I know this is going to sound like a silly question,
so please go easy on me
Has anyone here had an amnio with multiples?
Is it more difficult/dangerous?
Does it involve more than one needle?
Is there a much higher risk that you were informed of?
I would really love to hear from someone who has been through this, or someone who decided against it, and their reasons.
Or anyones opinion really,
Thanks,
Leslee

DD Isabella
DD Daniella (stillborn)

We were advised by our OB that becuase usual testing was not accurate with twins (ie downs, etc) that if we wanted the testing done we would have to have an Amnio.

We decided against this as were advised that the chance of M/C after an amnio was high and even higher while carrying twins. After 7 year of TTC and numerour M/C we decided to let nature take its course.

Everyone's case if different and everyone's decisions are different. Trust your OB and go with your gut feeling. Good luck with your decision.

Ali

Tayla Jane & Jake Patrick
14th October 2004
<a href="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/alibonham/Twins/DSC01354.jpg" target="_blank">
<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/alibonham/Twins/th_DSC01354.jpg"></a>

Hi Leslie,
We were advised to have an amnio with our twin boys. The reason being that Ryan had a diaphragmatic hernia (hole in his diaphragm, and his bowel was in his chest), he also had a 2 vessel umbilical cord & a few other issues. We were told these could be soft markers for Downs Syndrome and because our boys were identical they would both have it. Im only 27 and the odds were really high that every thing would be okay but I knew I couldnt go through the rest of the pregnancy not knowing (I was already stressed about Ryan). My husband & I talked it over & decided to go ahead with the amnio.
Only one lot of fluid was taken (from Ryans side), because our boys are identical, if one had it they both did. Im not sure about fraternal twins.
It was slightly painful, but i think its more upsetting than anything. (I just turned my head away from the doctor and closed my eyes) Over with pretty quick and we were able to pay extra to have the results within 24 hours.
Thankfully our results came back clear, and I am glad that I had it done because I trueley believe I would have stressed out so much that I would have went into early labour. I was 21 weeks when I had it done.

Mel

I was recentlyfaced wth the same situation. The way my Ob explained it to me was that as my twins are in seperate sacs I would need to have an amnio done on each of them. There is a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage but because I would be having two I would have a 1 in 100 chance of losing at least one of the babies.

For me, those odds weren't worth the risk. I had the NT scan done (without the blood test since that is the part that doesn't work with twins) and it came back with a chance of 1 in 530 (roughly) for 1 twin and 1 in 750 for the other. That meant my chance of miscarrying after the amnio was much higher than my chance of having a Downs baby.

The OB also explained that if the results came back that 1 baby had Downs but the other didn't I would have to face even more difficult decisions, particularly if we were to consider terminating. Apparently selective termination of 1 twin has risks to the other twin. For me, that wasn't really an option anyway so I didn't ask for any more details.

Before making any decisions I would talk to your OB in more detail and find out exactly what the procedure and risks would be in your specific situation. Good luck with it all.

Tanya (36)
DH (36)
DS (5)
DD (4)
DS (2)

Twins due in December!!
<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://lilypie.com/days/051205/0/1/0/+10" alt="Lilypie Baby Ticker" border="0" /></a>

I had an amnio when I was about 16 weeks pregnant with the twins. I am in the high risk group because of my age. It was an easy decision for us as we already had two young sons and needrd to know what we were in for if there was a problem with either of the twins. We were originally going to have a CVS done but as both placentas were fused it couldnt be an accurate result.
The procedure was actually not that bad. I was more woried about the needles hitting the bubs than any pain for me. The OB did a very detailed scan first and then with the help of the ultrsound took the fluid from both sacs. Yes it was two needles but I hardly felt them.
I was sent home with some panadene forte (great stuff) and spent the next 24 hours with my feet up. Felt a few twinges that were like period pains and a tiny bit of spotting. The results came through in about two weeks but you can opt for a quicker result.

It was a very long two weeks but as scans looked great and there didn't appear to be any abnormalities, I was trying to be positive. Once we new all was well I really started to enjoy the pregnancy.
Good Luck with your decision.

Dolph

Mum to
DS Bailey 6
DS Jesse 3.5
DD/DS Summer & Taylor 1

Step-Mum to Elodie & Brooke

This message was edited by dolph6 on Thursday, 28 July 2005 @ 2:34 AM

I would like to say thank you very much to the kind ladies that have replied so far, and to clear something up.
The question was not asked for myself, (I WISH!)
My story is here:
http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/CFForum/vi...11&Topic=174137
I was asking for a dear friend of mine, who is finding it a very hard decision to make.
I must admit that I feel very guilty, as after losing Daniella, all my friends are finding pregnancy a very frightening thing. I feel like I have taken the innocence out of being pregnant for everyone. I really just wanted to help her with this decision.
So if anyone else has been through this, I would love to hear about it.
Leslee


DD Isabella
DD Daniella (stillborn)