CVS test vs. AMNIO???

Was wondering if the cvs is safe or is the amnio better. I have a CVS test scheduled for 12/18 I would be 12 weeks that day. They want me to have this because of my age.(35) Let me know if any of you have had this and what were the results.
Thanks,
Shelley

 

Was wondering if the cvs is safe or is the amnio better. I have a CVS test scheduled for 12/18 I would be 12 weeks that day. They want me to have this because of my age.(35) Let me know if any of you have had this and what were the results.
Thanks,
Shelley

 

we were planning to do CVS and our dr. was pretty down on it...then when she did the u/s and found twins, she said no one would do CVS on twins. I later found out that was not true - certainly not in LA where we live.

We ended up with an amino...at 17 weeks...it was later than I wanted, but i felt very safe with the procedure, my dr. does a ton of them. We got the results in less than 2 weeks and everything was fine. We didn't mess around with any of the non-invasive stuff because of the high error rate - we wanted definitive information.

good luck whatever u decide - i was 35 when we got pregnant and wil be 36 when i deliver.
miriam

 

This is a really personal decision; often CVS gives an indication of a problem (Downs or other) that ends up being nothing. I've read lots of posts where people were told that there was definitely a problem with the babies - and they turned out perfectly fine.

Amnio has a RELATIVELY low rate of inducing miscarriage (although it's higher in twins than it is in singleton pgcy), but - I know for us, who fought so hard to get and keep this pregnancy, the thought of an amnio was really off-putting. I think it also depends on what you would do with the results: if there is an indication of something really off, would you terminate the pregnancy (which is totally your choice!!!) If not, it's a question of weighing the wanting to know 'for sure' (amnio is better) vs the wondering/worrying that might happen.

If i were you I would do a lot more reading and get information and talk w/your OB and whomever would do the tests if it's not your OB. Good luck w/whatever your decision is.

 

You're saying THEY want you to have the cvs, but do YOU? It is only a suggestion, not a requirement. First, I would decide if this is something you and your DH really want to do. If you do want this kind of testing, I would go with the amnio. It has less risks than a cvs. I'm not a doctor, but I have heard that, with twins, the risk is just slightly higher, because there are two needle pricks.

Good luck with your decision!

 

I had CVS done at 12 weeks, and all turned out fine. We chose to do CVS based on my age (35), previous miscarriages from genetic issues, and knowing that if one of the twins had a major genetic issue we would want to reduce the pregnancy to help crry the other twin to term. I had my CVS done in Boston with a very experienced doctor. The results came back in two weeks and wound up being good.

quote:
often CVS gives an indication of a problem (Downs or other) that ends up being nothing.
I think this is true for nuchal testing and AFP testing, but not CVS. CVS, like amnio, takes actual genetic tissue from the twins (but from the placenta, not the amnio fluid) and therefore has a 99% accuracy rate (as does amnio). However, it can't test for spina bifida, whereas amnio can.

So, if you do choose to test, the benefit to CVS is basically knowing earlier, and the benefit to waiting for amnio is a lower m/c rate and knowing about spina bifida in addition to the genetic markers CVS tests for.

I had the CVS done transabdominally, and it was definitely uncomfortable but only for a minute. I had no spotting or camping afterwards.

Good luck with your decision!

Mellie
DD 2 years old
30 weeks 3 days b/g twins!

 

Just wanted to add, Mellie is correct that CVS, like amino is definitive.

Also, one of the reasons my dr. was down on CVS had to do with the fact that the lab where she works kept growing the maternal tissue vs. the fetal tissue - so the results were inaccurate.

Also, amino has been around for a long time at this point and as folks say the risk of miscarriage is very low - particularly based on the experience of the dr.

Miriam

 

I agree with akameme, re. amnio risks are very low. You often hear 'risk of miscarriage' as a reason for not having it done but if you research you'll find the risk is related to the experience & expertise of doc performing it.

Before I had mine, my peri stated the usual statistics '1 in 100 for miscarriage for each twin' but when I pressed him he said in his 15 years of practice they never had a pregnancy loss due to amnio.

I declined all 'post 35' screens they offered until markers for Down's showed up on both my babies at our routine 20-week U/S. (I am 37) I wanted to know for sure so did the amnio....it barely hurt, I rested for a day, and 2 days later learned my boys did not have Downs nor any other of the most common chromosomal disorders. Within 2 weeks, got full chromosomal results and we were clear on that as well.

Aside from the anxiety about my boys' health the procedure was pretty much a non-event for me.

Good luck!