Amnio- Should I Should I Not "HELP"

I don't know if anyone has said this already, but I did just read in Parents magazine that the risk of miscarriage with amnio has dropped from 1 in 200 to 1 in 1600. Good luck with whatever you choose to do, and best wishes for a happy, healthy baby!

When I was pregnant with my last and 5th baby, I was 37 years old. They told me that due to my age, I should have the amnio test to see if the baby had downs or not. I, like you, would not have aborted if the baby had downs so I decided to trust God and not have the test. My daughter does not have downs syndrom and is as normal as any 15 year old girl is.

R.,

Back when I was pregnant, an amnio was required and an ultrasound was an expensive luxury. I was terrified about the amino procedure, so my father put it into perspective for me. He asked if I would terminate the pregnancy if there was an abnormality--I said, no. He said, "Then why spend the rest of your pregnancy stressing out if the findings are positive for Downs Syndrome? There isn't anything you can do to change it. And what if they're wrong? Then you've made yourself upset for nothing. Just be pregnant and find out when your child is born. That's the way it was done before all this medical testing."

So, when I told my doctor I didn't want to have the amnio, the doctor made me sign a waiver saying I was refusing the procedure.

BTW, my son was born beautiful and healthy. He's now 18. My advice: skip the amnio and enjoy your pregnancy.

If you're not going to termiate if the baby does have Down's, I wouldn't bother with the amnio. There are risks of miscarriage with it, so why incur the danger if the result isn't going to change how you manage?

R. ~ I was in a similar situation with my baby, but in my case my blood test came back slightly abnormal. My husband and I decided to go ahead and get the amnio done just to be sure so we could prepare for what ever the results were. I had a good experience (or as good as you can have) with the procedure. Yes there are some slight risks of having it done but that is the only way to find out for sure if your baby has down syndrome. The 2 weeks after the test were the hardest for me, waiting to find out what the future was going to hold. I was unsure of what we would do if our baby did have downs so that was the heart wrenching part, but it sounds like you have already made up your mind. My advice from my own experience is to have the procedure done so you can be prepared. Just follow your heart and it will tell you what is right for you. Please feel free to contact me if you need any additional support or would like to know any more about my experience. By the way the risk was worth it for me, I had a healthy, perfectly normal baby boy when he decided to arrive a few weeks early! Good luck, K.

Hi R., first of all congradulations. I know this is a very stressful time for you. I am glad that no matter the outcome you will not abort. I am prolife myself. I was sort of in your situation about 9 years ago. The nurse came in and told me that my baby would be retarded. I hate that word. I didn't even know what blood work I had taken. I just did everything the doctor told me to do. I was very young. Well my fiance had started a new job out of state. I was in Cali until our wedding date. I felt alone and unsure of what to do. We knew that no matter what the outcome we would keep the baby. I did the amnio. I let a lot of the pressure go! It is comforting that it does not hurt the baby at all and you can prepare for whatever the outcome is. It's like being told what you are having to better prepare yourself. You will be in my prayers.

R.,
My tests came back 1 in 300 that my baby could be born with down syndrome. I thought about an amnio only for about a minute. No matter what the test said I wouldn't have done anything about it. I thought why put my child at risk? My baby is a gift no matter what. I gave birth to a healthy little girl. Might I add that she is also my 6th child. You have to go with your heart. Nothing will put your mind at ease until you give birth, not even the amnio. Until you have your child in your arms, that is when you will be okay.

If you wouldn't abort, why find out? If there is nothing you can do about it, there isn't much of a reason to upset yourself. My best friend and I had this discussion when I was pregnant, and I said that if I found out my baby had a genetic condition like that, I would abort. She said she wouldn't. I would not have the test if I were you because it doesn't matter. Good luck!

I am 36 yrs old and have a beautiful healthy 6 month old baby. I had a amnio because after the age of 35 when pregnant they like to do extra steps on testing. Everything went fine with mine I had some contractions so they got enough fluid that they needed. It doesn't hurt at all and the risks are low. I had a hard choice to with it but I would do it again if I had to. Do what your heart tell you to

Hi R.,
I had a similar scare when I was pregnant. The ultrasound showed that my little guy had a thick nucal lucency (the back of the neck area), which is also a marker for Down syndrome. My blood tests came back normal, but the docs still wanted to do an amnio. I weighed the options and decided that the minute risks of having the amnio were not worth my worrying. I HAD to know, so I had it done and really it was not a big deal. I hardly felt it and I got the reassurance that everything was ok.
I hope that this helps and that it all works out well for you.
A.

Hi R.,

I would recommend not having the amnio. I know some people have chosen to have it done but believe it or not there is greater risk to the baby than you think. In several cases, not all ofcourse, women had a miscarriage after the amnio and later found out that the baby was 100% healthy and there was not need for the amnio in the first place. Regardless of the outcome of your baby's physcial or mental healthy, I am sure you would love him the same regardless. correct? Ofcourse ultimately it's your decision but as a mother who had to chose to have one I chose not to and my son is perfectly healthy.

Good luck and I'll have you in my prayers.

R.,
I went throught a similar situation with my pregnancy. My second ultrasound showed that my baby had extra fluid inbetween his brain and also a spot on his heart. Which were both signs that he could have downs also. It was the hardest thing to go through my pregnancy "positive" and "worry free". I also felt that even if he had down's I would not terminate the pregnancy. I had A LOT of ups and downs. I thought about it continuously. We had the option of doing amnio. But why take the risk. We would be happy no matter what. You need to do what will make YOU feel okay. It's easy for people to tell you everything will be okay. When there's that SLIGHT chance. The other thing is I think that boys have more issues in utero. I did a lot of research after I was told the findings of my ultrasound. Which then freaked me out. They will continue monitoring you and your baby. My chances were 1 in 1800 and he was perfectly healthy. It's easy for me to say but stay positive. I wish I had a source like Mamasource when I was pregnant. If you ever need to chat email me @ ____@____.com luck! Let me know the progress!

Hi R., I would give you a big hug if I could. This must be a very stressful, complicated matter for you to think about. BUt, think about this: Childbirth alone is a risk, to your baby. The worry and stress you will fill your mind and body with about this issue alone is not healthy. If you don't do the test, you will be left not knowing and occupying your head with "what if's". I assume you have a good doctor, you trust completely. I would allow him to do the test, If i were wearing your shoes.! Good luck with your decision.

DONT DO IT! There is a 1 in 200/300 chance you could have a miscarriage if you have an Amnio. My son is 7 months old and when I was pregnant one of my tests came back as having high levels of protein and they said there was a 1/130 chance my son had downsyndrome. I had the ultrasound and it came back normal, but they still said there was a chance he could have it and offered the amnio. I knew if my son had downs, I still wouldnt terminate the pregnancy so why take the chance of having a miscarriage and losing a perfectly healthy baby. My son was born in October of last year and is happy, healthy and downsyndrome free. I went through my pregnancy assuming everything was fine with him. Just relax and enjoy your pregnancy. Dont take any chances. Best of luck to you, Im sure everything will work out fine. :)

Hi R., I think that there are extra things that you could and should do upon finding out that you have a downs syndrome child, ahead of time, so going thru with the test and being prepared would be worth it.

Dear R.,

I named my first doll R., and always get a thrill out of meeting someone with that name.

Umm, I really do not know much about how important it is for you to have another amnio, but my 76 year old mind says, no. It is better to be careful than to have a tragedy, or have something go wrong with your pregnancy.

If the baby has Down's Syndrome, you are in for a life full of joy and happiness. They are the nicest people and have wisdom too, you will be blessed, and so will the people who know your child. Be happy.

Each year I help at a luncheon for a group of people who have Down's Syndrome, and it is such dear fun. They are so polite and sweet, and it is a joy to see them interact with each other. This world is hungry for niceness, don't you think? Sincerely C.

Even though there are risks with the amnio, they are also pretty rare anymore. Amnio has become a pretty standard test today (I don't necessarily agree with this) but it is something that is done very regularly and the people that perform this test are usually very good at their job. If you feel that you are going to worry throughout the rest of your pregnancy if you don't know, then it is definetly worth finding out. This is a time you should be enjoying, not worrying. Talk to your doctor, find out the risks of the amnio, and then make decisions from there. There is one other test that you may be able to ask about (I don't know if you are too far along for it) called a CVS (Chronic Villa Sampling, I believe) This test is not as dangerous for the baby and will find out all of the same info from what I have been told. It may be worth asking about. Either way, do what is going to put your mind at ease and let you enjoy being pregnant. Chances are that you will have a perfectly normal healthy baby.

Congrats on the boy! They're so much fun. That being said, does it matter to you whether or not your baby has DS? I gave birth my 3rd child (a boy) in October. When they did my prenatal blood tests, I tested at high risk for DS with him. It was terrifying and I cried for days. They told me the only way to know for sure was an amnio, and then we could decide if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy. That was never an option for us. My husband and I decided against the amnio. Even if it is small, there's still a chance it could cause a miscarriage. Then, if the amnio came back negative and I miscarried I would have all that guilt! You have to decide if the chance of DS is big enough that you would risk possibly losing the baby. It doesn't happen a lot, but are you willing to take that risk. I wasn't. I went in for level 2 ultrasounds monthly and my sound was born beautiful and healthy. No DS, not even a hint. Tests can be wrong. Go with what you comfortable.If you need to know, do it. You don't need the added stress of wondering. Good luck.

i vote for the amnio, i did it with my two childrens and they are here with me very healthy kids.
I dont like surprise, and i dont like bring kids to this world suffering if i can avoid it i do it.

josie

go and do it>

I had amino as did several of my friends. We did not have any problems. I wanted to know about the child I was bringing into the world. It is a personal decision and you need to weigh the risks. Talk to your dr.
Take care

Dear Mother to be,

I am sorry you are going through this anxiety. I believe there is only value in having an amnio test if you will abort the child. If you already know that it is not an option for you; I would not have the amnio, and try to stay positive and enjoy your pregnancy as much as you can.

-M.

I know that it would probably help ease your mind so you can prepare in case the baby does have downs syndrome, but I don't think I would do the amnio. The test scares me and there are complications that could be a risk to your child. If something went wrong after the amnio that would be difficult to handle. How acurate is the amnio? It just seems too intrusive and dangerous for me.

Congrats!!!

I myself have not had and amnio, however I have been in the room with two different very good friends when they had theirs done, and it really was not big deal. They both had them done for different reasons, but the second friend had hers done for the "downs testing". She like you was only in her 5/6 month. As long as you trust your doctor and really want to make sure so that you can better prepare I would say it is your right to do so.

Good luck!

P.S. my friend's baby was just fine.

I had two amnio's done, one with each child. And like you, i wouldn't have aborted either but I did want to be prepared. I wanted to have plenty of time to look for special needs daycare or any other research I could do before the baby was born. I just didn't want my baby to come out and have them need to rush him/her away because of a problem without knowing ahead of time. The amnio was no big deal both times and no complications for me. Good luck making your decision.

Hi R..

I think you've already answered yourself, but are looking for reassurance. If the amnio adds risk ( which it absolutely *does*..it can send you into premature labor ) and will not change the outcome ( aborting, keeping baby ) then there really is no reason to do it. Remember that u/s are not 100% accurate. They are often wrong in findings, because you can only see so much on a 2D view. Also, continuing with excessive ultrasounds add risk as well. It's been shown that u/s are not as safe for baby as once thought. Kind of like how they used to do x-rays on pregnant moms, and then found years later that they weren't safe.

My advice would be to just try to find a peace with whatever outcome will be. Prepare mildly for whatever you need to prepare with a possible down syndrome baby. In my experience, they are the sweetest, most kind people. You will be blessed with a baby either way. ; )

If you ever need anything else, you can send me a message privately. I'm a doula and assistant midwife. I'd be happy to talk to you further.

HERE'S MY STORY ON THE AMINO:
I did the amino when I was pregnant with my daughter. This was my 1st pregnancy and I really knew little. The doctor recommended, as I was advanced maternal age at 36, so I did it. The procedure itself hurt a little and was well done by the doctor. The needle is very long; so do not look if you are squeamish.
The findings however were not good and changed my whole pregnancy, which should have been a wonderful experience. I was depressed the whole time. Only a handful of people knew why. They, the doctors, found something wrong with the chromosomes. They found that if my baby would be severely retarded and most likely die within a year of birth. I was then a human guinea pig after that having many ultrasounds, blood tests. The doctors after this procedures kept finding things wrong with my baby, enlarge heart, underdeveloped lungs, the list goes on. They even "found" things wrong with me. My doctor asked if I wanted an abortion. Absolutely not I told her. In my heart I felt everything was OK with my daughter, but as the doctors continued their finding my doubts grew.

My daughter was born after 32 hours labor and a C-section; 3 1/2 weeks premature at a healthy weight of 7lbs 14 oz. She had jaundice and spent a week in a "Billy tube" a light blanket to cure the jaundice. She looked healthy and the pediatrician said she was normal, but I still waited for the tests to come back to confirm this. After a 1-month wait for the tests to come back as I lived in Hawaii at the time, she was fine. I HAD, THE WHOLE TIME, A PERFECTLY HEALTHY BABY with NO chromosomes out of place.

After all that I ended up suffering from post partum depression due to the emotional roller coaster of tests during my pregnancy and the wait of finding out whether my daughter was OK.
Today, my daughter is a healthy smart and active 3-1/2 year old.

Personally I like to remember this of all doctors: They have a medical practice and are practicing what they know on their patients.

In the end, go with you gut feeling on whether to do the amino. If I become pregnant again, I will not do that test.

R., first congratulations on your Baby Boy!!! I'm sorry to hear about the issues you are facing. I have been through something similar with my second pregnacy, but it was for Neural Tube Defect. Getting an amnio is entirely up to you, but know that there is some risk but the risk is minimal when done properly. In our case, we opted to have the amnio even though the results would not change the course of the pregnancy. We had a high risk OB do the amnio and not our regular OB. We felt that the more information we had before hand would help us prepare for what we would be dealing with. We had no problems and it did help relieve a lot of stress once we had the answers. I'm one who would have worried and stressed the entire pregnancy without the answer. It turned out that Neural Tube Defect was ruled out with the amnio, however some other issues were caught and treated (which was what really caused our AFP to come back with markers for NT defect)that did help us have a good outcome for our second child. Good luck!

Hello R.,

Congrats!!!

Well, although I didn't go through any scares, I was faced with the question as well, as I had my baby after 35. My husband I decided it was not worth the risk since we would still have the baby and deal with it if it had downs. So, my suggestion to you is to ask the doctor if the baby was born with downs, is there anything that knowing ahead of time would do to help the baby at the time of birth. Is there anything they could do to be prepared for the birth by knowing in advance. Then take it from there.

That is all I can do is offer you our scenario and thoughts, the rest is all up to you. Best of luck for a healthy pregnancy & baby!

Hi R.,

Congrats on your pregnancy!! I am sorry it isn't all you had imagined it to be.

Many people have given you their stories and their opinions. I sure hope they are helping you!

Here is mine:

I got pregnant at 25 years old with my 1st child. How excited we were until we went for the ultrasound and they found markers that my son would have Downs Syndrome and referred us to a specialist to have him confirm or deny the findings. He not only confirmed the spot on my son's heart, but also found 2 spots, which raised his chances significantly for Down's Syndrome. He then pushed the phone acrossed the desk and said if I wanted to call my insurance to have them approve an amio, they could do it that afternoon. Any questions?? Is what he said...ANY QUESTIONS??? A million....I was 25 years old and he said that they were now considering me over 35 years with the risks involved. My AFP also came back normal. So, what to do...

We left his office to try to figure out what to do....We asked everyone for their opinion....We had some of the same feelings that you did....
1. "What if"
2. We wouldn't abort
3. What should we do?

Here are the few things that helped us...

1. If you are going to spend the next few months wondering, worrying, then that isn't good for you or the baby...

2. We said we wouldn't abort, and most people say they wouldn't abort either ( I am sure my next comment might offend some, and I dont' mean to. sorry)...but unless you have IN HAND the ABSOLUTE answer that your child WILL have Downs syndrome, I think it is hard to make that determination.

3. Even if the amnio DOES say the baby has Downs, the issue is you wont know the severity. The story from the sister whose nephew ended up with downs is a VERY mild case, but you don't know what the severity of the case will be.

The amnio isn't something that I would want to do everyday. I ended up having 1 with my son and then with my next pregnancy for the same reasons. If you do have it, just be prepared to take it easy for a few days, just to be sure. I feel the more information that you have, the more prepared you are. Even if you wouldn't abort, it allows you to understand what to expect and make plans, like the woman said earlier about finding special needs childcare or different services that are offered. It would be better to find out all options of services before the baby is here, than after when you are tired and trying to care for an infant!

On a brighter note, the amnio will tell you DEFINATELY the gender of the baby. I know they tell you with the ultrasound, but sometimes they are wrong. With an amnio it is 100% right.

Also, we were able to be given the results of the amnio in 48 hours with what they call the FISH (I am not sure if that is the right acryomn, but it is what they call it). They could test only the down syndrome marker and tell us the results instead of having to wait the full 2 weeks. This was mainly due to the fact I was almost 24 weeks when all this was occuring and if I did want to abort, I had to before the 24 week mark or I had to go to Denver or LA. (All told to me by the same doctor that pushed the phone to me..nice)...so, you can ask about the FISH test.

I hope all the advice and opinions help!! If you ever want to talk about it with someone who has been in the same situation, don't hesitate to contact me!! I wish you luck with this difficult decision!

R....

When I was asked if I wanted to do the amnio testing...my husband and I decided against it due to the fact that whatever was right or wrong with our baby...it wouldn't change our love for him.

I am a "Mature Age" mother and was warned about all the possible defects my age could cause...and I knew that I wouldn't, okay couldn't...terminate the pregnancy. So I said NO to the amnio...why worry about something that could or couldn't be instead of enjoying my pregnancy?

As a first time mom, I had enough to worry about! :)

So, my advice; unless you are the type of person who needs time to plan and accept (should there be Downs); don't get the amnio. that's just my opinion though...

Sorry if I'm not much help...

R.,

It sounds like you know what to do- and I would agree that the amnio is not worth it. There is a risk of miscarriage with the procedure and if you are keeping the baby no matter what
then that's all you need to know for now. I pray to God that
He will protect your child and that you will deliver a healthy baby boy. God's best to you...

A. B

when i was pregnant the doctor told me i had a chance of the baby having down syndrome also. it was so heart-breaking! i went to see a geneticist and they did a more "high-tech" ultra sound to check out if everything was alright. they told me it was up to me if i wanted to have an amniocentesis, which would be 99% accurate in either confirming or not whether my baby girl had downs. they also said there was a chance of miscarrying but its a very small one. so i decided to go with it. i had an amnio and a couple weeks later i found out my baby girl was alright. im the kind of person that would have been stressed out for the rest of my pregnancy not knowing the truth, whichever way it turned out. having the amnio, at least for me, was a great idea. i knew the truth, and i didnt have to stress out anymore, wondering "does she, does she not?" and in the end, my baby girl turned out fine! i guess, you just have to weigh the options out, and figure out just how important it is to you to have an answer. good luck!

Hello,
My name is N. C. and I have a sister that was in the same situation as you and did not get the amnio done and her blood test her all fine, but the doctor did tell het that there was a 4% chance of her child being born with down syndrome. Well she and I decided not for her not to have the amnio done, because she had four daughters and this was going to be her first son and everyone was totally jazzed up about the fact of a little boy in her family. Well, when my nephew was born the doctors said that there were no signs of anything wrong with him, he was perfectly normal. After him being 2 days old in the hospital, he stopped breathing on her while she was feeding him and he began to turn a little blue, so we called the nurse and she kept saying that he was just chilly to cover him up. Well after a number of things that went on that day they decided to keep in for testing. Two weeks later after multiple testing we were notified that he was indeed down syndrome.
He is now 2 years old and very smart. He goes to school and learns sign language. He can walk now and he is very funny. He does have a very mild case and very little features of what your avaerage down syndrome child would look like, but we all love him soooooooo-sooooooo much and we would not change anything about him form the top of his head down to his big feet!LOL! I am his godmother and I am very excited to have him as part of our family. If you would like I can foward you some pictures of what he looks like.....send me your email.
Ihope this helps you in your desicion, because we had all wished that she would have got the amnio so that we would be prepared for the outcome. Take Care

What a stressful situation!! I think you should go ahead with the amnio. The risk to you and your baby is minimal, and if you're going to be stressing about this for the rest of your pregnancy, that can affect your baby, too. Better to know and be reasonably prepared (or relieved!) than not. It's much easier to read up on Downs (on the off-chance your little guy has it) while you're pregnany than when he's an infant!