Share your amniocentesis stories please!

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I've been advised by my midwife to do an amnio due a 1/25 chance of Downs. I'm aware of the slightly increased risk of miscarriage, so really looking to hear your stories and how you made the decision to proceed with the test if you've done one

How did you find the procedure and the days after?

PS - Please don't tell me to do an NIPT. For reason I don't wish to discuss here, that's not an option, and not what I'm asking for here. Thank you!

I chose to have a CVS which I think is technically the same procedure but where a sample is taken from the placenta instead of the amniotic fluid (and performed slightly earlier than an amnio). I didn't watch when the procedure was happening but it did feel a little odd (not painful). That said, I was surprised at how quick it was done, it literally took about 60 seconds from start to finish.

I felt a bit faint on the way home (but it was a hot day and I was walking) but apart from than no other side effects whatsoever.

I had an amniocentesis over 17 years ago due to high risk of downs. Can't remember the exact number risk-wise. It caused no problems at all and my daughter was/is fine and healthy; she's now 17 and doing her A levels ❤️

I had to have an amniocentesis due to some worries about baby, he seemed to be perfectly formed as in bones,spine etc but they could not get facial markers no matter how hard they tried so an amniocentesis was advised due to risk of down syndrome & other conditions, for me honestly I didn't even really think about it, it was advised & explained really well & was a no brainer for me. It was never racking but the procedure itself was done quickly & honestly wasn't bad at all,no pain, & i was incredibly well looked after. I had slight pain for a day or so after nothing major, more discomfort than pain really & I was tired but I think that's moreso everything going on was a lot & I'd been in hospital for a week beforehand. My results were all ok & my son is 7 now with no issues, for me it was worth it for the peace of mind & just knowing what lay ahead

I had amnio 30 years ago due to high risk of Downs. I knew the risk of miscarriage caused by the procedure was far lower, I knew I would terminate the pregnancy if the test came back positive, I shut down emotionally whilst waiting for the results which back then took 4 weeks.
The procedure itself was painless and over quickly. I only realised how much it had affected me mentally when we got a negative result and I had a bit of a breakdown. It was an awful time, but it was the right decision for me to make and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I had the test, due to my IVF embryo being mosaic, it was recommended by our genetic specialist. So since day 1 I have known I will be having the test, though my bloods and initial scans came back normal. No other test would have given them an accurate results for what they were testing.

It was fairly painful for me, when they were piercing the abdominal muscles, but didn't last more than a minute or two. I just help my partner's hand and closed my eyes because I didn't want to see the giant needle.

After that, i had some very mild cramping, i dont think i took any meds after. A couple of days later i had some amnio fluid leak and some brown spotting. They told me to urgently come in, they examined me and scanned the baby and tested the fluid leaking from me. Confirmed that it was amnio fluid. However, because it wasn't leaking heavily, they said it could be fairly normal. It all stopped in a couple of days. I worked from home for a week because they said i shouldn't move much. I probably would take time off now if I were to do it again, as waiting for results was stressful.

All came back normal. We had the initial results within a week (for down, edwards, etc). Full results took another week after.

I had one due to my advanced age of 42.

I was told 1% chance of miscarriage but felt extremely reassured that the sonographer would perform the procedure. The best, most experienced and expert people in my opinion.

Anyway after 7 previous miscarriages I was super anxious.

I had very very strong feelings that I would not proceed with the pregnancy of Edward’s syndrome for eg was detected.
By some miracle, all was well.
I was fine during, fine afterwards and followed advice to the letter.
All good.

Thank you every one, very reassuring to hear every one of you has had good experiences. I'm 41 now, will be almost 42 by my due date, which is one of the reasons the amnio is being recommended.

Still a big decision to make, but lots of helpful info here to consider. 😊

I´ll have an amnio next Monday, due 1:18 risk of DS but my baby have soft markers present. As Soontobe60 said, I´ve shut down emotionally, not waiting for a good result. I´m 41 and 16 weeks tomorrow.

I had my amniocentesis last Thursday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I had my initial results through on Monday all negative thankfully.
Just waiting now for the further testing which is driving me crazy. I'm 27 weeks now but I feel like I just need to know so I can enjoy the remaining pregnancy.
With my first baby I had the quad screen which came back 1:8 but went on to have the NIPT which came back low risk. He's now a perfectly happy and and healthy 20 month old!

Anyone here witth a failed amnio test? Had mine yesterday and the consultant had to try it 6 times, without retrieving any liquid... the needle wasn´t long enough and I´m a bit overweight. We will try again tomorrow?
How soon should we try again? I think there was some blood in my amniotic fluid... I didn´t wanted to see the monitor.

From my understanding @lola8319 blood can get mixed in with the sample, but they also send a sample of your blood so they can essentially rule out your DNA and focus solely on the babies. Sending you lots of love and hopefully they are successful next time!

Oh that´s a good thing @Tasha123456 !
I´ll ask my doctor for that tomorrow 🙏

@CityGirlintheCountry how did it go?

Yesterday, I had the screening results and I end up being high risk (mainly my age 38) I had been advise to have a NIPT, CVS or Amnio if I wanted a test because a 1/73 of Down's Syndrome. We decided to go for Amnio as the answer is more reassuring, even though the CVS is also a Yes/No answer. As @Soontobe60 mentioned I started to shooting down my feelings. Tbh, I started to bonding more with the baby after 12 wk scan but now I feel numb. I feel sad, angry and disappointment with myself. I had so far a very bad pregnancy and I thought after the 12w scan results I could start enjoying it, but no...

I would like to thank all the people here who had shared their experiences. Btw, how would you know the amniotic liquid is leaking? How you can spot, different colour? Do you feel something different in you?

Thanks!

sort of feels like you peed yourself. like sometimes i can pee myself if i sneeze of cough. this was just sort of uncontrollable leaking. people say it smells differently but i couldn't tell. also i had a tiny bit of spotting with the liquid. if in doubt, always ring the clinic and they will test/examine it.

Having my amnio done this Friday so I'll report back!

@Piluka just wanted to report back. Had my amnio on Friday and all went smoothly. My OB and the nurse in the room were absolutely brilliant, just full of good spirits and helping me not to worry. We actually had both my DH and DS2 in the room but we just gave him my phone to watch blues and he didn't notice a thing. The initial needle feels similar to a blood draw, then the rest of it is just pressure. Honestly the hardest part for me was not to cough as I've had this horrible wracking cough for 2 weeks.

Should have the results tomorrow but doctor was pretty confident of no downs given how good the baby's scan images were.

Keeping you in my thoughts for your procedure!

@CityGirlintheCountry Sorry I didn't get your message. My phone and this web are not compatible Hahaha. Sometimes I got notifications and sometimes I don't.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that. I started to be worried this morning as the date approaches. I'm happy to hear is not so bad and the pain is not that horrible my brain tries to picture. Have you heard any news??? I hope the test turn out to be good news. 😘😘😘

Thanks again for sharing!

@Piluka yes got the results on Thursday, all normal, nothing to worry about 🎉. Massive relief and I can go on and enjoy my pregnancy now. Good luck with your procedure.

@CityGirlintheCountry congratulations!!! OMG! This is the best news a mum can receive!!! I'm so happy for you! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

I'll keep you post. Thanks again for sharing and now enjoy!!

@CityGirlintheCountry yesterday I went to the Amnio and it was a total fiasco. They tried 3 times but the first one I moved (as actually I found it quite painful, the other 2 times I find it bearable) but the baby moved and ended up in the way. We tried to get the baby to one side but it did not want to. :( next week I have to repeat it.