I am 37, so they did an integrated screening for me.  The ultrasound at 13 weeks looked great, but the blood draw showed there might be an increased risk for Down Syndrome.  I swear that my doctor said that my risk had increased to a 1 in 10 chance (but she did wake me up from a nap when she called, so I might have been out of it.)  I went to see a genetic counselor, who clarified that my risk of having a child with DS is 1 in 45, which made me feel much better.  However, they strongly recommended amniocentesis and tried to reassure me that my risk of miscarriage with amnio at this particular hospital is 1 in 500 to 1 in 1000.  I know the odds are very small, but I would hate to have a miscarriage at this point due to amnio. 

 I would love to hear from anyone who has had amnio before and what the experience was like.  Would you recommend it?  Also, did anyone else have an increased risk for birth defects/disabilities based on an integrated test?  Thanks so much!

I have not been through this but I have thought about it when they did my ultrasound/blood work (integrated test).  I thought what will I do if the odds came out high.  My odds actually came out good and that I was not at high risk for downs.  I guess what you would need to ask yourself and what I asked myself is - does it matter if my child has downs?  The biggest reason for the test would be if you wanted to terminate the pregnancy.  There really isn't any other reason.  So ask yourself if it matters one way or the other and if it doesn't then don't do the test (amnio).  There isn't anything associated with downs that you particularly need to be aware of before the baby gets here so you really do not need to know.  On the other hand if it is an issue and you would terminate the pregnancy if the baby had downs then go ahead and do it.  For me it didn't matter so it put me at ease while waiting for the test results to come back that I wouldn't need to do anything further.  If my results came back high for downs I would just plan on my child having downs and if it didn't then great.  I don't know that all this came out the right way but hope this helps you some.

me personally i would not have the amnio done unless there was a chance that the baby could have something that could possible cause death such as trisomy 18 (edward's syndrome)  in which the child would not survive.  a very close friend of mine was four months when she found out her child had trisomy 18.  children with edwards usually do not make it to term or past delivery due to the severe birth defects, etc. she elected to have an amnio.  and decided to give birth at five months gestation due to the fact that they only had two options, one carry to term and have a stillborn baby because of severe and life threatening defects, or induction and deal with it then.   after much deliberation and trips to a counselor decided it would be best to induce. if it were a case like that i feel that the benefits of the amino would outweigh the odds.  in your case where we are talking about trisomy 21, and the child is fully capable of having life, in my opinion only, i feel that it is pointless to put yourself or your baby at that kind of risk.  reason being is this, if your child does have trisomy 21, will it make a difference knowing now or just knowing that there is that possibility and getting confirmation at birth?  If you intended on terminating a pregnancy based on this outcome i could see why someone would need to or want to know now, however, if you intend on loving and having that child regardless does it make since to put the two of you through a possibly risky proceedure just for confirmation before birth?  in my eyes it makes no sense.  as far as odds, odds are not concrete, i work in the medical field, the reason they tell you those odds is because they think it seems better to say there is a one in one hundred chance that you will miscarry instead of simply saying there is a risk of miscarriage.  and this is true due to the fact that think about it, it makes you more comfortable knowing their numbers than just the fact that there are risks associated with the procedure.  it usually makes anyone feel more comfortable we as humans like to have numbers and what we think is good evidence for a great outcome instead of weighing out the decision based on our thoughts and feelings. ultimately the choice is yours to make, but just do this think of how you will use the information now and weigh that against the risks you are willing to take to get that information.  i hope this helps you.

jen

I had one at 15weeks and am so glad I did!!! I am only 25 and my screen came back at high risk for downs. I had the amnio it really hurts worse to have my finger pricked it was so smooth and fast... And I am happy to report that the baby is fine.. Just for peace of mind I would highly recomend doing the amnio....