Wednesday, July 9, 2008
amnio
met with the specialist again today. the babies look healthy and the heartbeats are strong, thank G-d. we've scheduled an appointment for an amnio in three weeks. still not crazy about the idea. my obgyn says it's unnecessary. when my husband asked the specialist today what he would do, the doctor replied that he didn't think he could raise a child with problems so he'd do the test. that's how my husband feels as well. i'm going to try not to worry about it. i'm sure the results will be fine. i'll be 34 when the babies are born but the doctor says that since there are two, i've got the same risks as a woman over 35. that's why he has suggested we do it. i'd appreciate hearing about your experiences with this test.
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11 comments:
i hope all goes well!
Not to scare you but twin amnio's are more risky than singletons. Just make sure you have the best doctor! make sure he/she isn't passing through one of the sacs more than once. I opted not to have an amnio since we didn't meet any markers and nothing came up in u/s. Just do your research and make the best decision for you and your family. Good luck!
I've not had one - but would possibly consider they told us there was a reason to do one, but just wanted to say that no matter what choice you make...only you know what is best for you and your husband. My sister had one for two of her children and not the other two. She did fine with both of them, and no problems were seen. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth outcome no matter what :-)
I understand you want to know, but be aware, if you're not planning on aborting a baby with a problem, there's not much benefit in it.
I don't have a personal experience with amnio. I just read a lot of baby blogs, and have seen several people go through with them for various reasons. One of my recent reads had one early in pregnancy and everything went fine, and the other had one in her third trimester and her water broke as soon as she stood up after the amnio. So, I think this is probably different for every woman, with every pregnancy, and probably very different depending on which stage of pregnancy you're at. Just do your research and make sure it's really important for you and your hubby.
It is my understanding that the risk is very low when done by doctors who do them all the time. And whether or not you would act on the findings, being prepared mentally is a good reason to test. Personally, I had twin boys at age 34, and decided to do the nuchal screen at 11 weeks and take it from there. We figured that if the risk came back elevated we would definitely do the amnios. Our risk came back very low (and I had previously had a trisomy so my risk before the test had been elveated to levels for women over 40) and we decided not to do it. Everyting worked out fine in the end, thank G-d. Don't worry. I don't think you can make a wrong decision here.
Hi, I came here via the Lost and Found. I have not read your entire story, so I don't know what you are testing for with the amnio, but Ican tell you about my experience.
I gave birth 3 months ago at 33. I was 32 when the baby was conceived. We did extensive testing (now that I think about it, it wasn't necessarily because I wanted to know all the problems, if there were any, but more because I had exceelent insurance coverage, so why not.)
We found out the baby had an elevated risk of down's. When my OB called to tell me this, I was very surprised, but I didn't have much of a reaction. She suggested an amnio so that I would know for sure. I said no thanks, and we ended the conversation. In my eyes we had gone through hell to create this child, so nothing would stop me from giving birth and loving him.
Then I blogged about it, and my view changed dramatically. I ended up emailing back and forth with a great reader and she made a very good point: Even though I wouldn't end my pregnancy if the baby certainly had down's, it would be highly beneficial to know before hand. As in I would be able to do as much research as possible before the baby arrived. I would have specialist lined up to see the baby immediately (and at the delivery if need be). I could start preparing myself for bringing up a child with special needs.
(Basically, I disagree with what "Trying" wrote above. If your plans are to continue with the pregnancy the benefit of knowing is indespencible.)
As for the procedure itself, I won't lie to you. I was scare out of my scull. What convinced me about the safety of the procudure was the fact that the average MC rate as a result of an amnio was actually lower than the risk of down's my baby was given. Also, the doctor who was performing the amnio had a record of loss in the neighbourhood of 1/3000 (yes, three thousand.)
The fluid draw itself did not hurt more than a painful blood draw. It was just very akward to have someone drawing stuff from my belly. I also had a cough and was afraid to cough and move and cause a problem. It was over before I knew it, and I just had a tiny red prick mark on my belly.
Like I siad at the start of this terribly long comment- having the amnio for me was not about whether to continue the pregnancy or not. It was about getting the right help for my child. (And, if this is not the case with you, PLEASE don't feel that I will make a judgement on you. I absolutely 100% am and will not.) Looking back, I wuld not change a thing.
I wish you much luck with your decision. I am certain whatever you decide will be the best for you. If you want to know more (or have specific questions) please feel free to email me.
(I will leave my email in another comment, and if you can erase it after you rerad, I would appreciate it!)
OMG, i just realized how long that comment was!
Here is my email: caramerson at hotmail dot com.
I had one done for our second son born when I was 36 y/o and it was uncomfortable. (Let's face it, anything involving long sharp things is painful).I had some cramping for a few hours afterward. Best Wishes for the Happiest and Healthiest of children.
Hi, I'm new to your site and I want to wish you much luck, health and ease with your pregnancy.
That said, I've had my own difficult experiences with pregnancies and testing. I would like to suggest two things: first, try not to listen to too many stories. I found that someone always had a friend whose life turned out spectacular despite the odds and someone's whose didn't. It's hard to sift through that but try to go with your instinct, your husband's support and dr's opinion.
Second, these days, the risk factor in amnio's is very dependent on the practitioner. A close friend of mine just had a twin amnio with an excellent dr at Hadassah Ein Karem. I'd be happy to share the name with you if you want off list. She was also nervous about the risk and the dr was not only excellent in terms of her qualifications and expertise but also how she put her at ease, talked her through it, etc. The kind of personal treatment you definitely want in an experience like that. Hope everything goes well,
Best,
We also decided to do an amnio after finding cardiogenic foci on the high-level ultrasound at 20 weeks. It was a struggle for me to make the decision -- the risk to the baby vs my peace of mind, but mostly what would we do with the results. I blogged about it, at http://fromhere2maternity.blogspot.com/
Wishing you strength,
Yael
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