Did You Have Amniocentesis?

March 9, 2009

Throughout pregnancy, you are likely to undergo a slew of prenatal tests, but most don't get women talking as much as amniocentesis. According to A.D.A.M.:

Amniocentesis is a procedure used to draw a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds and cushions the baby in the womb. This fluid contains cells that have been sloughed off of the developing fetus. Amniocentesis is most often used to detect genetic abnormalities, though the results can also reveal the baby's sex, gauge lung maturity (if done close to term), detect amniotic fluid infections, or spot other pregnancy complications.

Women over the age of 35 and those with a family history of genetic disorders are encouraged to undergo the procedure. Did you undergo the test?

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12 Comments

2 years 50 weeks

I had an amnio done because they said my baby was at risk of having Ds the results came back fine and said we were having a girl i am now 35 weeks and we had a 3d ultrasound done and evryone is saying its a boy from the pictures. But because the amnio is supposed to never be wrong on gender det. they are saying are baby has ambigous genitalia which I dont belive does anyone know of an amnio giving the wrong sex? Now all these doctors want to do a whole bunch of test and another amnio.

MimiDeniseJ 4 years 7 weeks

My daughter had an ultrasound yesterday (18 wks) and we were told that the baby has Ventriculomegaly (could turn into hydrocephali). She has considered having an amniocentesis to determine if there are other, more severe, problems with the baby, but several friends have told her that amnios are not reliable. They can be wrong in as many as 60% of the time. She has a friend who had 2 amnios when pregnant and both said that her baby had down syndrome, yet when her baby was born he was completely healthy. Now she does not want to have the amnio because she is afraid that the amnio will show severe problems which could be incorrect and she will have worried unnecessarily. It is bad enough to have to worry about fluid on the baby's brain which could cause mild to severe mental retardation and the baby having to have a shunt in her brain for life, but other things such as down sydrome, spinabifida, and other abnormalities are devastating to think about. Does anyone know if amnios can be wrong? I always thought that they were very accurate and now I don't know what to think.

KAEB06 4 years 11 weeks

*did not

KAEB06 4 years 11 weeks

*did not

KAEB06 4 years 11 weeks

Nope- I did have it done for either pregnancy and saw no need to have the procedure.

macgirl 4 years 11 weeks

I had it for my second as I was going to be 35 at the time of delivery. It wasn't a big deal at all. The procedure sounds so scary but it didn't even really hurt. I did stress about the slim chance of miscarriage which was probably the scariest part of it all.

tigerlily10 4 years 11 weeks

This reminds me of how stressful those early weeks of pregnancy are while waiting to hear that everything is okay. Even though I had my first baby at 38, I was lucky enough to avoid the amnio and CVS because the odds of DS or trisome were so slim.

tigerlily10 4 years 11 weeks

plus_2_kid 4 years 11 weeks

RJW - I just had my genetic counseling on Friday (I'm 35 and pregnant with my 1st) and was given the odds of 1/200 for something to go wrong with the amnio which is a 0.5% chance, not a 1%. That said, I agree with you and elected not to have it unless the Integrated screening said that I might be at risk. I couldn't have it for another 3 weeks anyway. I have family friends that lost a baby this way. If there the first test does reveal a risk for DS I will definitely proceed with an amnio.

plus_2_kid 4 years 11 weeks

RJW - I just had my genetic counseling on Friday (I'm 35 and pregnant with my 1st) and was given the odds of 1/200 for something to go wrong with the amnio which is a 0.5% chance, not a 1%.That said, I agree with you and elected not to have it unless the Integrated screening said that I might be at risk. I couldn't have it for another 3 weeks anyway. I have family friends that lost a baby this way.If there the first test does reveal a risk for DS I will definitely proceed with an amnio.

RJW 4 years 11 weeks

No - the procedure has a 1% risk of causing a miscarriage. Since I wouldn't terminate the pregnancy no matter what the outcome of the amnio, I see no reason why my baby should have a 1% risk of death from the procedure.

HoneyBrown1976 4 years 11 weeks

No. I didn't have the procedure done for either of my two pregnancies. I'm under 35 and didn't need to do so.

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