(vanity) Looking for information on the dangers/risks of amniocentesis

[ken5050]

I know there are a great many here with medical knowledge/info, and I'm hoping someone can shed some light for me on a very tragic situation....A short while ago we received a very sad phone call

[ken5050]

Here's the brief synopsis..what I know..

A young lady, 29, whom we've known for 10 years..she was our oldest daughter's roomate in college..we became very good friends with her family.....her daughter is 4..they had difficulty conceiving..was done by in vitro..they wanted another child..did the procedure again this spring..two embryos took...she was told she needed to have an amniocentesis..it's recommended for those who go through this type of in vitro fertilization..

It was done this Monday..the fetuses were 20 weeks. Thursday night, she was feeling very ill..her husband took her to the hospital..she had a very bad infection..One baby was dead, and the other had to be sacrificed because they feared for the mother's life, and it was not old enough to be viable outside the womb..Mom is still very sick, but is expected to pull through

The infection was caused by the procedure. They were told before there is always some risk..but they had been through it before successfully with their first child..same doctors, hospital..everything..

I'm a little dumbfounded at the whole thing. Just trying to get my mind around the whole idea. I thought amnio was a safe, commonplace procedure...seems like I hear that everyone has them..it's a must for any mother over 40 carrying, right?..

I was gonna Google the stuff... try and find out some info.to help me understand...but I really don't have the desire to wade through a pile of links..so I'm hoping someone here might provide some guidance, knowledge, or info..

Thanks in advance..we're going over to the hospital..so I'll check back later.....

[abigailsmybaby]

Ya know, sometimes bad things happen to good people. There are risks in any type of medical procedure.

[Chickensoup]

All medical procedures have risk. How heartbreaking.

[andysandmikesmom]

A cousin of mine had an amniocentesis done, and then a few days to a week later, she miscarried....she did say, that she was provided with a list of possible things that could happen with an amniocentesis, and that miscarriage is one of the risks...I dont know that there is any medical procedure, that is without risks...

Since there seemed to be no indication of what had caused my cousins miscarriage, I guess it is anyones guess as to whether the miscarriage was caused by the amniocentesis, or whether the miscarriage would have occured anyway...

Sorry about this young ladys loss...loss of an baby is always terrible..

[jocon307]

I'm very sorry for your friend. Amnio is a very risky procedure, they essentially put a needle (like a needle, you know it must have some fancy medical name) into the uterine wall to draw out a bit of the amniotic fluid which is what they test. So, it is invasive and risky. I hope it is not routine for women over 40, but it may well be.

[sarasmom]

An amnio is a 1/200 risk.
The test itself causes a spontaneous abortion in 1 of every 200 tests.(your local OB/GYN figures may vary)

The amnio test is the last ditch effort to accomplish one of two tasks:
1.Convince the stubborn mother to abort the baby
2.Absolve the OB/GYN of any legal complications in a high risk pregnancy.

If that sounds bitter, cynical and harsh to you... tough.
Truth is often ugly.
Many young, naive pregnant women are "encouraged" by their OB/GYNs to have this basically useless and very dangerous "test" by the order of insurance companies.
DnCs are way cheaper than live C-Sections.

[LongElegantLegs]

I'm so sorry for your friends' loss.
There is no reason to have an amnio done, unless the mother is unwilling to carry a potentially "inferior" fetus to term; They are dangerous, invasive, and sometimes incorrect.
I hope your poor friend recovers soon.

[teenyelliott]

I thought amnio was a safe

No, they are not safe. The risk of miscarriage is why women who choose not to have them do so.

I always refused all tests other than routine blood work when I was pregnant. Not only are some of them risky, but many are often wrong, and I wouldn't have changed anything no matter what they said, anyway.

I am terribly sorry for this woman and her friends and family. What an absolutely horrific thing. Tragic. I am so sorry.

[teenyelliott]

Even if it is routine, a woman can ALWAYS refuse.

[ken5050]

Thanks for the info..as was explained to me last night..amidst a lot of tears..the amnio is absolutely necessry when you go through an in vitro fertilization..Don't understand why it is so, really, just that it is..it's part and parcel of the whole process..I think what disturbed me was the was the obvious false sense I'd always had that it was a safe procedure..though of course there are no absolutes..we know so many women having kids in their 40's..the all undergo amnios..so to find otu there is such a downside, and a nto uncommon one at that..is hard to fathom..

[ken5050]

Please see my #10..it was meant for you also..regards..and thanks for you kind words..

[DJ MacWoW]

I had my daughter at the age of 34. I was told I should have an amnio because of my age. I told my doctor to bite me. One out of every 100 babies self-abort because of amnios. I checked the statistics at that time. I don't know what they are now.

I'm sorry for this ladys loss. It's heartbreaking.

[ken5050]

Thanks for the kind words..it's amazing how little we know, or perhaps rather, how little we think we know..

[rx]

You are so right on the real use of amnio. If you would not abort under any circumstance it is an unnecessary risk to have amnio. There is no useful info from it that can't wait until after the baby is born, unless that info will be used to decide to abort.

[ken5050]

FYI..as mentioned..any links or info that you think might be of help..I'm just trying to understand how it happened...regards..

[rx]

It is NOT a required part of in vitro. My son was an in vitro and I was 39 when I was pregnant. I was 40 when he was born (on Christmas day). We would never have aborted anyway so there was no useful information to be obtained by amnio. By the way, I had 3 embryos put back and all initially took. I lost 2 around the 10th week. I had monthly ultra-sounds to monitor but nothing else was recommended for monitoring. If there is a fertility clinic demanding amnio on already at risk pregnancies (in vitro has a higher risk of miscarriage), they should be looked into.

[ken5050]

Thanks for the info..I was only repeating what I was told..that's what I'm trying to understand..because it didn't sound right to me..

[BizzeeMom]

Amnios are used to check lung maturity....but that would be later in pregnancy. risk:benefit would be different.

I'm sorry about the tragic loss, and hope the mother is recovering her health.