Is an amnio absolute?

Hi all!

i have been wondering this for a long time. i have read about the amnio and i know why the dr. use this but if i am asked to do one of these can i refuse? even if the dr. says that they need to do one?

i aboslutely hate needles and i really don't like the idea of one that big going into my stomach. i'll definately pass out for sure. i don't even like people messing with my belly button or even touching my stomach at all unless i am getting the U/S of course.

Lots of love!
meshell

 

Hi all!

i have been wondering this for a long time. i have read about the amnio and i know why the dr. use this but if i am asked to do one of these can i refuse? even if the dr. says that they need to do one?

i aboslutely hate needles and i really don't like the idea of one that big going into my stomach. i'll definately pass out for sure. i don't even like people messing with my belly button or even touching my stomach at all unless i am getting the U/S of course.

Lots of love!
meshell

 

Do you mean a lung maturity amnio or a standard amnnio?

 

You can refuse anything in medicine if you are not comfortable with it. The standard amnio many people refuse because if you do not plan to terminate based on the findings, why risk the pregnancy. As far as lung maturity, I think you have to wage your gut instincts based on your doctor's experience/recommendations.

 

any kind of amnio. i didn't know that there was more than one kind.

thanks!

 

I had and amnio on 1/10/07, because of my age (35 1/2) and to make sure everything was okay. They had to stick me once for baby a and 3 times for baby b. It really hurt, but it was great getting the results back and everything was great and we found out the sexes (both girls) and they told me the results were 100% accurate. I was 15weeks 2 days when we did the amnio.

 

I had the lung-maturity amnio today. I have to say that I've been more nervous about this than I was about the actual c-section!

If you want the details, here's the good:
The needle wasn't nearly as big as I thought it would be.
The poke wasn't any more painful than getting blood drawn.
They only had to draw fluid from one baby (so only one poke). They pull from the baby that is most likely to be under-developed (which is usually the bigger twin).
The test returns one of 3 answers: "ready", "will be ready in 7-10 days" or "not ready yet". Which is good to know and very important to my peace of mind considering I'm having an elective C/S and don't want to endanger these girls for my own comfort.

The bad:
The poke did sting. I won't lie. But it didn't hurt. While it did feel like a blood draw, I don't normally have blood drawn from my tummy. And it does take about as long as a blood draw, so it doesn't just go in and out.
The procedure has the possibility of causing some extra contractions or even (rarely) prompting the onset of labor. Which usually isn't a problem since you wouldn't be getting it if you weren't ready to have the babies. But, just in case, they did an NST afterward and request that you push extra fluids & take it easy for the rest of the day.

I know this was long, but I hope it helps! I was VERY nervous and tense and I did make a little yelp when she poked me, but I survived it without tears and am now anxiously awaiting the results.

With all that said, if you're planning to go into labor and deliver naturally, you probably don't have to even think twice about the lung-maturity amnio.

Laura

 

Yes, you can absolutely refuse! The amnios done at an earlier time are to tell if there are any defects, etc. Many doctors encourage this, especially if you are older. There are slight risks, however, so it would depend on what you would do with the information. For me, I would not want to even have that slight risk. Later on, like in Laura's case, it's to check for lung maturity for a c-section. The risks aren't as great then, because the babies are quite developed.

I had an amnioreduction with my last pregnancy to try to treat TTTS. They numbed the area first with lidocaine (that stung), but it really wasn't a big deal. Then they put the other needle in. This procedure took much longer than the standard amnio because they were slowly drawing the fluid out, but again...it wasn't that bad.

Most likely you won't "need" one at all.

 

My aunt's friend had one with her almost 1 month old daughter, and well I find it puzzling that I was told by aunt it came back normal and the baby has a downs. (mild case they have determined...she's missing like 4 things of one thing..can't remember the words) But my cousin had one done on her baby and it was 100% correct. But they were both worried about having it induce a miscarriage, but it wouldn't have changed their minds about the pregnancy.

Anyone else not have it come back correct? I am not sure if I heard that right from my aunt, but I found it strange.