Amniocentesis

[butterflygurl]

Hi all,

I am a new mom to be and over 35 (37y.o) I have been reading a lot. I know I will be offered an amniocentesis test. Please give your input and thoughts on the test.

Thanks.

 

[jennifersmom]

First off Congratulations to you!!!

I was just discussing this topic with a co worker today.
His sister was 40 when she gave birth to her second child.
The little girl was born with down's syndrome. The Mom knew
early on apparently through blood work. She opted aganist the
amnio since her doctor mentioned the risk of harming the baby.

I am almost 34 years old and pregnant with my second.
My daughter is a year old. If it was offered to me I would
need reassurance if that's possible that the baby would not
be harmed and how accurate are the results. I simply do not
know. Can they detect in early pregnancy for certain?
I am only 10 weeks but 2 weeks ago I was told there was
a new screening test/"marker" for the first trimester.
I agreed to have it done. In the next breath was told it was
not that accurate. It is so hard really to know what is the
right thing. You still are only 37 years old and since your
on this board I take it you care about your health.
If you decide to have the amnio ask all the questions you
can so you don't worry unnecessarily.

Good Luck to you.

 

[star_dust]

There is a test called the nuchal translucency exam(something like that) that measures the amount of fluid behind the baby's head via an ultrasound along witha blood test. It is typically given between 11 and 13 weeks and has an 80% accuracy rate for detecting Down's Syndrome. Although I was only 31 when I became pregnant, I was offered this and an amnio or cvs. I decided against all of these tests simply because it didn't matter to me whether my child was born with Downs or not in so much as whether I would keep it or not. I also didn't feel it would make a difference to know before the birth. I would feel the same at 35 or 40. It's really up to you - and why you would want the test..would you want to know the results if negative? Would it change how you feel? If so, I would have the testing - but there are always risks to these things. If you wanted the least amount of risk, ask your dr for a nuchal translucency exam.

 

[lovetostep]

I was 36 when I had my second baby and I am 40 now expecting my third (due date Feb. 11th!) My husband and I were open to the idea of an amnio but only if the tests prior to that showed some kind of problem. With our second baby we were given the triple test/blood screen (I think it is called a quad test now) and a Level 2 ultrasound--both were fine so we decided against the amnio. With this baby, we were offered the nuchal transluency (hooray, an early ultrasound!), the quad screen blood test, and a Level 2 ultrasound--all looked okay--so again we opted against the amnio. If something had looked troublesome, however, I think we would have gotten the amnio, not because we would have ended the pregnancy necessarily, but because I believe knowledge is power and the more you know the better off you are. For example, if there was a suspicion of Downs, my doctor would have wanted to do further testing to look at possible problems with the baby's heart--if there were problems with the baby's heart, I would have opted to have the baby in a hospital that specialized in children's heart problems. I would rather have my baby in a hospital that can immediately take care of any emergencies, and I would rather the doctors knowing in advance that there could be a potential problem, rather than waste precious time finding all that out at birth, having to have my baby transported somewhere else, etc.
I know the tests that we have gotten so far are not as accurate in determining problems as an amnio, but the percentages they gave us were pretty good. Good luck and congratulations!!

 

[butterflygurl]

Suzanne, star_dust and lovetostep,

Thanks for the replies. I think we will do as lovetostep suggested and wait to see how the other tests come. If they are fine, I will decline the amnio. If there is a issue showing in one of the other tests, I will make the decision about the amnio then.

Thanks again!!

 

[emackay]

Hi there,

It sounds like you have already gotten some wonderful advice. I just wanted to add another tale of caution regarding an amnio ... a friend who is 38 got pregnant on her first attempt - and was offered an amnio due to her age. Well, the baby's other tests had all been perfectly normal, but she opted to do the amnio anyway. Her baby died a few hours afterwards. This is a relatively rare occurrence (I think it's 1/200 - but I'm sure you've seen tha stats), but it DOES happen.

Best of luck to you and a Happy & Healthy 9 months.
arancini

 

[Hej]

Hi,

Other people have given good advice. I'd just like to reply by relating my personal experience. I had a neuchal translucency test with my first pregnancy (age 34). As it indicated our chances of having a chromosomally normal child were 1 in 1000 (as opposed to 1 in 380 based on my age alone), we decided that we didn't want an amnio.

I am pregnant again at age 38 and this time we chose the amnio. Our midwife explained that neuchal translucency test is only 75% accurate. Many people are willing to have a baby with Down's or other chromosomal abnormailities. If we felt that way, a neuchal translucency test would have been enough for us this time too. But after discussing it and looking at our family situation, my husband and I decided that the small risks associated with amniocentesis were worth taking in order to get 100% accuracy.

We just got our results on Tuesday and I'm happy to say our baby girl is fine!! We are so happy and relieved!

Congratulations on your pregnancy and best wishes to you!

Mary