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When I was pregant with my first son who is now 13 - I had that triple whatever test. It showed that I had a 1 in 80 chance of having a baby with spina bifida. Because of my age (24) and repeated tests showed the same they suggested that I go for genetic testing. They sat there in front of us and told us to have an abortion. They said I was young and to just start over. I said no. So, they wanted me to do an amnio. I also heard of the risks so again I said no. I went on to have 9 ultrasounds all together. why? not sure. they could not tell me anything except at the last one because he was breach and they needed to see what position he was in they said they saw a shadow around the heart and then told me that he was also going to be born with a heart defect! My son was born perfect! He is now 13 and plays football and is a normal kid in every sense of the way. I think you need to ask yourself if something were to come out positive what would you do about it? If nothing just leave it. When I got pregnant with my next I did not do any testing at all ! I went for my two ultrasounds at 20 and 35 weeks. He also is fine. With this one I will do the same. If something is wrong with this one then I will deal with it. hope that helps. good luck

Well... I had my amnio on Thursday afternoon, and so far all is okay. I've been doing nothing but laying on my back and being treated like an invalid by my husband and teenage son. LOL This is the first chance I've had to do anything... hubby's sleeping and I couldn't so here I am. The amnio was better than I thought it would be... but boy what a weird sensation that needle was. It was definitely uncomfortable though not really painful... there was pressure and an incredible feeling of fullness and the need or desire to get that needle out. It felt so weird. I didn't look at all, but my husband a__sured me the needle was nowhere near our baby, and I trust him to make sure all is okay. The doctor was great! Had a good sense of humour and you could tell he'd done the procedure thousands of times before... he was doing them back when there wasn't ultrasound to help guide them... and there were 4 women before me who had it done on Thursday, so I was very confident in his ability. Now I just have to wait the 2 - 3 weeks for the results and hopefully they turn out great! I'm still taking it easy for the next couple of days, and doing nothing strenuous for the next week just to be safe. This baby means so much to us, that the thought of losing it now would be devastating... Wishing you all a very happy New Year!

Hi Deborah - glad you are doing well and taking it easy. It only took about 11 days to get back my amnio results, so I'll cross my fingers for you that they get them back quickly for you, and that it all turns out well. Take care and have a happy new year... :-)

Hi Val... thanks so much for your post. I can't believe you got your results back so fast... WOW! It's the waiting now that kills you. In my heart, I do believe all is okay... but until I hear it from them, I guess there's always a tiny seed of doubt. Hope you have a great 2007!

Hi Deborah , glad to hear that your amnio went so well . i am sure that the news is going to be very good ! The wait is not fun but just think how relieved you will be when you know that all is well with your baby . By the way are you going to find out what s_x your baby is from the amnio ?

Hi Deborah, I read your post with great interest as I experienced nearly the same thing that you are. I'm 35 (considered high risk now) and had an abnormal quad screen result. We opted for the amnio as well last April and felt a world of relief when the results came back as "OK." It was such a blessing to know that our baby was healthy. We declined to know the baby's gender- it was insignificant based on all that we had gone through with the abnormal quad screen and amnio. On September 15th, we welcomed a healthy baby boy to our family. I have a daughter and son and baby Evan is our third child. He has an extra special place in my heart- knowing the worry that we experienced mid-pregnancy. I found wonderful support from family and friends. And I was amazed by the number of kind supporters who cheered me on each step of the way through this forum. I will pray for you and your baby and anxiously check the posts for the results of your amnio. Rest and be well.

Hi Tylersmommy & lis ann sorry I haven't responded sooner... been a bit busy lately. So, yes... I definitely ticked the want to know the baby's s_x box, I figured why not be more prepared.... Thanks so much for the positive thoughts, they really do go a long way... I was so happy to hear that you had a beautiful and precious baby boy in September................ So ladies, I got my results back today, and as I knew in my heart, it all came back perfectly normal. My husband laughed when I told him that I wasn't worried and knew it would be alright. He doesn't buy into my "gut" feelings I guess, but from the beginning since I got that fortune in my chinese fortune cookie, I just had a feeling that this would be okay. Saying that, I've knocked on wood and prayed I haven't jinxed myself. LOL And the s_x is: a little baby girl! Woohoo! I was a bit disappointed for my hubby, but I've always wanted a girl, and my sister just gave birth to her little girl in November, so it'll be great that they can be close and be able to have fun together. I was close with two of my female cousins growing up, and it will be great having that for my baby too. As for the name, we're not 100% sure about it... I wanted to name her Christina in memory of my mom, but my sister gave her baby that as a middle name and I'm not sure if I should use it. I guess I'll have to get it out of my sister to find out if that will really bother her... cause life is for the living and my relationship with my sister is very important to me. My mom lives on in my heart and I don't need to name my baby after her to remember her... it would just be nice, and I've always liked the name. My husband really likes the name Rowen (sp?) but I told him it would make me think of a little boy! We've got some time yet to decide, but I'd really like to settle on a name soon so that I know what to call my little one. Thanks again ladies for all the positive thoughts and good wishes.

Hi there, i had an amnio done when i was 23. During my sons ultrasound he has cysts on his brain. The doctor wanted to check for downsyndrom. If i knew then what i know now i would never of had the procedure done. It is actually 1 out of 100 that miscarriage according to my doctor. My advice is if you found out your baby was down syndrom, would you still have the baby? If so then why have the procedure. I was given the option incase i wanted to terminate pregnancy if there was a problem with the baby. I did not know all this though until after, i just thought it was a routine procedure. It was a horrible experience for me as i hate needles. I was crying and shaking. Oh my gosh it was aweful.

Deborah969 i am so thrilled for you !!! Congrats on your baby girl ! I am also having a baby girl and am so excited . After you get such good news it really all seems worth it and puts your mind at ease and allows you to sit back relax and enjoy the journey !! I think Christine is a lovely name ..

Deborah - I'm so happy that the amnio results were good!!! And congrats on finding out it's a girl! I totally relate about feeling like the baby was fine. I felt that way from the start, but the feeling definitely was undermined by the NT results. I'm really glad I had the amnio done - it just helps with peace of mind. I know I'd still be worrying now if I hadn't. In retrospect, given the low m/c rates that the genetic counselor shared with me, I definitely worried more than I needed to about m/c. But I guess that's natural. BTW, I like both the names you have in mind... gotta run - so happy for you!!!!

Hi there Tylersmommy & Val... thanks again for all the good wishes and support. It really helped me to get through it all. It wasn't an easy decision, but now that I know all is okay for sure, my husband is happy and I'm always happier when he's happy. I'm so excited about having a girl.... I already have a boy, but he's almost 15 and wants next to nothing to do with me unless I have money for him, want to take him shopping to buy things for him, or have food for him. LOL The joy of teenagers. I have my second trimester scan on January 25... so that's the next thing to look forward to. My hubby says that he'll start thinking all is okay after that happens... I told him to start enjoying this now and look forward to having a little girl. He's been so pessimistic with this pregnancy, he's not really enjoyed it at all. So, hopefully after the scan, he'll start enjoying it and looking forward to having a baby girl. I know I've still got a long ways to go, but I'm trying to stay positive. Thanks again ladies... you've been great!

I've had my scares this pregnancy. At first I declined any testing but then at my 18 week ultrasound they saw the echogenic foci in the baby's heart which is a marker for downs. Everything else looked good. I opted for a level II ultrasound which came back good. The doctor said that my risks were not increased because of the white spot and not to worry. He offered my amnio and quad screen just to ease my mind but told me everything was fine. I went ahead and did the quad screen at 19 weeks 3 days. The down syndrome and trisomy 18 came back negative with like a 1 and 21,000 for downs. That eased my mind but the spina bifida test came back positive with 1 and 600 odds. Those are still really good odds and my doctor said that with two ultrasounds the spine and brain looked normal and not to worry. I still kind of worry but I guess that if they thought my baby had spina bifida that they would further test since that is so dangerous. I don't know. What do yall think.?