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I had an amnio for a different reason- b/c I am a carrier for a genetic disease. I was very nervous about the procedure, but let me tell you, it was not as bad as I expected. And I was worried about my baby's health as well. I think a lot of it depends on how experienced your doctor is. The doctor who performed the amnio is a specialist who does the procedure day in and day out. We talked with him at length as well as a genetic counselor to weigh the risks. But when it comes down to it, you're looking at a 1 in 200 chance of something going wrong. The odds are slim, but it's something you have to decide for yourself. All I can tell you is that my experience was good and I had no cramping afterwards. I would do it again should we decide to have another child after our son.

If you are going to keep the baby no matter what the test results are, then I would not do it. If you are curious because you want to prepare then go for it. I would not be scared to have it done, it is so rare that anything will happen.

KJ is right if you are going to keep the baby anyways why do it. Also, I was given the option of doing it because my AFP's kept coming up positive. I said absolutely not because there is a chance of harming the baby. But hey it's your baby and your body. Totally up to you.

I was a first time mom at age 37 and now I am pregnant for the final time at age 39. Both times I have had an amnio -- not for reasons to abort if anything was found, but so that we could prepare if there were a problem of some sort. The hospital I delivered at does not have a neonatal department and therefore, if something were wrong, the baby would have to be flown to Vanderbilt University, 50 miles away. I opted to have the amnio so that we could prepare and to have the option of delivering at Vanderbilt instead of making the baby suffer through a trip -- or even the possibility that he/she would not make the trip. I felt that it was the best for the baby. For example, spina bifida is remedied with a surgery, but its still very complicated. If a trip has to be made to a hospital that can handle such a surgery, it would be better for the baby to be delivered there with the proper medical staff on hand. Having to transport this type of disorder can be hard on the baby and one false move can harm the baby for the rest of its life (the spinal cord is very vulnerable and is suseptable to trauma when it is outside of the body).

I don't understand why an amnio has been suggested to you because of your age? If you had had screenings for chromosomal abnormalities which gave a high result I can see why it would be recommended, but if your doctor says it's just because you are in your mid 30's alone then what's going on??? I will turn 35 when I deliver next May and had a nuchal translucency scan at 13 weeks. The result was on the upper end of normal and my partner and I decided not to have an amnio (it was an option but not a recommendation by the doctor). Then at 20 we had another scan and everything was within normal range. We were glad we didn't take the risk of an amnio, which I was told carried a 1:100 chance of miscarriage. You have to make a decision based on your own feelings but do weigh up the pro's and con's very carefully. Very good luck.