CVS or Amnio

This came up last night at our doctor's appt. I'll be 37 by the time the baby is born. The doctor thinks it something we might want to consider because I'm over 35. But, I'm not sure which is better, less risk for miscarriage..etc. I keep reading differnt things on the dreadful internet!! Anyone have any experiences with either of these that they can share with me?? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks

Re: CVS or Amnio

Are you doing/considering any of the other screenings first? I personally am not sure I'd go for a CVS or Amnio unless the screening tests gave me reason to, but that's because I'm a scaredy cat and would just hate to be the 1 out of however many thousand possiblities of something bad happening.

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I'm 34 and will have just turned 35 when our babes is born. My dr gave me the same options. DH & I decided to go w/the CVS, I have it today @ 2pm. It's 97% accurate w/no risk where as the Amnio is 99.9% accurate w/a 1 in 1000 chance of a mc *as per my Dr*. Those odds were enough for us to go w/the CVS.

GL!

Re: CVS or Amnio

my cousin had a baby at 36 and she did the CVS, its supposed to be a lot less riskier than an amnio. Good luck!

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My dr never mentioned either one of these tests to me UNLESS my screening tests and blood work showed ratio's that were concerning. I am 36 years old. IF you want to do one of these tests I would probably choose the amino. I think it has a lower miscarriage rate than the cvs testing.

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Re: CVS or Amnio

All very interesting. Thank you for your responses. Right now I'm scheduled for the blood screening test (i iforge the name) in 2 weeks. But I'm afraid of false positives and then I'll drive myself crazy worrying and then have to do one of these tests anyway! So there's a part of me that is thinking of just skipping the blood test screening..idk

Re: CVS or Amnio

There is risk of miscarriage with CVS. The studies of outcomes is based on the facilities where they are done. I know a place where the odds are 1 in 10,000, but those results arent published yet. The published results state 1 in 1000 women experience a MC after the CVS.

The risk with CVS is that the amniotic fluid can leak, which can lead to your water breaking, which leads to miscarriage.

The advantages of the CVS is that it is done before the Amnio so IF there is a major problem that would force you to make a decision about the future of your pregnancy, this can be done a lot sooner. CVS is done starting about 10-12 or 13 weeks or something.

I have 2 friends that had it done. 1 lost the baby due to the CVS. The results later showed the baby was normal which completely killed her. The other turned out ok.

Im personally not doing it, but I guess if I were you I would take the first nuchal test and bloodwork before making any decisions.

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There is def a risk of miscarriage with a CVS so please just make sure you use a Dr that does them all the time if you opt for this. It is a newer test than the amnio and many Drs just don;t do many and therefore the risk is higher.

I was 38 when I had my DS. I skipped the NT scan and bloodwork. In my opinion this test does not give you results just the chance your child will have something wrong. It also gives higher chances based solely on your age and at 38 I knew my results would not be great.

I opted for the amnio and honestly the mind stress leading up to it was worse than the actual procedure. THe actual procedure took all of 10 mins and the longest part was the sono to find the right location.

Amnios do not carry the same miscarriage risk as back in the day because they are now sono guided so they know they are no where near the baby.

Its a very personal decision on whether to have one of these tests. There is no wrong decision just be fully informed about all the risks and benefits of each one.

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Re: CVS or Amnio

I was 38 with my first DD, and since I had 2 miscarriages before that pregnancy, one due to a chromosome issue, I opted for the amnio. It wasn't terribly painful, just nerve wracking. I had no after effects from the procedure. Everything was fine with her and I was so glad to have the peace of mind throughout the rest of the pregnancy.

With this pregnancy, I will be 41 when I deliver, and I was going to go for the amnio again. My perinatalogist suggested the CVS since we could do it earlier. I had that done at just over 11 weeks. It was nice finding out that she is fine so early, but I was nervous about the procedure because there is a risk of miscarriage, and I felt that the baby was so fragile that early. I had it done through the cervix and it was painful, and I had cramping and spotting for a few days afterwards. I honestly don't know if I would do it again - it was just very scary for me.

Honestly though, I don't think you should do this testing just based on age alone. Do the screening first and see where your odds end up. I wouldn't have jumped into it without having the previous losses.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

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Im 37 at the time of delivery and my Dr. suggessted I do the NT scan first. If anything comes up then we go ahead with amnio. Thank god everything came back negative so I didnt have to go forward.

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Thanks for posting this. Im 36 with my first. Seeing my obgyn for the first time on thursday. I'll be sure to bring all of these test and my concerns up.

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I wouldn't do either of these tests based solely on my age! I am 39 and said I'd wait and see if any other bloodwork or tests warranted a CVS or amino.

It was during my NT scan where the neck thickness was largely increased. Because it was "off the charts high" both my OB and I felt that doing the CVS test at that point was the right choice for me. There is a 1% miscarriage rate, where as an amino is only 0.5% miscarriage rate (since its done later in pregnancy). The CVS test takes a sample of the placenta for testing whereas the amino takes the amniotic fluid for testing.

The results at 12 weeks were priceless for me. And we even found out the gender with 100% certainty. I wouldn't have done either test, despite my age, if nothing came up to warrant it along the way.

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I can't answer the age question but I would opt for an amnio over a CVS for sure - everything my OB has told me as well as everything I have read indicates a far greater risk with the CVS than with an amnio.

I have had 3 amnios in my first 2 pregnancies and will have one more for this one (3 of the 4 to confirm lung maturation b/c I have to go in at 38w; the other one to test for down's due to high risk on the ultrascreen).

The anticipation is a bajillion times worse than the actual process

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I wouldn't do it based on my age alone. After my NT scan and blood work, the odds for Trisomy 13/18 increased to 1/437. I declined the CVS because the rate of miscarriage is 1/100. If my next round of blood work or Level II come back questionable, I will get an amnio. The genetic counselor I met with told me the risk of miscarriage is 1/300 although that includes places where it's performed by doctors who don't do amnios rountinely. If I had an amnio, the perinatologist, who performs several each day, would do it.

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i am 32 but carrying twins.

i did the cvs with dr stone at mt sinai. i dont recommend anyone else. dr stone does thousands of cvs procedures in a year and her m/c risk is extremely low.

the procedure was uncomfortable for about 2 minutes. after that it was over.

the best part was by week 11-12 we had full results and genders back on my twins.

hearing those good results was the best news- i was able to relax very early on and not stress about things...also knew the genders were rock solid- not just guesses by a technician.

i recommend the cvs. good luck!

Re: CVS or Amnio