Anyone had Amniocentesis?

[raysnkaysmom]

I go next Wed, 22nd for amnio... Just wanted to hear from some people who may have had this.... (I've talked to some in my other thread).. but just curious if there is a 'rest' time after... I've heard some say not at all..and others say 3 days bedrest to allow the amniotic sac time to repair... Of course I'm sure my doctor will tell me, and I have brochures, but just 'been there' advice is nice, and reassuring when you're worried as it is...

Thanks

 

[Christine]

I had one done MANY years ago. I was scared to death but it ended up being a piece of cake. I do not remember be directed to have any downtime, but I firmly believe that it cannot hurt. I believe I went to work the next day.

 

[Erin1700]

I had one in Jan '07 to see if my son's lungs were developed enough for me to be induced. I had to take it easy the rest of the day, but ended up going in to have him at midnight.

I would think because you are much earlier than I was (he was due 2/6) you may have to rest a bit. I was sore.
Hope it all turns out okay.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

OH....I feel better knowing you had it done later...I was under the impression you HAD to have it done between 15-16 weeks and I was worried because I'll be pushing 17weeks...
I'm not big on this whole needle process But...question..how does THAT make you sore ? I"m just clueless... and a bit nervous

 

[Christine]

OH....I feel better knowing you had it done later...I was under the impression you HAD to have it done between 15-16 weeks and I was worried because I'll be pushing 17weeks...
I'm not big on this whole needle process But...question..how does THAT make you sore ? I"m just clueless... and a bit nervous

I was 19 weeks when I had mine done (my doctor was very slow at getting the previous test results back and then getting me scheduled). I remember a small area of abdominal muscle being sore but it wasn't a huge deal. I'm a pretty big baby so if it was awful, I think I would have known.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I've had three amnios. They were all being done because of my age (39, 40 and 42). However, before I had my first one they saw something on the Level II ultrasound that could be nothing, or could have been Trisomy 18. Talk about scary. Two weeks of needless worry.

The amnio was not as scary as I imagined it to be. I only had to be on bedrest one day.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Laura]

I haven't had one, just sending a

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I've had three amnios. They were all being done because of my age (39, 40 and 42). However, before I had my first one they saw something on the Level II ultrasound that could be nothing, or could have been Trisomy 18. Talk about scary. Two weeks of needless worry.

The amnio was not as scary as I imagined it to be. I only had to be on bedrest one day.

You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Well, yeah, I'm having the amnio because my Level2 and bloodwork came back as the possibility for Downs... I chickened out of the CVS, but now, I feel I 'have to' know, so I'm doing the amnio...

I took the day of and the day after off, so I should be fine then

 

[Momto3Girls&Max]

Well, yeah, I'm having the amnio because my Level2 and bloodwork came back as the possibility for Downs... I chickened out of the CVS, but now, I feel I 'have to' know, so I'm doing the amnio...

I took the day of and the day after off, so I should be fine then

I responded to your original post.

I had one done in April, 2008 and was told to "take it easy" that day and could resume normal activities the next day, so you should be fine. Good luck and KUP.

 

[XYSRUS]

I had one and then had to have a repeat one b/c cells failed to grow. Anyway painless as could be. I wouldn't go on an all day shopping spree after wards, but I had 3 other small children at the time and took care of them just fine those days. Good luck!

 

[Erin1700]

OH....I feel better knowing you had it done later...I was under the impression you HAD to have it done between 15-16 weeks and I was worried because I'll be pushing 17weeks...
I'm not big on this whole needle process But...question..how does THAT make you sore ? I"m just clueless... and a bit nervous

I was really sore after wards. Although at that point, I was sore all over. I am 4'11 and weighed 95 lbs before I got pregnant with my son. He was 8lbs 4 oz and that was early!
The drs decided at 37 weeks that they thought they "missed something" b/c they found I had so much extra fluid and a big baby. (DD7 was 6 lbs 6 oxz)

 

[sharlon]

Well, yeah, I'm having the amnio because my Level2 and bloodwork came back as the possibility for Downs... I chickened out of the CVS, but now, I feel I 'have to' know, so I'm doing the amnio...

I took the day of and the day after off, so I should be fine then

I had one with DD11 for the exact same reason. I believe I was around 19 or 20 weeks. I did have to rest for the remainder of the day, although I remember it bothered DH more than me. He DOES NOT like needles!

Honestly, the hardest part was waiting for the results. Best of luck to you and congratulations on your new little one.

 

[KirstenB]

I had one. It didn't hurt, and I felt fine afterward. The instructions were to take it easy the rest of the day. Really everything about it went much easier than I had built up in my mind. Good luck!

 

[mamajoan]

Altho my children are grown now... I have had many amnio's. With Jake, I had at least 6 0r 7... they wanted to make sure of his lung maturity level.
Never had a problem with any of them.. and I never was put on bedrest due to amnio's. I had complicated pregnancies... but the amnio's were a piece of cake for me. Good luck and Best wishes!

 

[Duchie]

I had one done with each of my 3 pregnancies. They were really no big deal at all. I was told to take it easy for a day and then I was back to normal activities.

With my first one, they gave me a shot of lidocaine (a local anesthetic) to numb the area where the needle would be going in. That stuff burned like crazy! It was seriously worse than the amnio itself. So when I had the other 2 done, I requested that they not use the lidocaine at all. All I felt on those 2 was a teeny tiny little prick. I'd recommend skipping the lidocaine if they plan to use it.

 

[froglady]

I had a cvs (showed terrible chromosomnal problems) and two amnios- one at 20 weeks (which proved the cvs to be wrong), and the other at 36 weeks to check for fetal lung development prior to a C-section. I was on bedrest overnight after the first, and went straight to the OR after the second one. The second was VERY painful, which was a shock because I was expecting it to be easier than the first, which was mildly uncomfortable.

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[PlutoPony]

Had one at 16-17 weeks back in the 90's. No soreness or anything like that and no bedrest - I went back to work that day. I was in my late 30's and the procedure was done at a major teaching hospital.

I do remember them checking w/ my insurance to make sure it was covered. The cost was ~$1700, which was about the same cost as my entire pre-natal care package.

 

[4greatboys]

I have had 2 due to being of advanced maternal age (35 and 37 with my last 2. They do give you a shot to numb the area. I was surprised that they were both easy and aside from the initial stick pretty painless. I was told to take it easy the rest of the day so I just went home and rested.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I also had two amnios with my first pregnancy, and a CVS with my second. The first amnio was at 16 weeks, and requested due to "advanced maternal age" since I was 37yo at the time. It just so happened that a friend had had one about a year before, so she told me what to expect, and I was glad she did!

The needle is HUGE. Long, I mean, and probably kinda thick. But very long. I'm not fond of needles, and my doc (whom I adore) had it in her hand, sort of bouncing it around as she explained the procedure to me. Then she realized what she was doing and said, "Oh, gee. You probably didn't really want to see that, did you?"

You will feel three sort of electrical pulses (that's the best I can describe them) as the needle punctures through layers of tissue, the final being the uterine wall. That is perfectly normal. Once the needle is in, it will take about one minute to gather the fluid, so I slowly counted "one-one thousand, two-one thousand..." and she was done right on 60.

I had a tender spot where the needle went in afterward. She advised me to go home and rest the remainder of the day, though since I was in an office job, I probably COULD have gone back to work. But I went home as advised.

I loved knowing that the baby was healthy. Additionally we found out the gender, a nice little perk so we could plan the nursery better and stock up on boy things.

PS. My 2nd amnio was for the same reason as another poster's, to test lung maturity right before a c-section delivery. My uterus had "issues", so they wanted to make sure to deliver early enough that I did not go into labor, so the test was at 37 weeks, and we delivered two days later.