Amnio results

Posted by: Barbara on: September 15, 2011

In: Uncategorized
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So the amniocentesis on Monday went smoothly. The process did involve an ultrasound, but I asked Brock to hold my hand during the procedure instead of recording the monitor display with his iphone, so I’m afraid there’s no multimedia to watch this time. We got the test results back on Tuesday, and everything is normal. Because there were no physical indications of any problem, they only tested for the most common/likely genetic disorders (trisomy 21, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13), which means that we still don’t know the sex of the baby. We should find this out at the 20 week scan, about a month from now.

As an aside, pregnancy books and the doctor all say that an amnio is only mildly uncomfortable. I found that to be inaccurate. The insertion of the needle didn’t feel much different than giving blood, but as soon as it hit the uterine wall, I experienced strong cramping which lasted that whole day, plus abdominal soreness which lasted for about 2 days. Looking online, it turns out that this sort of reaction is not unusual at all…. which is, I suppose, why women getting an amnio are instructed to rest for the remainder of the day and abstain from any vigorous activity for a full 3 days afterward. To me, it was worth it in order to get a definitive test result regarding Down’s, but… Prospective Mothers Beware.