Poll-Would you have an amnio

[homeschoolmom]

I just posted today that my baby has been dx with hydronephrosis (blockage in the kidney). I went to see my OB tonight and he said the peri did do a Level 2 U/S and did report no other abnormalities. The peri recommended I have an amnio to rule out any chromosomal defects. I REALLY don't know if I should do it. I will not abort no matter what the out come, I just think it might be good to have a peace of mind. If there is something wrong, I can learn to deal with it now, right?? An amnio scares me though!
What would you do in my situation?

Thanks!
Michelle

[playitagainsam]

I feel the same way about not aborting even if there is an issue--we worked WAY too hard for this baby to let a disability get in the way I, myself, would not do the amnio. I did like your idea about the level II, though. It will give you a bit more information.

Take care:
Jessica

[lilysmom]

only you can make the final decision on what is best.

but, i think if i were in your shoes, i would have the amnio. i would just want as much info as i could get and its seems the anmio gives pretty accurate info.

[sallymay101]

I think I would probably have the amnio - that way if there is something going on you have a heads up, you have time to research it, you can prepare for the special situations that will come with it, etc.

Also, knowing there's *not* something chromosomal will let the doctors focus on what else could have caused the blocked kidney and go from there.

[StaceyTX]

I probably would not have an amnio.

However, I have terminated (induced labor at 20 weeks) a much wanted IVF pregnancy due to a fatal fetal diagnosis that was found through u/s.

In subsequent pregnancies it has been suggested that I have an amnio to rule out the same fatal disability, however, we rely on a peri and several level II sonograms to tell us the info we need to know.

I'd see if they'd just follow you really closely, but given you more frequent level II u/s.

[chris cdn]

I had the same dilemma during my pg. I had a first tm screening blood test done (in conjunction with the nuchal translucency fold scan which showed no abnormality) that told me my risk factor for a trisomy 18 baby (a condition that is incompatible with life) was 1 in 10. Pretty awful odds. I was about 14 weeks at that point. My options were to have an amnio, or wait for a level 3 (you should request this--it's even more detailed than a level 2) u/s to see if the baby had any soft markers for T18.

I initially booked the amnio. I could not sleep nor eat out of fear. Not fearful of the procedure itself, but of the risk of m/c. I backed out and cancelled the appt to wait for the level III u/s.

We decided not to do the amnio based on what would be worse.
1) to have a T18 baby (we wouldn't have aborted we would have let nature decide when)
2) to miscarry a healthy baby

I knew that if I m/c a healthy baby I would never forgive myself. So, we had the level III scan and found no markers for T18. However, as you know, we found the baby had enlarged kidneys--which can be a marker for Downs. My peri though reassured us that one marker does not usually mean anything, it's when they see clusters that they suggest further testing (amnio). I had monthly detailed scans (for other reasons) which were always reassuring. You could ask for more scans, I don't think that's unreasonable.

So, that's what I did in *my* situation. Yours, or anyone else's situation isn't exactly alike. Only you can decide what's best for you.

I know what it's like to be so torn up about this--you have my (((((hugs)))))

[Kylie]

I would do the amnio. I had one for my second pg. My quad screen came back with a positive result for Down Syndrome. My odds were 1:120. So we did the amnio and found out our little girl was fine . I would only do it if you can have a perinatologist do it. Someone that does several each week and knows what they are doing!

[Christie in IL]

Only you can decide what is best for you and your family.

I'll share with you the decision we made. I had an amnio done when my AFP results came back elevated for Down's. It was a very difficult decision to make and my husband and I wavered on whether we should do it until the minutes beforehand. However, since my previous pregnancy of twins was lost due to fatal chromosomal problems, I knew that enduring the months of worry would not be good for me. I needed the reassurance that everything was fine and the amnio provided just that. We didn't make the decision lightly as this pregnancy took three ivfs and five years to achieve.

I went to an outstanding doctor who performs amnios on a daily basis. She was the head of the department at a highly regarded medical school/hospital. The amnio was painless and we asked for the FISH results which give you the results of the four most common chromosomes in two days. The full report comes back in a week and a half. I can honestly say that after the amnio I finally began to feel more secure about this pregnancy. I would definitely do one again.

Before doing an amnio, a highly detailed ultrasound is done. So maybe you could go for it and skip the amnio. It is perfectly normal to be worried to do anything that could jeopardize a much wanted pregnancy, but for us, the amnio actually allowed us to enjoy this experience more than we ever could have with the uncertainty hanging over us. Best of luck to you on whatever you decide. My thoughts are with you.

[LeslieT]

If you would not abort no matter what the outcome, I would absolutely skip the amnio. I had a miscarriage after a CVS test, and the procedure was done by one of the top genetics testing offices in the country. Just fell on the bad end of the statistics. And I had one with the exact same facility, exact same doctor with my dd's pregnancy (prior to the miscarriage I'm referring to), and everything was fine. Someone has to make up the miscarriage %'s for them to exist. And CVS tests have only slightly higher risk than amnios...the risk is still there with an amnio that something will go wrong. So I will no longer do invasive tests "just to know", if I'm not willing to lose the baby as part of it.

Best of luck whichever way you decide.

[Teddybear]

We had to make that decision with my ds. After AFP, we came back at high risk for Down's. Abortion was NOT an option for us either. We did choose to have the amnio however. For us it was a chance at peace of mind or the advanced notice we needed to get everything set for our ds. We wanted to be able to find the best doctor's, specialists, etc & learn as much as possible about Down's if he had it. Before he got here. That way we would be prepared to give him the best life possible.

For us, the amnio ended up giving us peace of mind. I don't regret having had it done, even if the results would have been different.

Lori