Amniocentesis

[Kellyh_01]

Anyone had one done? Care to share your experience? Mine is Friday and I'm a bit anxious about it. I'll be 19 weeks. Is it very painful? Did you experience any complications afterward?

Thanks!
Kelly

[jjnoho]

i had one at about 22 weeks. no complications. i rested for the rest of the day afterwards and took it easy for a couple of days after that. the procedure was much less horrible than i expected. the worst part for me was when the needle was inserted into the uterus, i felt cramping. i worked on keeping my breathing steady so that i didn't tighten up. the cramping didn't last long because they only have the needle in there for 30-60 seconds. the whole thing happened very quickly and with much less discomfort than i imagined.

good luck

[Buzzer Beater]

I had one at around 20 weeks and I was terrified beforehand. I didn't have any pain or cramping, just sensations of pressure, and an odd feeling (like a snap or twang) when the needle went into the uterus. It's awfully creepy... like pp said just breathe and relax. My progesterone shots in my butt were much worse, honestly. No complications.

You'll do great, and I hope you get good results.

[RedOakMomma]

I was really afraid of getting one, but now I'm so glad I did. There's a thread a few pages back in "I'm pregnant" about amnios. Also, if you look in the September DDC appointment thread, I wrote about the one I had.

It's not very painful at all. Just nerve-racking. The needle is TINY...think acupuncture needle-small.

I didn't have any complications except abdominal wall soreness, which lasted two days and was fairly minor. They say to take the first 24 hours very easy, because if something is going to go "wrong" it will happen in the first 24 hours. Just to be safe I spent the first 48 hours or so taking it easy.

Good luck! The chance of something going wrong is so, so, SO tiny.