Anyone Have a CVS Genetic Test Done?

Always a healthy person, I became a CVS statistic and wish I could go back in time and make a different decision. I had the CVS done by a big name geneticist at UCSD and started bleeding profusely almost immediately. I hope you do well if you choose that route... the risk is very real but statistically small. Of course, I never thought it could happen to me. Good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

I've done CVS twice and I would do it again, despite having different results with the two. I'm an "older mom" and therefore at higher risk for birth defects which is why I decided to do it.

Pros: If everything comes back ok, you do have the peace of mind early that you have a healthy baby.

Cons: If something does come back on it, you will probably have to do an amnio also. I have heard of false positives with CVS. In my case, on my second (current) pregnancy the CVS result showed a "marker chromosome" (a piece of an extra chromosome). But because CVS takes tissue from the placenta, they told me that it could just be some cells that split off in the placenta and that it's not coming from the baby. However, the only way to know was to do amnio. So I had to wait 3 more weeks to do the amnio. (Unfortunately that wasn't the case and we had to do more testing, but we think the baby is going to be ok).

Procedure: CVS can be done vaginally or abdominally. They will look at the position of the baby and determine how they can best get to the placenta tissue. I had it done both ways and personally I was less nervous going abdominally, but I think that varies depending on the woman. I had trouble relaxing on the vaginal one which caused the doctor to work a little harder!

Doctor: CVS is becoming more common, but be sure to go to someone experienced. I went to Dr. Williams in LA who is THE guy when it comes to CVS. He's trained many other doctors on the procedure, so I felt comfortable knowing I was in good hands.

Whatever you decide, good luck and best wishes for a healthy baby!!

1 mom found this helpful

Though it was many years ago...I, too, had had the amnio with my two previous pregnancies and opted for the CVS with our third. It was a piece of cake...and really nice to have a settled mind so early in the game. I give it a thumbs up! S.

1 mom found this helpful

I would look into it more, they wanted me to do it and I refused. The risk of loosing the baby is higher and to me it was not worth it. Are you high risk?

Hey M.,
Is your child at risk for Down's syndrome or other birth defects? Most doctors do not recommend this procedure unless there is some concern. If you are not at risk, I am wondering why this procedure is being recommended.
I am sure you are aware that the risk for miscarriage goes up considerably more with CVS than with an amnio. With the CVS they actually put the needle into tissue instead of just collecting fluid samples.

Hi M.,
My girlfriend had CVS 7 years ago. She had no problems and has a healthy 6 year old girl. If your doctor thinks it's ok, there's no reason not to do it.

Good luck!

I had a CVS done in Oct 2007 b/c of my age and the ultrasound results. We researched the options (CVS/Amnio) carefully and found that if a dr has significant experience, then the risk of complications is very low.
We would like to have another child, and we have accepted that we expect to have another CVS test.

From the mama's point of view, the procedure is the same as an amnio, so it isn't more/less uncomfortable, etc.

I had CVS done almost 12 years ago. My health 11 y.o. just came into the room! Anyway, it went really smoothly for me and was much less painful than amnio. I really liked getting the results earlier. At that time, only a few hospitals provided CVS. I was in Illinois and had to travel to Chicago to get to a hospital that offered it. Also at that time, it was important to go somewhere that had a lot of experience with CVS. I don't know if that's still true. Good luck on your choice. E.

I had an amnio in 2006 and a CVS in 2007 (amnio was because my blood test came back as higher risk for trisomy 13/18 and that was confirmed with the ultrasound/amino at week 16). The CVS was fine, not any more discomfort or trouble than the amnio. My research showed that definitely the risk of miscarriage is based on the doctor's experience and really with experienced physicians who have done plenty, it's the same risk as the amnio.
I'm surprised to hear of the post of a false positive of trisomy 18; since both procedures involve looking at the baby's chromosomes, pretty clear whether there is a genetic abnormality or not. I would do some internet research on false positives and/or ask the perinatologist about it when you go.
I went to Children's Specialists of San Diego, Dr. Cousins did the CVS and he was great. Amnio was at Scripps Memorial La Jolla and Dr. Warshack (sp?) was fantastic as well.
good luck to you, managing the anxiety of either procedure is so important. I plan to have a CVS with my next pregnancy as well.

Go for the CVS! My doc is a female..she had 4 kids..1st one she did amnio then she said the next 3 CVS..safer for baby too. I was 40 when i got pregnant w/ my first & only son..i'm 44 now..i did the CVS test at 11 weeks..its like getting a pap smear..bring a VIDEO TAPE ..i really wish i had known to bring one...no one will tell u to..but what you see will blow your mind! They use a super ultra sound machine and I saw my son leaping about in there..it was just jaw dropping..i couldn't believe it. Normally you don't get to see them on this kind of ultra machine til later and then they're big and aren't able to jump around like that.
I tried to get my friend to choose CVS over amnio..and sadly she chose amnio ..and lost the baby at 22 weeks..her fluid dried up soon after the test.

I went to Dr. Williams he is supposed to be the best, women fly in from other states to have a CVS test with him..he'll brag about it in the office if u go to him....
good luck and congrats..don't fear the CVS its no biggie

D.

We had a CVS done with our first son who is now seven and it came back with an indicator of trisomy 18. We spent two horrifying weeks tormenting our selves with visions of a creature that was just an eyeball on a leg or some other hideous mutation and then had the amnio and found out everything was just fine. As it was.

Although I can't remember the actual statistics, I think the accuracy of the test is really low and if something does show up, you'll probably have an amnio any way. If you had an ok experience with the first amnio, I'd say wait til then and you can know more accurately what is up.

Those were pretty much the worst two weeks I've ever had.

And here's to riding while pregnant! I made it to nearly six months and then the gravity shift, loosening of things made me know it was time to stop. Was back in the saddle exactly at six weeks after!

Best of luck, enjoy the baby bucket days and don't underestimate the shift that happens when the second baby is mobile. If you thought you knew anything, the whole ballgame is shifted:)

I had it done with my second child. Saw someone in the L.A. area who has this as a specialty--he's very well known, so if you live in that area, he's probably the person you will see. The procedure itself was no big deal, but you need to vigilantly follow doctor's orders about bed rest afterward. I seem to recall that it was at least 24 hours bedrest; may have been longer, but it's been six years so I don't remember precisely. There will likely be some spotting afterward; also, this procedure is associated with risk for pregnancy loss, much as amnio is, though the risk may be a bit higher with CVS. Nonetheless, if you have someone drive you there and back, then stay in bed for the required time, AND you see someone for the procedure who does this as a specialty, the risk is lowered considerably, as I understand it. Best of luck!

I had a CVS at 11 weeks, and I would/will do it again.

The risk is slightly higher - if you can, get a GOOD referral because the risk varies a lot depending on how experienced and how careful the doc is. In fact, I wanted a CVS with my first pregnancy, but the doctor decided that it was too complicated (some technical stuff relating to the placement of placenta and a fibroid tumour in the way). I was very happy that they weren't cowboys, and was content to wait for the amnio, under the circumstances.

Anyway, with my second, I did the CVS, and I have to say it's possibly a bit scarier than amnio, which is plenty scary. My reasoning is that I'm more comfortable with risks earlier in the pregnancy.

The biggest upside of the CVS is that there's no need for more testing. You'll still do the routine ultrasounds, of course, but the CVS results gave me great peace of mind at such an early date. And 26 weeks to think of a girls name... so why did it still take us until after she was born to come up with one? :)