CVS vs. Amnio [update on blood test results]

[rileybaby]

I had a sucessful CVS at 12 weeks, i didnt get the option of amnio or cvs i was just offered the CVS. Good luck

 

[Andypanda6570]

I would say that there is distinct difference between risk of cvs (1 in 100 m/c) and amnio (1 in 200 or 1 in 300); a 2006 study argues 1 in 1600 for amnio, but that is very limited (in my opinion).

A few of you (in particular, andypandy...) will know that I myself have agonised over both cvs and/or amnio and decided not to in the end; my bloods/NT lowered my risk from 1in27 for downs to 1/162 and other from 1/40 to 1/955; plus, I trust my ob/gyn consultant who knows my fear of m/c as well as my fear of a huge problem. Our 16 wks scan showed everything ok, and we will do an even more exhaustive study at 19 wks. I am 43, will be 44 next month; and had always said that I would do amnio, but with a possible higher risk for women who have had previous m/c the .5% risk of amnio isn't worth it for me, as it's more 1-3% risk in my case. I hope I have made the right decision, but I thought I would throw my 2 cents in regarding statistics....

best wishes.

ps. I have stated elsewhere that as of now, nothing has necessitated the need for an amnio, BUT if there appears a huge problem at next scan and then would do (and get fast results), etc.

First off Congrats. Second, your numbers are amazing and if I have those numbers (If /when I do get pregnant ) I don't think I would have Amnio either . My problem is by the time they do the Nuchal i may not be able to do the CVS, it may be to late . For me having a loss at 18 weeks i can't risk NOT doing the CVS, unless I can do the Nuchal and still have the option of doing CVS if my numbers are bad. But if I had your numbers i don't think I would do either. All The Best XOXOXO

 

[SabrinaKat]

Andypandy (Andrea?),

I would recommend going private next pregnancy for the NT test; in Dublin, we had our bloods/NT within an hour (we are private here) and we could relax a little bit. I'm not sure where you are in NY (NYC?), but I would imagine you could get fast results, which would mean you could do cvs the next day (at 12 wks)....

I've said elsewhere, my sympathy regarding Ava, but best wishes....

 

[vintage67]

Very happy to see a couple more 43/44 year olds. I am 44 and almost 31 weeks pregnant with our second child. We did not want to risk CVS or amnio. We had 3 miscarriages prior to this pregnancy at 6, 9, and 11 weeks. The last two were brutal and very hard on this old body. Quite a bit of my hair actually fell out, which the doctor said was hormonal. I had been having some pre-menopausal problems while trying to conceive.
So, with this being our absolutely last chance, we were not willing to risk any procedures that could cause miscarriage. My ob says my numbers are very good for my age. And I have had many scans so far. Of 32 "soft markers" our son has only one; and that is shorter than average femurs. I realize that all can appear normal on scans and there still be a problem. I know my age based risk is about 1:30. The NT was 1.6 and I don't recall all of my numbers from my bloodwork, but the downs risk was 1:162.

I had my 7 year old son 1 month shy of my 37th birthday. We actually had very high risk blood work with him, 1:23 which was quite high for that age. We declined amnio then as well and took our chances.

Am I terrified that we can't possibly be so lucky twice? Of course I am.

 

[Andypanda6570]

Andypandy (Andrea?),

I would recommend going private next pregnancy for the NT test; in Dublin, we had our bloods/NT within an hour (we are private here) and we could relax a little bit. I'm not sure where you are in NY (NYC?), but I would imagine you could get fast results, which would mean you could do cvs the next day (at 12 wks)....

I've said elsewhere, my sympathy regarding Ava, but best wishes....

LOL, yes my name is Andrea. I am in a suburb of NYC about 20 minutes from the city. I am going to look into a private scan I never thought of that, thank you. When you go private does that mean you have to pay or your insurance will cover it? I am thinking they (Insurance company) may cover a private scan cause of my loss? I don't know how that works. Thank you regarding my Ava, I really appreciate that xoxoxo

 

[Junebug_CJ]

My centre, which does thousands of both procedure yearly, quotes 1/1000 risk of miscarriage with CVS, and 1/4000 for amnio: it is very centre dependent, so don't just do a google search and base your decisions on this. ASK about your centre's specific statistics!

Had CVS for my first pregnancy, completely uneventful, not even spotting. Having CVS done also for this one, am booked for October 17th. Opted for CVS since it can be done earlier and we chose to not disclose the pregnancy to anyone including family until we know the chromosomes are normal. Good luck with your decisions ladies

 

[April2012]

My centre, which does thousands of both procedure yearly, quotes 1/1000 risk of miscarriage with CVS, and 1/4000 for amnio: it is very centre dependent, so don't just do a google search and base your decisions on this. ASK about your centre's specific statistics!

Had CVS for my first pregnancy, completely uneventful, not even spotting. Having CVS done also for this one, am booked for October 17th. Opted for CVS since it can be done earlier and we chose to not disclose the pregnancy to anyone including family until we know the chromosomes are normal. Good luck with your decisions ladies

we are also waiting to disclose until after the CVS. I go in on october 3. we have told some very close family...but we are waiting to tell his young girls and work until we have the CVS.

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Good luck April!

 

[SabrinaKat]

I went by the stats that the maternity hospital here in Dublin cited, but appreciate that some clinics are better(?), e.g. my consultant trained in the States and can appreciate how worried I am/was regarding amnio and cvs; I agree with vintage (and our numbers are, interestingly, for d/s the same, e.g. 1/162 -- I am 43 (44 when I deliver) and just hope that I made the right choice...

however, that's me and if you are thinking of doing either test - good! (I think I'm a scaredy-cat anyway).

best wishes

 

[Andypanda6570]

My centre, which does thousands of both procedure yearly, quotes 1/1000 risk of miscarriage with CVS, and 1/4000 for amnio: it is very centre dependent, so don't just do a google search and base your decisions on this. ASK about your centre's specific statistics!

Had CVS for my first pregnancy, completely uneventful, not even spotting. Having CVS done also for this one, am booked for October 17th. Opted for CVS since it can be done earlier and we chose to not disclose the pregnancy to anyone including family until we know the chromosomes are normal. Good luck with your decisions ladies

If I do get pregnant I am not telling anyone until I deliver I swear.. I said I would wait until I was 20 weeks to tell family, but maybe I can just get away with just letting them think I gained a lot of weight. I am just so afraid of telling people, I wish i could just deliver and then say surprise But mostly likely I will end up telling people when I know for sure my little peanut is ok, probably around 20 weeks . I just feel like the less people know the better, i don't know why i feel like this

 

[April2012]

If I do get pregnant I am not telling anyone until I deliver I swear.. I said I would wait until I was 20 weeks to tell family, but maybe I can just get away with just letting them think I gained a lot of weight. I am just so afraid of telling people, I wish i could just deliver and then say surprise But mostly likely I will end up telling people when I know for sure my little peanut is ok, probably around 20 weeks . I just feel like the less people know the better, i don't know why i feel like this

I think it is perfectly understandable why you feel that way. you experienced a traumatic loss. It must be difficult to just trust everything will be okay next time (even though everything will be okay next time most likely). So I can see why you would approach your next pregnancy with some caution. By not sharing the news until you know your baby is "safe" you protect yourself a bit. And maybe there is some feeling of superstition with telling people.

 

[dmama]

If I do get pregnant I am not telling anyone until I deliver I swear.. I said I would wait until I was 20 weeks to tell family, but maybe I can just get away with just letting them think I gained a lot of weight. I am just so afraid of telling people, I wish i could just deliver and then say surprise But mostly likely I will end up telling people when I know for sure my little peanut is ok, probably around 20 weeks . I just feel like the less people know the better, i don't know why i feel like this

Nothing is wrong with how you feel hun...I feel the same. I haven't had a m/c but with my age, this is my last chance and I am so worried. If I could wait till the baby comes, I'd do that, but not sure I can hide much longer without being a hermit....

 

[AngelUK]

Hi ladies,
This is an interesting discussion as I am 41 and fretting about this too. Do any of you know if the risks of M/C is higher when one carries twins? Maybe I have this totally wrong but they insert a needle into your womb don't they and draw fluid? Is the same for both amnio and cvs? And would twins not mean less room in there for the needle to be safe? Wahh even the thought makes me cringe! Can the cvs only be done in early pregnancy? I am still waiting for the MW to contact me about my NT scan but maybe if I am running out of time for a possible cvs I should hunt them down? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. H&H 9 months to you all

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Hi Angel, yes there is a slightly higher risk for both procedures in twin pregnancies, so talk to your centre about their stats!

CVS is done 11-13 weeks, and amnio the earliest is 17 weeks (although some centres only start offering it at 18 weeks) onwards. CVS takes a small piece of the chorionic villus (a sub-part of the placenta, usually done through the vagina), whereas amnio aspirates fluid from around the babies (through the abdomen). I do prenatal diagnosis for a living since 2000 and I've never heard of a needle knicking the baby, everything is done by ultrasound guidance.

If you want to talk about CVS with specialists, definitely give your midwife a call, you are nearing the dates for that!

 

[AngelUK]

Thank you Junebug that is a relief! I really should read up on this stuff and not be silly. It is just the more I read on the net the more I get scared of all that could happen, so I am trying to not search out too much in order not to make myself go totally crazy.
Thing about the centre is, here in the UK you have little choice if you are with the National Health. I was able to choose between two hospitals. One just had a maternity ward and the other is actually a whole maternity hospital and was recommended to me. So unless I somehow get the money together to have the tests done privately I will just be in the hands of that hospital, no matter what their stats. But there I go again fretting before I need to. Thank you again for your answer and all the best to you

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Angel our healthcare in Canada is also public, we are all dependent on this system, no matter the hospital's stats!

Good luck to you too

 

[Caseys]

If this is any help, when I had my amnio done my baby didn't even notice. I think he was tired from moving around so much during the ultrasound before it. His heartrate didn't change and he didn't move an inch. They also keep an eye on the baby during the procedure so are prepared if anything goes wrong.

 

[dmama]

Hi Angel, yes there is a slightly higher risk for both procedures in twin pregnancies, so talk to your centre about their stats!

CVS is done 11-13 weeks, and amnio the earliest is 17 weeks (although some centres only start offering it at 18 weeks) onwards. CVS takes a small piece of the chorionic villus (a sub-part of the placenta, usually done through the vagina), whereas amnio aspirates fluid from around the babies (through the abdomen). I do prenatal diagnosis for a living since 2000 and I've never heard of a needle knicking the baby, everything is done by ultrasound guidance.

If you want to talk about CVS with specialists, definitely give your midwife a call, you are nearing the dates for that!

I hope you don't mind me asking a question, but since you do prenatal diagnosis: If one is carrying twins and has an amnio, how would you know which baby the results are from?...I guess if they are different sexes, that might show, but but what if they are the same sex? I am not having twins, but just curious....Thanks!

 

[Nikki_d72]

Usually by about that getation there is one twin lower in the uterus than the other, they usually label the one closer to the cervix twin A or 1 and the other B or 2. I think it's quite unusual for them to swap after this but I have heard of it. I've read that with amnio, they will inject a blue dye into the first sac after sampling, so they know if they pull out the second sample and it's blue, then they know they've taken it from the first sac again, so there's no mix up. I'm not sure how they get both samples from CVS, I presume it depends on the type of twin as to whether there are 2 placentas or one.

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Yup Nikki that's right, the position of the twins is consistent during a pregnancy. It is a bit trickier in mono-mono twins (identical twins who share an amniotic sac and a placenta) to keep track of who is who, until they grow bigger which limits their movements. Mono-mono twins are quite rare though so this problem is rarely encountered.