[HollyC]

I had an anatomy scan yesterday and the doc found some unfavorable "soft indicators" with the girl twin, now he wants to do an amniocentesis test. The doc said she is measuring 2 weeks behind the boy twin, she has 2 veins in her umbilical cord instead of the normal 3, and she has a slight protrusion of her bowel right by her belly button. If you are willing, I am asking for you to please share your amnio story with me, or any story that you have heard of - good or bad, I need to be prepared. Although, I am looking forward to some positive stories so I can focus on them because my doc is reacting as if something is wrong with my little girl. However, I don't have that feeling. I truly have the feeling that everything is okay, she's just a little behind in growth - but that could be my own hopes kicking in. In addition, I had a Quad Screen a few weeks ago and everything came back fine with that - this is one of the reasons why the disappointing anatomy scan was such a shock to me!!

[sharonla]

A friend of mine had the quad screen and ultrasound and everything was fine, her baby was born with Downs. What a surprise.

I was told I should have an amnio because my son had a shorter arm bone and that was a marker for Downs. He is more than fine. He is WONDERFUL!

I believe its in God's hands. Good Luck and keep us posted.

[gangof4]

I had an amnio done because of age. There wasnt anything seen on the ultrasound to cause concern.
I was nervous about getting it done because of the risk of miscarriage.
And because there's a big scary needle going into my belly! But the procedure was easy as pie. I didnt even feel the needle. And it was quick. I had no problems afterwards. The worst part was the 10 days I had to wait for the results. All you can do is think of how you will feel if there is something wrong with the baby. But having said that, It is far better to be prepared for the worst before the baby is born than to have to face it on B-day.

[infertilitynovice]

My friend didn't have the NT scan or anything with her little girl but was told during her anatomy scan that there was evidence of "soft markers" too (short pinky and leg bone). She chose not to do the amnio and her little girl was born big and healthy.

I wish your little girl all the best.

[bq122]

I got 5th disease when I was preg. with my 10yr. and they have to monitor the baby every week with sonos and bloodwork.
So I had to do an amino. I didnt do it with the main Dr I had it done by his assist. and it hurt like hell. Then the baby moved and he had to take the needle out and do it again. I am not trying to scare you.
But everyone is different. I know people had it done by him and it didnt hurt.
Then when i had my son 4yrs ago I had it done my the main DR and I didnt feel a thing. Perfect.
In both cases, babies were born as healthy as could be.
So woman all have different stories, and even drs are different.
But whatever you do dont take anything with sugar so the baby wont move around thats what I learned about having an amino done.

[eggy]

Holly -- My mom's coworker's baby showed possible markers for chromosomal abnormalities in utero; for religious reasons, they opted not to do an amnio and their daughter turned out to be perfectly healthy. Meanwhile, two of my girlfriends did have amnios (one had an abnormal NT scan and another one had one just because she wanted to); the amnios went fine and both gave birth to healthy babies. Do not be alarmed by the results of the ultrasound -- those results are in no way definitive. Ultimately, I think it's reasonable to put a good amount of faith in your mother's intuition. If you think things are fine, they probably are. So hang in there!

As for amnios... at the moment, I'm regretting my decision not to have an amnio. My doctors did not recommend one based on my test results, but stories like Sharon's below have me worried that my doctors missed something with my other screening tests. (Sharon, did your friend also have an NT scan?) This anecdote has had me in near-hysterics all day. I am completely freaked and think that an amnio would have given me greater peace of mind. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but how common an occurence is stuff like this? How often are good results on these screening tests inaccurate? I am worrying myself sick over this. So, please keep the stories out there coming!

Originally Posted by sharonla

A friend of mine had the quad screen and ultrasound and everything was fine, her baby was born with Downs. What a surprise.

[HollyC]

Ladies, thank you for your stories and experiences, they have been very helpful and encouraging!! Keep them coming if more women read this thread!!

eggy - Your information was very encouraging, I need to keep hearing stories like your friends to keep me positive!! In addition, I am sure sharonla's story is very scary, it scared me!!! However, even though the screeners are not perfect you can put a lot of faith in their results. I have heard many times that, if anything, screeners have a higher chance of giving you a false positive, but a negative is a negative. I am sure sharonla's friend is a very, very unique case of getting the wrong results. However, if you still want to I am sure you can still get an amnio. If fact, when I was talking with my doc about mine he said I could wait until later in the pregnancy to have it done if I wanted, that way if something did happen, like starting to miscarry, then the fetus is further along and more developed and would have a higher survival rate. But like I said, I am sure everything is fine with your little girl!!

[eggy]

Thanks, Holly. At this point, I think I'd seem like a crazy person if I asked for an amnio; but Sharon's post really upset me. I think the best thing I can do is discuss my concerns with my OB this week. She has me scheduled for a 3D ultrasound (standard practice with her, nothing to worry about), so maybe we can see something there to assuage my nerves. Anyway, let's keep bumping this thread and have people contribute their stories....

[tko6666]

Holly-I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this at this time in your pregnancy! This must be so scary especially since there are two in there to worry about! I don't know a ton about amnio, except that it's pretty safe with a singleton, but I will choose to do either that or CVS regardless if I'm having a singleton or twins. I think you are right to ask a lot of questions. I would definately go to the best facillity you can to have it done. The other thing, you haven't mentioned much is the omphalocele. I would also find out as much as you can about the severity of this disease for your little girl. Do you live any where near a really good NICU with good surgeons? I have seen lots of kiddos with omphalocele and many had no chromosomal issues at all. Also, I have seen tons of completely healthy kiddos with a 2 vessle cord. I guess I'm saying: get as much information as you can and focus your energy on what you know and pray for the best outcome possible. Good luck through this difficult time.

[HollyC]

Terri - Thank you so much for the advice! I am definitely trying to gather as much info as possible, mostly from the internet right now, but some of that information is scaring me!! My OB has been wonderful so far, I have talked with him twice on the phone since our u/s on Tuesday. The only info I have gathered about the omphalocele is from the internet - doc didn't really want to talk much about that the other day, he's more concerned about chromosome/genetic problems. However, if they are not wrong and she does have an omphalocele with no other chromosome problems, then all we need to do is a surgery or two after they are born and she should be okay. Not that surgery right after birth is something to look forward to, but I would much rather have that be the only thing wrong with her. In fact, I am hoping the MFM doc was wrong, because she is turned around facing backwards (like looking at my back) and they couldn't get wonderful readings on all the things they wanted, so I am just hoping the omphalocele he thinks he saw is really nothing, just a mistake in trying to do the u/s on her. But on the other hand, he is a specialist and I don't think is prone to mistakes like that. We live in a suburb of Chicago, so I think if they needed a better NICU facility than what is offered at the hospital by my house then we would probably take her to Chicago.
Do you work in the medical field? Just wondering how you have seen so many children with different fetal problems such as the 2 vessel umb cord. Thank you again for your advice!!!