Amniocentesis Can B Done Twice in 16Th Week N Thn in 18Th Week

The accuracy of amniocentesis is about 99.4%. The test can detect:
Down syndrome
Sickle cell disease
Cystic fibrosis
Muscular dystrophy
Tay-Sachs and similar diseases
Amniocentesis can also detect certain neural tube defects (diseases where the brain and spinal column don't develop properly) such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

There is no need for it to be done more than once in a pregnancy. It is a complete genetic analysis and can tell you if your baby has any genetic abnormalities. It cannot tell you if there will by ANY problems with your baby, as there are some birth defects that are not genetic, and some other problems that can occur at birth.

The risk involved is lower when done later (at 18 weeks) and the risk is that 1 in 1,600 (.06%) of procedures can lead to miscarriage.

Is there a history of Galactosemia in your and your husband's families? This disorder can be tested for from your amniocentesis, or from a blood sample after your baby is born. Both parents need to be carriers to have this disorder appear in your baby. If present it requires a special diet only, it appears.

Please talk with your doctor about amniocentesis, so you can make an informed decision.

First, it has a 99.4% accuracy rate. I'm not sure where Mimi gets her statistics, but that is incredibly incorrect. And, just plain false and trying to instill fear. Second, they can use the sample, for more then one test. Ask your OB, to send you to a genetic counselor. They specialize in this test and all the circumstances, that might lead you to taking it. They will break down risks of disease possible side effects of the amnio, etc.

First of all Mimi H's post is 100% WRONG. You will find that people who spew out incorrect facts about amnios and tell you they'll cause you to miscarry or aren't accurate are usually pushing an agenda because they believe every woman who is having an amnio would automatically abort if they got bad results. They don't seem to understand that many families would like to be able to prepare if there's going to be an issue -and some issues can now be helped surgically in utero or by special medical teams who are at the ready during delivery. Bottom line -it's no one's business why you want an amnio or what you would do -but I have great issues with folks giving completely wrong information as some sort of "scare" tactic.

I've had an amnio and they are over 99% accurate. Even the less than 1% inaccuracy is due to not enough fluid being collected and the lab not properly being able to culture it. If you have an amnio, your results WILL be accurate -ask any medical doctor! The test should be able to give you results regarding ALL possible defects and problems in one test. They take the amniotic fluid and send it to a lab where it's set up in different cultures that test for genetic defects and any other defect it's able to measure, so I don't think you would need more than one. Ask your OB GYN if there's any reason to wait until 18 weeks or if you can get a complete test at 16 weeks. I had mine at 14 weeks and it tested for everything they can test for.

As far as the safety of having more than one in a pregnancy -I don't think most doctors would recommend it. As a one-time procedure it's actually incredibly safe this day and age. There's less than a 2% chance of miscarriage, and again -it's thought that the women who do miscarry after an amnio would have miscarried anyway. Most OB offices have one or two dedicated amnio doctors who do all of the offices amnios. That way they stay in practice all the time and are very good at what they do. However, during a pregnancy, you really want to disrupt or "mess with" the fetus and uterine area as little as possible. The only time I've heard of multiple amnios is when you have a situation with a mom in preterm labor who is on bedrest and the labor keeps coming back. They can do amnios that will show how developed the lungs are, so sometimes you get into a situation where a few or several may be performed in that case. For your testing though -once should be just fine.

HI S.,

Amniocentesis is a risky procedure to do once and only has a 50% accuracy rate. All this procedure does is either help you to relax about a possible issue (which truly can't because of the accuracy rate) or make you fearful (which truly shouldn't because of the accuracy rate)....

My two cents...

I won't change my post because then people would be confused as why everyone is saying I'm wrong. There is a higher accuracy rate than I stated because some of my information has changed. I'm sorry I didn't double check before I wrote you. However, the medical community that controls the test also control the information. You can go to http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/afp/a/afptesting.htm which a general website that most people trust and review it. There is still much controversy over the accuracy and the dangers of the procedure. Read the full article and see for yourself. Most of the inaccuracies come from the timing during the pregnancy, the health of the Mom and how the test is administered...

Hi. I don't have any statistics to give you. I will say, however, that a number of years ago I attended a funeral for a baby named Justin. After years of infertility, the couple was elated to find they were expecting a baby (the mother was probably in her very late 30's at this point). The baby's parents were told that something was "wrong" with a particular set of bloodword that was run. The doctor pressured them into having the amnio. Wanting to do everything to ensure a healthy baby, the parents agreed. An infection ensued and the baby later died. The parents realized afterward (when they were thinking a little more clearly) that had they known of the risk, they would have never opted for the amnio. If something were found to be "wrong" with the baby, they already knew they would not have aborted. They allowed themselves to be pressured by a doctor into something that would not have changed how they felt about their baby. The saddest part is that it was found later that the baby was 100% perfect and did not have the "defect" the doctor thought he had.

One in 200, 1 in 250, 1 in 1600, 1 in a million? The statistics really don't matter when you're the 1 and your baby dies. Ask yourself - if something were abnormal in the baby, would you abort him/her? If the answer is no, I see no reason to have the amnio. If the answer is yes, then have it but have it knowing you may lose the baby.

I hope and pray that everything turns out well for you and your baby.

I have been reading everyone's responses..........interesting. I will tell my story. I lost my little baby boy after an amnio. I got an infection in my blood that caused me to go into premature labor. I was hospitalized for a week due to the infection. Then I have to have an IV in my arm for 2 weeks and havd to take mega doses of antibiotics 2x day. This affected me emotionally and physically. So all I will say is this.................yes the rate of miscarriage is very low (and I trusted my doctor) if it happens to you, you will be devestated and feeling guilty.

1/250 chance of a miscarriage with each amnio.

Here is what your wonderful baby is already doing!

15 weeks - The fetus has an adult's taste buds and may be able to savor the mother's meals.

16 weeks - Five and a half inches tall and only six ounces in weight, eyebrows, eyelashes and fine hair appear. The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault.

Here is a helpful link: http://www.epigee.org/fetal2.html

What happens with amnios, if one does not miscarry, is that the doctors say, "Oh, just have one so you know." But once you have the 'data' - which is not 100% accurate (I know several children who have been diagnosed with disabilities in the womb to be born normal), they really psychologically push you to terminating the baby. Regardless of the baby's developmental abilities, there are literally thousands of parents waiting to adopt your child.

Not sure why you would have to do an amnio more than once. The one test can test for all things at the same time. That being said, when I had twins, I did an amnio for each sac at 16 weeks and then did an amnio on one baby at 36 weeks to test for lung maturity.

I'm not sure exactly of the details of what you are planning to do or what your docs have suggested, but I did hear an awful story recently about a woman who was pressured to get amnio and didn't want it. She told her docs she wasn't terminating and didn't want to deal with the risks, but they really pressured her into it.

It reminded me of an article a few years ago that suggested there is evidence that some doctors, either due to training culture or bad financial incentive (i.e. they own the testing center), push patients towards tests they don't need. The article was required reading in the White House by the Obama administration before the healthcare bill, and my Republican father also liked it. Here's the link:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fa...

Accuracy of Amnio:
I agree with the other posters that Mimi's post is wrong about the accuracy of amnio. Amnio is very accurate; most of the things it measures for are related to chromosomes, and with amniotic fluid, the docs can look at the chromosomes. The agenda is concerning here - many people who are against abortion feel that terminating a pregnancy due to a birth defect is modern day eugenics. I won't get into whether that is right or wrong, but I strongly feel every woman has a right to decide whether they want to terminate a pregnancy and what tests they get to determine the health of the fetus, even if her reasons don't comport with someone else's version of morality. I don't like the idea of women in China terminating when they find out they are having a girl; this actually upsets me a lot more than someone terminating for Down's Syndrome.

Risk of Miscarriage with Amnio:
The risk rates for amnio causing miscarriage are harder to figure out. I heard about the 1 in 1600 number, made me feel better, but it was from a study that had some methodology problems. (I think it only took place at one hospital, and the process of studying something changes it, yada, yada.) However, the old statistic of .05% (1 in 200) is from a study in the '70s from before they were using ultrasound with amnio. Its kind of difficult to make a perfect study to show the affect of amnio on miscarriage, but from what I've read, the recent literature indicates that if it is being done in a hospital or modern medical center with a high-risk pregnancy doctor, the miscarriage rates are much lower. I believe there was a German study in 2008 that looked at general miscarriage rates with amnio in several different settings. I haven't read it yet, but ultimately, I think its irrelevant to one woman's individual decision, because she should figure out the situation where she is getting amnio done.

S.,

The purpose of an amniocentesis is to check your child's genetic makeup. These genes do not change as the child develops, so you only need one amnio to retrieve the genetic information. Once the doctor has the amniotic fluid several tests are done on it.

There is a slight risk of infection and miscarriage with an amnio, so you will want to consider this if you decide to do ONE amniocentises. A second will not give you different results.

Good luck,
R.