Amniocentesis curiousity

[Gigi]

dear flowerchild.

thanks for your words of support. It makes me feel less alone reading them - cos who else but another parent or parent to be on this forum would really understand?

There is no way we could afford the fish test so that was never an option.

Today i am still feeling pain in my stomach and a bit under par i guess. But no bleeding or anything that i would consider getting medical help for. So that's good.

I am not scheduled for a cvs at the moment. That is only my next option IF the amnio test result is positive for downs. So if the amnio result is negative, i won't need a cvs test.

in my post, i put:
If the Amnio comes back positive for Downs, the next step is to have the CVS test. That is also invasive and carries a 1 in 100 chance of triggering a miscarriage.

Lucy,

I would have loved to have read your post before my test, if only i knew where to find it (at the appropriate time i mean). I didn't want to google for amnio info cos i thought i would get bombarded by links to medical journals full of doctor jargon when what i really needed was other women's experiences.

just in case, do you know if there is any CVS posts on this site? about what to expect? (although your ref to it above was a good summary - ouch about the needle in the vagina though - can you elect to have it in the stomach instead? (crosses legs).

[Inanna]

Hi,
Glad you are feeling okay today. Be kind to yourself and rest if you can.
Yes, I got that you will be given the option of cvs if the results of your amnio aren't favourable but I am wondering did your ob explain why? Was it to do with mosaics? I am a bit baffled. Did your ob explain that the fish test was claimable with medicare? I am not sure how much you get back but it was quite substantial from memory. Just a thought...

I don't know if there are any posts about cvs. I am sure Lucy will be able to give you a more in depth personal account if you would like her to.
CvS can be done transvaginally or through your belly. Transvaginally of course the procedure is done through the cervix. It is no more painful that way, I believe, but much less dignified. I think Lucy had hers done abdominally.

I wish I could help more.
Lots of hugs,

[Gigi]

Hi,
Glad you are feeling okay today. Be kind to yourself and rest if you can.
Yes, I got that you will be given the option of cvs if the results of your amnio aren't favourable but I am wondering did your ob explain why? Was it to do with mosaics? I am a bit baffled. Did your ob explain that the fish test was claimable with medicare? I am not sure how much you get back but it was quite substantial from memory. Just a thought...

I wish I could help more.
Lots of hugs,

I still have a strong pain round about where the belly button is, have had that all day and all night (still). Feeling very achey everywhere. Went to a preg. care class at the hospital tonight, everyone else seemed so damn healthy. Not one complaint of any morning sickness or preg. related symptoms their entire 1st and 2nd trimesters. I must be a freak. I was fit before the preg, not overweight, no diabetes or high blood pressure. I have been nothing but ill since becoming preg.

now i think of it, i don't remember much being explained about the cvs (except it would be the next step). I don't know what mosaics are (in the context of pregnancy). Nothing was told to us about FISH test being a Medicare thing. I feel baffled now too! Your questions make sense, i just don't have the answers.

You have helped heaps, all of you have, by posting and showing your support to a total stranger who you don't even know.

[Angel Babies 3]

Gigi,
Hope you are feeling a little better. You are right, these sort of tests can be scary and they are different for every woman.
I'm also a bit confused. Why have they told you that if the amnio results are positive for Downs that you need to follow up with a CVS. The amnio results are pretty conclusive and CVS is usually only ever done between 10-13 weeks. I am just curious.

Do take care
Debbie

[Gigi]

Gigi,
Hope you are feeling a little better. You are right, these sort of tests can be scary and they are different for every woman.
I'm also a bit confused. Why have they told you that if the amnio results are positive for Downs that you need to follow up with a CVS. The amnio results are pretty conclusive and CVS is usually only ever done between 10-13 weeks. I am just curious.

Do take care
Debbie

Debbie, i honestly don't know. The timing of the CVS wasn't even mentioned. The absoluteness of the amnio was mentioned, that we would know for sure, one way or the other once results came thru. I was so anxious at the time, maybe i remembered that part wrongly. I keep glazing over when the statistics came up, maths has never been my strong point.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I'm also a bit confused. Why have they told you that if the amnio results are positive for Downs that you need to follow up with a CVS. The amnio results are pretty conclusive and CVS is usually only ever done between 10-13 weeks. I am just curious.

Hi Debbie and Gigi

I'm really hoping Gigi's baby is going to be OK and have read this thread with interest - partly due to having studied this, but not had much IRL awareness of it, but mostly because I want to be able to offer any support I can, even if it is just explaining a bit of science!

If the Amnio results are positive for Downs that may mean that the baby has Downs, or it may mean that the Amniotic fluid is a Downs fluid - sometimes a little fertilised egg can be fertilised as a Downs egg (3 C21s), but get its act together pretty quickly and kick out a spare chromosome in the early splits. I really think these bubs are so clever! However, there is part of the blastocyte that is Downs, and part that is not. Usually the "not Downs" part forms the baby and the Downs part forms part of the placenta and all of the amniotic fluid.

So if the Amino shows Downs, the CVS testing the placenta will either show Downs, not Downs, or Mosaic Downs. Mosaic Downs means the baby will have less severe Downs - if baby has Downs at all - but no Downs means the baby is fine. If the placenta is Downs then there is a good chance the baby has full-blown Down's Syndrome.

Finally, FISH - this always looked so cute in my lectures. Basically there's a C21 dye, a Y dye and an X dye (amongst others), these are popped into the cell and attach themselves to the chromosomes during a cell split, so when the sample is put under a flursecent microscope you can see all the chromosomes you're looking for. It really is clear and something great visually - if you can get these results as part of the baby/pregnancy book I'd recommend it, keep them with the baby's scans as a fantastic record. I always did more PCR than FISH - PCR is more quantitative, FISH more visual counting-to-two (or one for Y, or 3 for trisomies).

Gigi, I am really, really hoping the amnio shows no Downs. Wishing you all the best.