Amniocentesis Information

C. - I have read some good advice below and also some really stupid questions. When you say that you are freaked out because you didn't expect to learn that you need the procedure, obviously you aren't just electing to do this for fun. I would expect a bit more sensitivity from some of the moms that have responded. For me, the decision to have an amnio was excrutiating. After an abnormal ultrasound, followed up by a level 2 ultrasound performed by an absolute jerk of a doctor that was supposed to be a guru on ultrasounds, I was told that at age 28, I was at very high risk for Down's Syndrome. I was really against the idea of having an amnio because I was determined to keep my baby no matter what problem she might have. Ultimately, after crying for days and days and worrying and being completely convinced that my child would had Down's Synrdome, I decided that if that was the case, fine, but if not, I wanted to relax and enjoy my pregnancy, not just for me, but for the sake of my baby. Luckily, everything turned out fine. The procedure itself was creepy, but not really all that painful. The worst part was having to have a full bladder for SO long.

Best of luck to you - I have known SO many moms who have been told that something might be wrong and in the end had healthy babies.

I had an amnio since my daughter's genetic screening was abnormal. It was virtually painless and very quick. Make sure your MD has done many of them before. They recommend u take it easy the next day; i.e don't run around too much or lift things too much.
Turned out my daughter is just fine and now she's a fiesty, charming 2 year old! good luck.

I haven't had an amnio, so no personal experience. Just wondering if you really "need" an amnio. If you are uncomfortable with the idea you always have the right to decline.

There are other screening tests that can be done to determine if an amnio would be helpful. Also, ask yourself what you would do with the information you gain? Would you choose to continue a pregnancy with a known problem with baby? The risk of miscarriage or injury is important in considering how valuable the information is to you. Particularly if it is recommended due to your age- it isn't as though the risk goes up sharply at age 35. It just gradually goes up every year and 35 was decided as the cut-off point for advanced maternal age.

Best wishes with whatever you decide- it's a tough choice. We chose to decline prenatal testing other than the ultrasound because we felt the risks did not outweigh the benefits. Congrats on the pregnancy.

I am a nurse who works in an Ob/Gyne office and just had my first child 3 weeks ago. I really thought the amnio would be no big deal, but it really did cause a bit more discomfort than I expected. Maybe I was just a little freaked out to begin with, but I have seen a million of these done and knew exactly what would happen. I did not watch the needle go in or the ultrasound screen and now I think that maybe if I had it would have made it go by a little faster. I think the whole thing from start to finish couldn't have been more than 2 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. But I have a beautiful, healthy baby boy so, of course, it was worth it. Good luck and congratulations!

Just something to think about - do you really NEED the amnio? Maybe you do, but in my case the doctors were pretty sure my daughter had a genetic condition and they wanted to do an amnio. The amnio would have meant a 2 percent chance of miscarriage. Even if she had the condition, they wouldn't have been able to do any treatment. Condition or not, we were keeping the baby, so we told them no amnio. Turns out my daughter is perfectly healthy.

I had an amnio done with both of my children as I am a Type 2 Diabetic and for reasons mentioned above.

The first amnio went fine (was done at LGH) and no complications. I remember it being somewhat painful but my pregnancy amnesia has kicked in and I don't remember much about it.

The second amnio was done back in February and OH MY GOD. My daughter is almost 8 months and I haven't forgotten it yet. I am scared to death of needles and so I am sure that I didn't make it easy on myself. The Doctor managed to get the needle in the first time but couldn't get it into the pocket of fluid that he was aiming for initially and so after moving it around several times, he finally pulled it out. Ahhh, relief, I though. Nope, he went back in for a second time. By this time, I was crying from the pain, cramping and burning of my skin. Trying to keep my mind focused on the idea that my daughter was going to be in my arms soon, I managed to get through it but HOLY CRAP, Batman.

I hope that you have a good experience. I am not trying to scare you but to tell you that sometimes Amnio's are not smooth sailing. Have someone there with you to hold your hand and hlep you be brave. Keep your mind focused on the end result and know that it's all temporary.

Best wishes.
N.

I had an amnio done at 36 weeks to check if the lungs were mature. My baby was big and they wanted to induce early, but had to do amnio first. I was also freaked out, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was done by my doc. It didn't really hurt it was just a very strange feeling, I just remember thinking that it wasn't so bad....
No complications, baby was ok, lungs were mature and I was induced 2 days later. I'm glad because my daughter was 9.1.

I've had two done, at 16 weeks. It is much easier to do it when you have it done earlier because at the later stage they are so big and the pocket of fluid is harder to get to.

My advice is to ask the dr. who does the amnio in their office. In my dr's office the Doctor does it. I would request that the dr. does it instead of a resident. Even if you are at a teaching hospital, you can request for the dr. versus the resident. I know this because with my second they asked if I would allow the resident to break my water (I was induced) I said yes, only after finding out what year they were (I would avoid 1st time residents). They also had a different resident come in during labor and I did not like her, so I told my husband not to let her back and she did not come back - she was just observing.

But back to the amnio. An experienced doctor should not have a problem, but there are some risks. If you are nervous about needles, don't look at the needle. For me they gave me a local anthestia with the needle and it just felt like a shot. THen they put a bandaid on and you are set.

Good luck!

I had one with my first to check for lung maturity. It felt like a blood draw in my belly. the discomfort was minimal for me. Please remember every persons experience is different. Don't be afraid to voice concern or discomfort. I used to watch procedures for my job, so I have seen many and most people are very good at doing them. Blessings,
B.

Amnios are risky and there is a pretty high miscarriage rate associated with them. I found it interesting to read all the other moms' posts about them because everybody who had one turned out to have perfectly healthy children. Just think about what you will do with the information you get. If terminating the pregnancy is something you would consider (I am totally pro-choice so no judgement) then it may be worth it to you but if you wouldn't do that then just think about what kind of pregnancy you will have if there are negative results. I think that there are very few women who actually "Need" an amnio.