Have you had amniocentesis done?

[missmc]

How far along were you? Did it hurt? Please share your experience.

I am faced with possibly needing to have this done (see Feb due dates for post), but I'm very hesitant.

[HisWifeHerMom]

I had it done, I'm a little earlier then you, It did hurt, but I think that had more to do with my thinking then anything. I had DH go with me, He drove home and I stayed in bed for 2 days afterwards. IMO It was worth it in the long run, I didn't go by statics on miscarriage rates and etc. I asked my doctor How many of these hes done with success.

Goodluck in what you decide

[ibisgirldc]

Had it done and it didn't hurt at all. I'm not exaggerating; I actually had to ask if the needle was in yet (and it was). I spent the rest of the day at home, just to be safe, but that was it. My sister had it done, too (different hospital/doctor/city), and i think that she had the same experience(s).

Kinda like a colonoscopy or other unpleasant sounding tests, i think that the thought of it is worse than it really is. The needle is long, but it's superthin. The doctor would be (should be) someone who's done tons of these before. They use ultrasound to see exactly where the baby is and where the sac is and they put the needle in the opposite end. That takes seconds to extract the fluid and then you're done. We got our results in just a few days, and it simply turned into another chance to see the baby on screen, talk to our doc, etc. If i were lucky enough to be pregnant again, I would absolutely do another.

[tyvek]

I had three of them done late in pregnancy to check lung development. Like the ladies said, very small needle. I felt a print in my skin and then one more when it hit my uterus. It didn't hurt, it was more of an odd type feeling.

[LanceBabe]

I had one done with my youngest when I was in premature labor and they didn't think they were going to be able to stop it. I don't recall much pain involved, but I was already in so much pain with labor that I maybe just didn't feel it. It's not something I would do unless it was necessary because of the risks involved, but if it's necessary, it's necessary.

[DucksLikeRain]

I've had four. Two in late pregnancy and two in the 2nd trimester. Those ones were the less painful/uncomfortable ones for me. Maybe because my belly and uterus weren't already stretched tight? In all four I was definitely not in pain, but the sensation was certainly odd and uncomfortable at the worst. The 2nd tri ones I was already on bedrest but if I hadn been I would have taken 1-2 days off of life to lay around, per my doctor.

Like another poster mentioned, the stats of the doctor performing it are more pertinent than generalized ones. For my first two he was not one who dealt in purely high risk patients and he only did lung maturity amnios. He had never lost a baby did to amino...with the obvious assumption being that if it triggered labor/uterine contractions those babies were already 35+ weeks and most often better off outside-hence the reason for the amino. With my 2nd tri ones the doctor only has high risk patients. She has had patients lose their pregnancies post-amino but generally due to unrelated circumstances. Her rate of miscarriage in the 2nd tri amnios was .01% which was already lower than my own chances of losing the pregnancies without the amino. I was perfectly comfortable with her performing them.

[EvaElizabeth]

I had an amnio done around 20 wks.

It did not hurt at all. My dr did a topical anesthetic (the nurse told me some do not). I felt a small stick once the needle was in. It was really quick.

The remainder of the day I stayed in bed, then I went back to work the next day...

[TripMomma]

My sister had one just before her CS...to make sure baby was ready because it was just a little early. She said it hurt a lot...well actually what she said had more colorful language, but you get the idea LOL.

[tanyachap]

I had CVS done at 12 weeks but since it was trans-abdominal it was like amnio for all practical purposes. The trans-abdominal CVS is the same procedure as amnio (CVS could be done transvaginally but not in my case). It diagnoses the same problems except spina bifida. It did not hurt and I felt completely fine after that. We got the preliminary results in 3 days and the final results in 5-6 days.

The facility I had it done at is very experienced; the doc does 1-2 amnios and CVS every day; they have very high success rate. I loved it because my baby showed a lot of markers for down syndrome and I really wanted to know one way or the other. The baby turned out fine and he is now happy 2.5 year old boy. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I were PG with #3.

[RachelB]

I had an amnio at 16 weeks exactly due to a bad triple screen result. It felt like the doctor was trying to push her whole finger into my belly - it was more pressure than pain. My husband squeezing my hand probably hurt more than the needle!

I think it was the anxiety over the results that made the experience stressful. I knew whatever the results, I needed to know. We asked about the risks, and of course they have to tell you that miscarriage and other complications are a possibility. Our hospital had a lower than average miscarriage outcome and I felt confident after talking to the doctor about her specific experience. And again, I needed to know. A week later, we got the good news we hoped for. That knowledge helped me enjoy the rest of the ride.

Good luck with what you decide

[missmc]

Thank you all for your responses. The MFM dr I'm seeing now moves back and forth between the hospital I would deliver (and also where my OB is located) and Children's Hospital. I am pretty sure I would be in good hands, but you all made good points and gave me some ideas of questions that I should ask before having it done.

While I'm scared to have it done, the more I think about it, the more I believe I should have it done. It could help rule out or confirm what is going on with my baby girl and could affect a treatment plan later on. I'm not under pressure to have it done, but the dr. was recommending it for the reasons mentioned. He said he would have results within 24-48 hours and that is very tempting.

[runningmomofmany]

My sister had one just before her CS...to make sure baby was ready because it was just a little early. She said it hurt a lot...well actually what she said had more colorful language, but you get the idea LOL.

Im sure I have used the same colorful language to describe the pain of mine, also done before my last c/s to determine lung maturity. It was extremely painful, rather like the pain of getting a tooth filled with out novacaine. My baby was wiggly, actually turned beech during the amino. She had to insert that honking big needle five times.(any one who says out is a small needle was just seeing the one they use for the numbing agent, not the one used for the amino) By the 4th one dh had to hold my hands to keep me from involuntarily pushing the dr away from me.

I normally have a very high pain tolerance, had my last 3c/s with no narcotics at all. And I had ben told that the procedure wasn't painful. But that amino was horrible. My ob said about one perfect of women can feel the needle go through the uterus. I was just one of the lucky ones. Of it makes you feel any better,i have only heard 2 other people say it was that painful for them.