Amniocentesis Test (Page 1)

i've nver had one done but i've heard many a time that its not worth the risk, unless somehow detecting something prior to birth could mean keeping/reversing something in utero.

otherwise, i advise against it.

Normally Amnios are done later on in pregnancy. I had it done because i was having really bad complications and they wanted to see if carrying my baby as long as i could would help his chances of living. i didnt' ask the results, i didn't care all i wanted was my baby. I later on found out that there was nothing wrong with him other than his heart. And if I didnt' get so ill he would have been able to make it....at least that is what i wanted to thing.....

but no...i didnt' have any complications because of this. I didn't go into labor...i didnt' leak fluids....it went perfectly for me. you can opt to have it or opt out. You dont' have to find out the results either.

I had two of them done with my last pregnancy to check the lung maturity of my son. Each time I had no complications and nothing went wrong. However, mine were done around 31 and 32 weeks, the last one just hours before he was born. I would ask your doctor what the risks are for having one done at your stage in pregnancy and if you feel uncomfortable about having it done at this time because of the risks I would ask your doctor if there is any way to put off doing the amnio until you are further along.

i had mine done at around 26 weeks i think, not quite sure... my doctor suggested it because i had a high risk of having a downs syndrome baby becaus emy hormone level was really high, turned out to be nothing thou...

If you think it would be best to know if your baby is ok i would say to go for it. yes there is a risk of misscarring from the amnio but the chance is very slim. Because i did the amnio i also got to find out for 100% that my baby was a boy, so that was a plus.

Yeah its a pretty serious and risky procedure. Not to scare you or anything but my aunt had one done at like 18-20 and they accidently ruptured her membranes (broke her water) and baby didnt survive because it was so early on in the pregnancy! So you should really weigh your reasons for getting it! Good luck!

They are typically done now at around 16 weeks to check for disorders. There is a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage. If your not going to terminate the pregnancy I dont think it is worth the risk. They also do them later in pregnancy to check lunch maturity but by then there is little to no risk. Personally I did not get one done and wouldnt advise it.

yea i got mine done because the chance of him having downs was higher then the chance of misscarrage

Is amniocentesis safe?
Millions of women have had prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis. In 1976, after careful study, the National Institutes of Health reported that it found midtrimester amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis to be safe. However, amniocentesis does pose a slight risk of miscarriage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of miscarriage is between one in 400 and one in 200 procedures. The procedure also carries an extremely low risk of uterine infection (less than one in 1,000), which can cause miscarriage.

Studies suggest that the risk of miscarriage following first-trimester amniocentesis may be three times higher than the risk after second-trimester amniocentesis. A 1998 Canadian study found the risk of miscarriage was 2.6 percent after early amniocentesis, compared to 0.8 percent after second-trimester amniocentesis. The study also found a striking increase in the risk of a foot deformity called clubfoot after early amniocentesis. The risk of clubfoot was increased ten-fold after early amniocentesis (1.3 percent vs. 0.1 percent or 1 in 1,000 following second-trimester amniocentesis). The incidence of clubfoot following second-trimester amniocentesis does not differ from that seen in all U.S. babies. Based upon this and other studies, doctors are rethinking the role of early amniocentesis, and many believe that if first-trimester prenatal testing is necessary, chorionic villus sampling appears safer than early amniocentesis.

The risk of pregnancy loss following amniocentesis is lower when the physician performing the procedure is highly experienced. Experienced doctors often are located at major medical centers. Health care providers and genetic counselors usually can provide pregnant women with referrals to experienced physicians.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/ 681_1164.asp


That said, you'll want to consider the small risk that the procedure will cause you to miscarry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of miscarriage from amniocentesis is between one in 200 and one in 400, depending on the skill and experience of the doctor performing it. You'd also have a slight risk of uterine infection in the days following the procedure (less than one in 1,000), which can sometimes lead to miscarriage. These are all things you should discuss with your partner, your practitioner, and a genetic counselor

http://ehealthforum.com/health/posting.php ?mode=reply&t=86370

Most all of the research ive done on amniocentesis shows this statistic. Also im a child development major in all of my text books the same risk is shown. I can give you the titles of those books along with the researchers who performed them in youd like.

Maybe you were thinking about the risks of the test when done in later pregnancy?

When other researchers show that to be true then i will believe it. If the procedure hasnt changed then i dont see how the statistic would. Im not saying that your magazine didnt say that, im just saying that the majority is till set on the 1 in 200 and 1 in 400 with a more experienced doctor. Hey if it is getting safer then thats awesome. I hope it is. I think it would be exciting if were getting safer.

the test has been around since the mid 70's.

vanessa, not trying to gang up on you but im pretty sure your books are based on information that is at least a few years old, and a few years in the scientific comminity can be like centuries in any other place, they can make so much progress so fast sometimes

to the original poster, i had an amnio at about 21 weeks cause i was at risk for a downs syndrom baby like sarah, but it turns out she doesnt have it, the only problem i had was slight cramping and a little pain where they stuck the needle of course...and it didnt help that the baby kept kicking the exact spot they stuck it

im sure whatever you decide will be the right choice for you, if you have conserns you should talk wtih your doctor instead of getting info from the computer and people you dont know, it can scare you so easily because there are so many horror stories on the internet

~alicia~

100% agreed.