It is not like having any procedure during pregnancy is completely stress free, despite what the doctors and the nurses do to try and alleviate that whole aspect of the experience. Whether it is your first time or you have gone through it before, every pregnancy is different. But amniocentesis really presents small risk of miscarriage.
What Is It?
So the first thing you may be wondering is, what is an amniocentesis? Often names like that can be enough to set your mind racing.
Very simply, it is a prenatal test where they take a small amount of amniotic fluid out of the sac that is surrounding the fetus.
The amount that they take is less than an ounce.
It is extracted using an extremely fine needle that is inserted through the abdomen, and which they use an ultrasound to guide, so that there is no rik to the baby from the needle.
It is a very standard operation that is carried out regularly on innumerable women, but you should definitely discuss any concerns you have with your doctor or a medical professional.
Why Is it Done?
It is done for a number of reasons, the primary one being genetic testing. Certain women and their babies may be more at risk of certain genetic diseases being passed on, and this test will be able to tell the mother and the doctor what the situation is.
It is also done for fetal lung testing which i making sure that the babies lungs are mature enough for the baby to be born.
Sometimes it will be done to see whether or not the baby has an infection, or whether the baby has anemia, in cases where there is a sensitivity to the blood type of the mother (this is not common).
How big is the risk?
The good news is that the risk really is small for a miscarriage after this common procedure. Carried out in the second trimester, it is between 0.1 and 0.3. It does however increase if it is carried out before 15 weeks of pregnancy.
If at any point you are not sure about why you are having a procedure, or you have concerns about it, you should consult with your doctor. You can always ask for a second opinion as well.
You have probably read a lot around the subject of pregnancy in order to get prepared and it is worth doing your due diligence on procedures like this so you can understand what is happening, and also ask any pertinent questions you want answered.
You can find out a lot more about the subject at Bloomlife.
Conclusion
It is understandable that you want to make sure that your baby is af throughout your pregnancy and all procedures that you have to have done. Education about the procedures ius the best route, and making sure that you have a medical professional that you can talk to about any concerns you have.