Amniocyntesis - do I or don't I??

[Nicolee41]

Hi,

I am 15wks and 4 days pregnant with my 1st child and I have an appt for an amnio Tues next wk. I really don't know whether to have the test or not?? I must admit to speaking with everyone I love; partner and father of unborn much wanted baby, Mum, sister and 2-3 friends and any professional person I know including past and present doctors, cousine who is in charge of a prenatal department in a hospital, genetic counsellor-all of whom I trust. Maybe I overdid it!!

Basically, I have had 2 previous mc's and at 41 feel that this little darling may be my last chance of a family. I have never made it to the 2nd Trimester before so this pregnancy has every chance of being the "one". I had the NT scan at 12 wks and amazingly my results came back as "LOW" risk for DS and I was told by the genetic counsellor that unless I really wanted to have the cvs or amnio there really wasn't any need as I showed results of that of a 23 yr old! This was excellent news and it gave me options that I never dreamed of as I had been prepared to have the cvs on the same day as the NT and deal with the small risk of miscarriage. Of course with this news I didn't have the cvs.

For the last coupld of wks I have felt more at ease and not so freaked out by the thought of something being wrong - well that was until a couple of days ago. I thought that I should cxl my amnio that has been booked for ages but before doing so I wanted to speak with my old dr of 11 yrs (we moved to Bris 15mths ago) and get her advice. She said what I expected and that was to have the test but I still felt really upset as I had lulled myself into this little cocoon of not having to have any invasive testing done due to my great NT results and not risking a possible mc. My old dr believes that due to my age alone and also because there was a rare chromosomal abnormality in the foetus from last years mc that I should definately have the test!

Part of me agree's as I would like to ensure that everything is ok but I am really scared about the mc possibility as small as it is. I have spoken to everyone in the list above several times and my partner (a really wonderful wonderful man) believes I should go ahead with it so I don't worry throughout the pregnancy and not enjoy it as I should but he has said that the decision is mine.

I am sooooooooo sorry that this note is so long but I would appreciate anyone writing to me that has been through the same thing. Thanks so much.

[visitor2]

Hi Nicolee41,

If i had really low results then i wouldn't be going through a amnio.

My results with Eleanor was 1:294 and i went through with having a amnio done but if they showed higher than that i wouldn't have done.

It's a lot for you to think about and i know it's a worry when you have had a loss in the past it was the one thing that scared me.

[pip2jays]

Hi Nicolee,

congratulations from me too.

I agree with Caro. I had an amnio with my last bub ( now 6.5 months) and I also agree that it all depends on what you wish to do with the results. I never had the CV or the TN as both these tests just give probabilities and only the Amnio gives you absolutes. Like you girls I did not want the will I or wont I based on probability results and wanted to know absolutly, as this was my 4th baby so had a lot of things to consider if there were any problems. I was only 39 by the way.

I stayed in bed for 2 days only getting up to go to the loo as like Caro I agree that the more rest the better for your body to get on with protecting baby and healing the body.

Interestingly my Dr's ( I had 2 perform the procedure) told me to come back for the follow up ultrasound 2 weeks after and she told me if I had any problems or a MC in that time it was their fault due to the procedure and thats how she would write it up and after that it was back to your body..does that make sense.

anyway good luck with your decision. Make the one right for you. t sounds like everyone is on your side.

[visitor2]

You do have to think about what would you do if the results showed the baby had DS. Would you continue with the pregnancy or terminate. Sometimes it's good to know what is going to happen and you can prepare yourself if the baby has DS.

I also stayed in bed for 2days when i had mine.

[sirenz]

hello.. congrats on making it this far.

I really agree with Caro. if your results came back low risk then i wouldn't risk the chance of mc.. especially if it won't change the outcome no matter what you find out..

[Nicolee41]

Hi Caro and Michelle,

Thank you so much for your words of advise and good wishes. My NT scan was 1:1003 for ds and 1:1826 for 13 and 18 so really quite low. I just don't know?? Its really playing on my mind. Part of me wants to have faith that all with be alright with the procedure but another part of me is scared.

[Tiff+2]

Hi Nicolee,

At 13 weeks I had an NT scan even though I am already in the low risk bracket. My resoning for the test was to prepare myself (if you can possibly do that) if baby was born with a prob even though I am only 21 and it is unlikely. Before having the NT we said if it comes back at a high risk we still wouldn't proceed with amnio. Whilst waiting for the test results I started asking myself if we should go ahead with further testing if I was at high risk, then if we did cont. with testing and there was something wrong we'd be facing the hradest decision of our lives. So many things went through my head and talking to the family honestly made it so much harder me.
All my panicing was for nothing. I was at a very low risk so for me there were no further decisions to make. With science these days (although far from perfect) it does give us a really good indication of what is going on and what further steps need to be taken if any.

It is a huge decision but what ever choice to make it'll be the right one!

Take care and keep smiling

[Nicolee41]

To all that have responded to my cry for help (so to speak), Many heartfelt thanks. I think I have to have the procedure but maybe before I make up my mind I will have the genetic counsellor speak to my dp and I about it all again.

[Baby~amore`]

difficult decisions at an emotional time

when I was 37 and pregnant with my first the specialist OB/fetal medicine specialist who does CVS and amnio's tlaked me out of it based on my low risk results , I had gone it to have CVS.He said if my NT results were okay there was no need ...and he would call me - he called me personally.

At interview he told me his wife @38 -39 ish didn't have it either and their DD was perfect. He said NT & bloods picks up 90% of Downs Syndrome. When I was having twins we saw him again and my risk was higher @39 + and twins - NT results were good but bloods made me high risk but only just 1/266.

I don't want to talk you out of it because I was worried one or both of my babies might have something wrong ... but I was more concerned about complications than what if's and it would never have changed my mind about having them.

I think the counselling is a great idea ... can you ask your OB for a another ultrasound to check for any obvious abnormalities - as it is non invasive and if there are any concerns you could still have amnio. Ask when is lastest gestation you can have an amnio.The amnio test is very safe and many women have them.

I understand time is precious @41 and so is your baby. Basically the risk of having the test and having a m/c for me was higher than the risk of having a baby affected by something.

thinking of you and may you have the strength of many to get to your decision and be at peace with it.

[amber]

Hi,
First of all, congratulations! I just wanted to add something that happened to my sister's sister-in-law (her husbands sister). She had the NT and was told she had a very high chance so went on to have the amnio/CVS (not sure which) and was told her child was going to have severe disabilities. She decided to have the baby and deal with whatever the outcome was. Her baby is perfectly healthy with no disabilities and nothing whatsoever wrong. Just something to consider as well, tests are never 100% and can sometimes just cause stress and worry when you should be able to enjoy your pregnancy!
Good luck with whatever you decide xo

[Nicolee41]

To be honest I don't know what they all mean, but the NT was 1.2mm, the b-hCG 1.225MoM and pappa 0.964 MoM. I must admit to forgetting what these all mean??

[Ozziehoffy]

The one thing I can say to you is would it change the outcome ? as in if the baby had downs or some other chromosonal problem would you terminate ? if the answer if yes then have the test if the answer is no then dont have the test

Hi Nicole...I agree with Caro. However having said that, I wanted the NT done but for reasons which we won't go into right now it didn't happen... my mother said to me well what would you do if it did have DS... and I said it would give me time to get my head around it... so that's the only other thing I'd be thinking of.. and I think it was also mentioned. Personally though, if you were given low possibility I wouldn't have the amnio myself.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Nicolee, I would suggest against it. There is a small risk of miscarriage associated with the test, so if you would keep the baby regardless then don't have the test. Your next scan also looks for Down markers (as well as markers for Patel and Edward Syndromes) so you will have time to get your head around it then if needs be. Another point to note is that any other chromosomal abnormality will spontaneously miscarry - if you miscarry then you can have the foetus checked for a chromosomal problem. This usually occurs in the first trimester, so as you are in the second trimester (congratulations!) then the risk is substantially lower for that. An amnio won't stop you miscarrying, there is no treatment currently to stop that.

However, it is your choice and only you can decide. I wish you all the best for making your decision and sticky vibes for the rest of your pregnancy.

[MantaRay]

I am really reluctant to post here, as it is your decision and only you can know all the factors, such as how would you feel if you didn't have it and something was wrong and how would you feel if you did and mc. So, this is my opinion only, and based on my own level of comfort with risk (not great TBH). Personally, with the NT risks you were given, I wouldn't be having further testing, as the risk of mc is greater than the risk of abnormality. But, as I have mentioned, I am risk averse. With both DSs I had great NT results (something like 1:2026 for Jack and 1:3000 for Tom), and this allowed me to feel relaxed for the rest of the pg. So I would not have risked mc. BUT clearly your great NT result (and it is a great result) has not been enough to make you feel relaxed, and you do need to consider that too. Therefore your decision might well be different to mine.

I am sure this post hasn't helped you at all but I do hope that you can find some peace and enjoy the rest of your pg.

[fionas]

Hi Nicole

From reading your post it seems like you were quite happy not to have the test until you spoke to your old doctor and her advice has unsettled you a little.

I'm 38 and my results were similar to yours. My ob basically said that my chances of having a miscarriage from the amnio were higher than my chances of having a baby with DS so I made my decision against the amnio on that basis.

When we read all the statistics of women over 35 having a much higher chance of having babies with abnormalities, it's easy to think it's somehow inevitable.

Another way of looking at it is - if you were infact 23 (which your results are comparable to) would you have the amnio?

As many other posters have suggested, I think it depends on what you would do if the result was positive. Again, there's no real way of knowing that in advance but I think most of us tend towards one option or another.

As another poster has also said, another option could be to find out when you can have another ultrasound. It's generally around 19 weeks. My obstetrician told me that most abnormalities will also have physical indications eg. hole in the heart etc. etc. so your next scan could provide more information without having an amnio. Please check that though and in terms of timing, that may then be too late if you were to consider a termination.

I did find it difficult to make the amnio or not decision but once I had, I found that I didn't dwell on it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. I just found other things to worry about!

I wish you all the very best with your decision.

Fiona

[mrsmac]

When I had my NT with my 3rd (at 38) my risk was 1:850, the obs told me that the risk of losing the baby because of the amnio was 1:400, we decided that for us the risk of losing a healthy baby was higher than the DS risk so we did not have it. I have a 2 friends who have lost healthy babies from amnios so felt more than a little nervous about the prospect of it.In the end it is up to what you feel comfortable with but I personally wouldn't have it in you situation.

[Tracey]

Nicolee, First I would discuss with my partner/family etc what we would do if the result wasnt what we'd hoped for etc...
If it wouldnt change your decision to have this baby then I'd definately not have it!

I opt to not have any tests done as I love my baby/ies from the minute they are growing inside me & I cannot change my destiny..

My sister had heavy bleeding during her second preg & they recommended an Amnio, which she had & i=the liquor was thick & black (Bad result) they terminated a day or say later!
Had there been no bleeding there'd have been no extar testing required...


It is a hard decision & I wish you every ounce of Luck in choosing!

[visitor2]

Not sure if this happens in all States but i know here in Perth if you want to terminate after 19wks it has to go in a board of ppl and it's up to them if you are able to go ahead with it.

I was going to wait for the 19wks scan instead of having the amnio and i am glad i went with the amnio as they couldn.t see how well the heart was when i went at 20wks for the next scan so i ahd to go back 4wks later. I was also told my my counsellor that they don't always pick up markers at 20wks as some babies might not have downs but could still have a hole in the heart.

I would talk more to your counsellor and DP as your risk factor isn't high risk at all.