Pregnancy over 35 and Amniocentesis

My first son was borm when I was 36. I opted not to have any of the above mentioned tests. My second son was born when I was 38. I did have the amnio the second time around. I lived on LI at the time and had the procedure there. My son, however, has specialists at Morristown Hospital and I totally trust them. The procedure was uncomfortable but not painful as expected. I took it easy the next day or two and it was that easy. For me, the reasons we had it was obviously my age. Secondly, we were already having various testing done since my first son was born with serious heart defects. This a very personal decision but I was glad that I had it done. Best of everything.

Hi. That is a tough choice. I went through it also. I am 39--have a 7yr. boy, 4 1/2 yr. girl and 2 yr. girl. I also had the NT and blood work. My Dr. told me the odds so that's what we went with. Most of the people I know got the amnio. I did not. He said it was 1 in 1800 something would be wrong vs. 1 in 250 chance of miscarriage with the amnio. Good luck with your decision.

I had an amnio at 35 too. After 4 years of secondary infertility, I was extremely nervous to say the least. My healthy boy is now 11 years old! I had the test in 1996 and I can only assume they've gotten even better at doing it. Prior to the test they should give you a really extensive ultrasound. The test itself was not as bad as I thought. ALl you really feel is pressure. I had no complications and the rest of my pregnancy was fine. When the results came and it showed all was well, there was no better feeling. The decision is for you to make, but I'm really glad I did it.

I had my first child at age 43 and my doctor wanted me to have prenatal testing. I also was thinking of having the CVS test done also, because I was scared about the risks with the amino. My doctor did not recommend the CVS test either because it's just too new and you could geta false negative result and would have to have the amino anyway. I had mines done at Overlook Hospital in Summit. I did not experience any problems and I am glad I did

Hi Missy

I am an older Mom. I had my first pregnancy at about 40, underwent amnio at Morristown Memorial and had a result that showed my baby had a genetic disorder. No one else in may family had ever had an issue and the reality is it can just happen and was not hereditary. I had my second pregnancy at age 42 and underwent CVS at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philly. My doctors recommended it beacuse it can be done much earlier in the pregnancy and felt that TJ was the best facility to do it. TJ is, I believe, the most experienced in the procedure. I had no troubles and had a healthy baby boy who just turned 10. My biggest recommendation is to understand that once you have the procedure you will be either happy or sad. If the result is not the one you want you must work as a family to make a decision that is right for you. I cannot tell you that is great to get the info because though my thought was that I did the amnio for information only and there was no decision. In the end that was not true and it is very hard to go from being thrilled to be pregnant to the sadness about your baby that will not be the perfect child you dream of. You and your husband should discuss your values and beliefs to be prepared for the what if before you have the test.

Hope this helps.

Hello Missy -
We had a rather rare situation with our second pregnancy. All I need to share, at this point, is the name Dr. Peisner... he is with Morristown Memorial and performed all my procedures. I can not say or be thankful enough to him and his practice. He works both at MMH and Overlook so please if you have any hesitations with what you are faced with contact him.
Good luck and if you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them. T. S.