Chez28 I am going through a similar experience. Had a high risk NIPT for trisomy 21 DS - something like 95 percent so really not good. Had the amnio just over a week ago and the rapid result (FISH) failed because there were not enough of the baby’s cells in the sample, although they’ve assured me the sample size was fine. They have said the full karyotype should be fine but I’m super nervous that will fail and we will be back at square one. My thoughts are with you going through this awful time. What was your NIPT result? Did your scan look normal? Our scan was normal but the Nuchal fold was 2.28 (still considered normal but higher end I suppose). Any positive stories of similar circumstances welcome!

@CB2889 What was the outcome for you in the end? I am in the same boat the moment and worried sick 😟X

Hi, I’m sorry to say it was bad news and our baby did have DS. We had a TFMR at 18+4 weeks back in April. It was by far the hardest experience of my life losing our baby girl - emotionally more than physically. She would have been our first baby. We are pregnant again and I am 15 weeks and so far everything looks good which we are really grateful for, but sadly the excitement will never be the same as it was when we were more naive.

I hope for your sake you get some good news, but sending you love, as I remember that waiting time being truly awful. X

@CB2889 thank you so much for replying and I am sorry to hear it was not good news 😢 something inside tells me that our results will be the same. Wishing you all the happiness in the world and best wishes for your pregnancy ✨X