hi buggirl, sorry to hear you have some extra stress going on right now.

my risk for downs for this PG was 1:291. which is only just within the 'high risk' of 1:300 (might be different in vic?) & wasn't too bad considering i am 37. i didn't see a genetic counsellor (although i think that is great advice) because the dr that did my scan is a specialist & was able to talk through the situation with me in great detail (he even gave me his mobile number & said to call at any time if i wanted to talk). i also talked to my GP (i'm going public & hadn't been to the hospital at that stage so no ob). we decided to go ahead with a cvs (we got our results at 13 weeks) - even though the risk of a m/c was there i was compelled to know the answer, i didn't think i could relax for the rest of my PG without knowing.

i was the same as you - fairly good results from the scan but the bloods put the risk up. i found the procedure to be quick & not too painful. we opted to pay extra & get the FISH results that are back quickly, rather than just waiting for the full results that take about 2 weeks. our results were good & i felt like i could relax knowing we'd had the diagnostic test. it's not for everyone but i think i would have been a mess if i'd had to wait another 27 weeks to find out. whether or not you'd act on the results is another consideration.

one other thing - because the procedure does carry a risk of m/c, i chose to go private & have the same doctor who'd done my scan. he's head of perinatal surgery at a big hosp in melb & very experienced. it was expensive but i could get in quickly & felt comfortable with him. i also discovered that the risk of m/c depends on the person doing the procedure so it's worth asking what their rates/experiences are as you will find some of the doctors have never had a patient who has miscarried following the procedure.