Posted on 11/30/2001 4:51:05 PM PST by victim soul
Amnio Miscarriage Risk Greater in Older Women
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis, women over the age of 40 have the greatest risk of miscarriage, according to the results of a new study.
In amniocentesis, a needle is used to collect a sample of the fluid surrounding the developing fetus. The test provides information about possible genetic abnormalities in the fetus, but also carries a small risk of miscarriage. The procedure is generally recommended for women at higher risk of carrying a fetus with abnormalities, including women older than 35 years of age.
In the study, Dr. Nikolaos E. Papantoniou of the University of Athens, Greece, and colleagues looked back on the medical records of 1,006 women pregnant with a single fetus. Most had bleeding during pregnancy, while about 300 had a history of previous abortions or miscarriage. A second group of more than 4,000 women with no pregnancy risk factors were used as a comparison group. All of the women in both groups underwent amniocentesis.
The investigators found that women over age 40 who had amniocentesis were at higher risk of miscarriage after the procedure than younger women, according to the report published in the October issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
All of the study participants were divided into three groups by age, which included both the women with miscarriage risk factors and those who had no such risk factors. Among women aged 20 to 34, 2.5% had miscarriages following amniocentesis. In the 35 to 39 age group, 3.4% had miscarriages, while women 40 and older had the highest rate of miscarriage after amniocentesis, at 5.1%.
The researchers also found that women who had bleeding during pregnancy, those who had three or more first-trimester abortions, and those who had either a miscarriage or pregnancy termination in the second trimester were more likely to miscarry after amniocentesis.
``The decision to undergo genetic amniocentesis may be difficult, especially in older women, or in women who became pregnant after prolonged infertility treatment, therefore the counselling about the procedure should include precise data about its risk,'' Papantoniou and colleagues write.
``This study has shown that many factors influence the likelihood of fetal loss following a second trimester amniocentesis and we believe that all this information should be offered to couples before the procedure,'' the authors conclude.
SOURCE: British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2001;108:1053-1056.
This baby is now is a precocious beautiful 11 year old and the joy of her pro-choice grandmother's life!!
It is a terrifying day in the life of this world - especially this country's - when an individual doctor chooses who will live and who will die!!
This baby is now is a precocious beautiful 11 year old and the joy of her pro-choice grandmother's life!!
It is a terrifying day in the life of this world - especially this country's - when an individual doctor chooses who will live and who will die!!
Durn those unregulated biological clocks! What's a frettin', meddlin' jackass to do!? (Round up all them "women over 40," sterilize 'em, and confiscate their babies? Install surveillance cameras in their bedrooms? Post armed guards at the doors of all OB-GYN offices and hospital delivery rooms? Brand 'em all "Over 40/Unfit for Procreation," for all the world to see?....)
Most ironic, your choice of words: "no[ne of your] business."
{Sheesh!}
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