Pregnancy Support Group
Welcome to the waiting room for anticipating moms and dads. Whether you're expecting your first or a new little brother or sister, meet other parents in this community who are also looking forward to a new addition to the family.
I am currently 42, but will be 43 when my baby is born. The doctor suggests that I do an amnio. I hear there are a lot of risks with this procedure, but it can also help the baby since some things can now be treated in utero.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
The reason that I did not do it was the risk of miscarriage. Plus, even if the amnio came back that there was an abnormality like Downs syndrome I would not have terminated. THe only reason that I considered it was it would be nice to know so that I could prepare myself. Plus, it would give me time to research how to get my child the best care. If they did have a problem, I would want to educate myself about the problem, which specialist are best at handling that disorder, and what resources were available to help them. However, the risk of miscarriage made me not do it.
I did opt to get the first trimester screen. The one that combines blood and ultrasound measurement of the back of the neck to predict the likelihood of a chromosomal abnormality. My risk based on my age alone before the test was one in several hundred. The test showed that I was very unlikely to have a child with a chromosomal abnormality my risk went to 1 in 5,000 for downs and 1 in 10,000 for other types of trisomy. This provided me with comfort. Plus since I am advanced maternal age I got a level 2 ultrasound (which is more in depth then normal pregnancy ultrasound. It had to be done in a fetal medicine specialists office not a regular OB. It was done between 18-20 weeks). THis ultrasound will normally pick up if there are anatomical abnormalities associated with a genetic abnormality.
Both of these tests,the first trimester screen and the level 2 ultrasound, don't put the baby at risk of miscarriage. And they give you a pretty good idea if there is going to be an abnormality. One thing that you do need to realize before choosing this route is that these test while lower risk than amnio are not as accurate as amnio. THey may miss something. Or they may tell you based on the results there is reason to believe that your child is more likely to have an abnormality. It won't say you definetly have a child with an abnormality just that your odds increase for example instead of being 1 in 500 chance it is now a 1 in 80 chance.
You could do the low risks tests first. Based on the results you may decide you dont need to do the amnio because there is low risk of a problem. or vice versa. Hope this info helps.