I had an amnio due to an increased risk of both edwards syndrome and downs syndrome (around 1:200). I was completely petrified of having it done, it was the worst week of my life waiting for the appointment. But I had a great OB doing the amnio, she explained exactly what she was doing, what it would feel like and didn't mind at all that I basically sobbed through the whole thing. I was too much of a chicken to watch the actual amnio being done, but managed to dry my tears up when they were finished to catch a good look at my bubs, who seemed oblivious to all the action going on around her. The only thing I felt was the injection for the local, and some slight pressure when they were doing the amnio. I didnt have any cramping or anything afterwards. I just enjoyed spending the rest of the day on the couch watching my fav DVDs as a reward for a job well done and because you are supposed to rest afterwards. In the end, after the two week wait, our results came back all clear.