Ladies over the age of 35 (did you have Amniocentis, why or why not)

[lulu68]

I'm 41 and will be 42 when I have baby #6. The topic of having an amnio came up with my husband. I know for sure I don't want to have one, I feel thres no need to, but my husband wants me to consider one. For what reason I don't know?! Ladies I would love to hear your input on this topic. Thank you!

Lourdes

[Liann]

Lourdes - They tried to get me to have one since I came up in the high risk group after my Quad screen, but I declined. Just the fact that it can cause a miscarriage - even though they claimed the odds were 1 in 300 was enough for me not to want do it and DH didn't push it. I elected instead to get a more indepth ultrasound and that ultrasound pretty much cleared me from having the condition. They are doing another one in a few more weeks just as a follow-up. I felt better going this route. I personally wouldn't do anything even if it showed Downs or some other disorder, so there was no point for me, except to know for sure 100% that my baby does or does not have a condition. It's such a personal decision though and no one can make it for you. It just personally makes me too nervous so I went with alternative screening methods. Lots of people have it done with no issues though. Just don't google Amnio complications like I did. There's always scary stuff out there on google!

[bitmover]

I was over 35 with both my deliveries and I had amnio for the first but I think CVS (is that what it was called?) for the second. Oddly enough, before we had any children, my husband and I thought that if a problem was discovered, we wouldn't be able to go through with it (I hope I don't make any enemies here). Then we had a baby. Wow, does that change one's perspective. For the second, we had it only for the purpose of knowledge. We both agreed we'd have the baby but it would be better to know if we had to deal with special issues. In both cases, nothing was found.

[jodijodi]

I had amnio with my third child (the only one I had after age 35). I was fairly confident that the results would be good. I decided since the risk from the procedure is so low that I would rather have the peace of mind knowing that all was okay. And if things were not okay, I wanted to know in advance to make any necessary preparations, such as arranging for extra help, preparing my older children, and just mentally preparing myself for the challenge ahead.

The procedure was very easy and straightforward, and everything was fine.

[Stebby]

I did with my DD, for the same reasons as Jodi. I was 40 years old and very worried, and wanted to know one way or the other. Turned out my DD was fine.

Stebby

[GMonkey]

I plan to attempt to get pregnant with my second child when I'm 38, and I absolutely will have amniocentesis. My nephew has very severe developmental and physical disorders and unfortunately is unlikely to live beyond age 5. I can't deal with the possibility of losing a child I have loved for 5 years vs. losing one I've never met but loved for a few months.

[melanalyus]

We did not have an amnio......but with my twin pregnancy I had ultrasounds with every visit....and there was never an issue.

Even with normal u/s we were offered an amnio due to "advanced maternal age". DH & I decided that if there was something wrong, we wouldn't/couldn't abort.....so why bother?

It is a very personal decision.

HOpe your pregnancy is going well.

[Pearlstrand]

I had two kids over 35 (one of them waaaay over!), and I had amnios with both. They were performed by a high-risk ob/gyn and both went smoothly. Like Jodi, I was happy to have the reassurance that everything was fine (as far as they could tell). I wasn't high-risk except for my age, and both kids turned out fine.

I'm glad I did it -- I'm a bit of a worrier, so I was glad for the reassurance. I'm also a planner, so it would have been helpful to prepare for the unexpected, had something been detected.

I hope this helps. It's an individual decision -- weigh the risks and benefits, then decide what's best for you. Good luck!

[seapd33]

I opted not to have it done with #2 and 3, instead I had the "in dept" ultra sound and everything was fine.

Suzette