I was absolutely terrified and stressed out my little mind when the midwife called me and told me that there was a 1:110 risk of Downs Syndrome for my baby which for someone of 20 is relatively high. Not for me but for him, I worried about his future and the struggles that he'd face but my decision was made and I was keeping him regardless of any health issues or genetic disorders that he may or may not have had.
I was given the option to either continue with my pregnancy or have an invasive test called an amniocentesis, I decided that for peace of mind and to stop me stressing for the remaining 5 months that the amnio was the best choice for me and bump.
I was given the option to either continue with my pregnancy or have an invasive test called an amniocentesis, I decided that for peace of mind and to stop me stressing for the remaining 5 months that the amnio was the best choice for me and bump.
The procedure
2 weeks after my initial appointment with the midwife I went to the hospital for my amniocentesis, you don't have to take an special precautions like not eating or anything but they recommend you drink a lot and don't go to the toilet immediately before as they do an ultrasound whilst doing the amnio.
The initial part of the procedure is an ultrasound where they take measurments of the baby and make sure everything seems fine otherwise, they also use this time to find the best place to perform the procedure which is far enough away from baby that they won't catch him with the needle and but still enters the amniotic sack so they can draw fluid.
After they are happy with the measurements they have taken and are ready to continue with the procedure they then sterilise your whole stomach and all of their equipment.
When everything is sterilised they then insert the needle through your stomach in the area that they decided was safest for baby, for me there was no pain when it went through my stomach.
Then, they insert the needle further through your uterus and into the amniotic sack, this is what I personally found painful, it was like sharp period cramps and bruising but was manageable. They then withdraw 15-20ml of amniotic fluid dependant on how big baby is as this is how they are able to check the chromosomes and determine if baby has any genetic disorders.
After they've drawn the fluid, they then continue with the ultrasound to make sure baby settles down and for me they let me listen to his heartbeat.
They then clean you up and you're then free to go home!
I had to then go and get an Anti-D injection because my blood is rhesus negative but this is not something everyone has to have.
They told me that the results generally take 2-3 working days and offered me either a phonecall or appointment to find out the results, I chose a phonecall so I didn't have to take any more time off work and so that I'd get the result faster.
During the test I was also given the opportunity to find out the gender, I chose to find out (he's a boy!) but this is obviously optional.
2 weeks after my initial appointment with the midwife I went to the hospital for my amniocentesis, you don't have to take an special precautions like not eating or anything but they recommend you drink a lot and don't go to the toilet immediately before as they do an ultrasound whilst doing the amnio.
The initial part of the procedure is an ultrasound where they take measurments of the baby and make sure everything seems fine otherwise, they also use this time to find the best place to perform the procedure which is far enough away from baby that they won't catch him with the needle and but still enters the amniotic sack so they can draw fluid.
After they are happy with the measurements they have taken and are ready to continue with the procedure they then sterilise your whole stomach and all of their equipment.
When everything is sterilised they then insert the needle through your stomach in the area that they decided was safest for baby, for me there was no pain when it went through my stomach.
Then, they insert the needle further through your uterus and into the amniotic sack, this is what I personally found painful, it was like sharp period cramps and bruising but was manageable. They then withdraw 15-20ml of amniotic fluid dependant on how big baby is as this is how they are able to check the chromosomes and determine if baby has any genetic disorders.
After they've drawn the fluid, they then continue with the ultrasound to make sure baby settles down and for me they let me listen to his heartbeat.
They then clean you up and you're then free to go home!
I had to then go and get an Anti-D injection because my blood is rhesus negative but this is not something everyone has to have.
They told me that the results generally take 2-3 working days and offered me either a phonecall or appointment to find out the results, I chose a phonecall so I didn't have to take any more time off work and so that I'd get the result faster.
During the test I was also given the opportunity to find out the gender, I chose to find out (he's a boy!) but this is obviously optional.
After the procedure
It's recommended that you rest for a few days (48 hours) and refrain from any strenuous activity after the test as with it being an invasive test there is a 1% risk of miscarriaging.
Personally I just slept for the rest of the day and took some paracetamol as I found the test to be relatively painful and I was pretty emotionally warn out afterwards so needed a good kip!
The next day I received a phone call telling me that my little boy has no risk of any genetic disorders whatsoever and confirmed his gender again.
It's recommended that you rest for a few days (48 hours) and refrain from any strenuous activity after the test as with it being an invasive test there is a 1% risk of miscarriaging.
Personally I just slept for the rest of the day and took some paracetamol as I found the test to be relatively painful and I was pretty emotionally warn out afterwards so needed a good kip!
The next day I received a phone call telling me that my little boy has no risk of any genetic disorders whatsoever and confirmed his gender again.
I personally am glad that I opted for the amniocentesis as now I can enjoy the rest of my pregnancy without any stresses knowing that I've got a perfectly healthy baby boy growing inside me!
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