My doc asked if I wanted one but I said I didnt want to know. I wouldnt think it would be painful but I could be wrong..Good luck with the testing
~heather ryan and mackenzie

Kim, its just a blood test! Its really easy. Don't worry!

They just take the blood from your arm to check your afp levels and make sure they arent too high... Any other screening has to be done with an amniocentesis and that is optional.
Meagan

How far along do you have to be for them to screen for that?

The do it between 16-20 weeks. Normally, the amnio stuff can be very dangerous to your baby though

Yup just blood!!! Also that other one I cant spell amnio w/e lol I didnt get it done normally woman over 35 or woman who birth defects run in the family get it done! If u dont have a normality of birth defects or autism or anything then I wouldnt worry about getting that done b/c it can be harmful to the baby!

Ok good. Cause I read something about a big needle and sticking it into the sac to take samples of fluid from the baby...Is that the amnio stuff that you guys are referring too?

Yeah that's amniocentisis, and it carries about a 2% miscarriage rate with it. Normally they don't do that. Only when you are at high risk for birth defects _and_ the quad screening (the bloodwork) comes back positive or probable for something. With the quad screening if you get a negative, its definitely negative, but if you get a positive, it doesn't mean the baby has something, it means there is a chance. Lol.... So really its just a way to screen people to make sure nobody gets amniocentisis who doesn't need it.

Yea, it is only a blood test, but no one on here even has to worry about the risks of an amniocentesis right now. They won't let you take it unless you are over 35. But a really good thing about an amnio, is that it can tell you the gender of the baby with 100% certainty. But i'd never put my baby at risk for it. Anyway I just had my maternal serum screening done. It is a lot better than the first, trip to get my blood work done. The first time they took so much blood, this time I was just in and out.