Amniocentesis

I had my second at 41 and was offered this as my baby was measuring small. I had already had miscarriages in the past and my consultant was very honest that there would be a possibility of me loosing the pregnancy after this procedure so I decided against it. My baby is absolutely fine and healthy. 36 years is still young, unless you have chromosomal issues in your family I wouldn’t worry. Did you have the other tests for Down’s syndrome etc?

I had it done when I was 16 years old due to my son high chance downs. Given my age I really wanted to know and be prepared for it hence why I did it. The procedure itself was fine I felt in safe hands the whole time they scan you and you can see baby at same time pain wise it wasn’t overly painful either. I had no complications and my son was born healthy xx

Have you had any other testing? Do any results suspect that baby may have some chromosomal abnormality? Or is the only indication your age?

I had one due to age and complications. Was told there was a 1% chance of miscarriage but my doctors personal record was only one loss for 1,000 procedures. It was a little scary but just felt like a pinch when they put the needle in and it gave me peace of mind when the testing came back clear

I could be wrong but my impression is that they can get even more information from NIPT (genetic testing done from a simple blood draw from mom) than they can from amniocentesis and with less risk. I paid out of pocket for it with my first pregnancy at 32 but now that I’m over 35 it will be covered (I’m in Canada)

The NIPT is not a diagnostic it's just a risk factor calculation. My NIPT came back low chance but I went on to have further tests and had conflicting results. An amniocentesis will give you a guarantee as to whether the baby has chromosomal abnormalities or not. I have had a CVS, similar to amnio but it takes cells from the placenta instead. I found it very painful personally although many say it's just uncomfortable. I also had a very big bleed after and was called back the next day for checks on the baby. It didn't cause a miscarriage but they called it a threatened miscarriage. Unfortunately my baby was triploidy so it wasn't a good outcome. But I'm glad I found out for definite.

Thanks everyone for sharing your personal experiences. I’m in Italy and here for mothers over the age of 36 they tell you you can have the procedure done at no cost. I went yesterday for a scan and decided to do other tests before deciding on the amniocentesis. I wasn’t aware I had other options at a low cost. I’m now in the process to book for a combine test which consist in an ultrasound for a nuchal translucency and a blood test. Here they offer the DNA test but at a very expensive price. Thanks again, i really appreciated your messages 😊