Odds of miscarriage after CVS/amnio

[Janzen]

In every discussion of CVS/amnio, I always see the 1 in 100 chance of miscarriage. But I rarely hear reports - whether by word of mouth, or on threads - of miscarriages after the procedure. My hunch is that the risk is much lower, but they have to use the higher figure to be safe.

I'm going to have CVS at the Fetal Medicine Centre in London. They cite 1 in 100 on their website, but I've heard that the number should be much lower if it's a very experienced clinic, which I know FMC is.

I know there is always a risk so it's always going to be an extremely difficult choice to make regardless. But at the same time it would be helpful to have the most accurate information. Can anyone suggest ways to get more accurate statistics? Or shed light on the risk of miscarriage?

[cece]

Each doctor has their own individual statistics. I asked my consultant and he ssaid as far as he knew no one had mc after the procedure that he had performed.

[Owlingate]

I have only come across one person who MCed and that was after having an amnio. It's important to remember that having a high nuchal fold in itself raises the chance of a late MC, so it may be that people would go on to have a late MC even if they turned down the procedure, as I did. Have heard FMC have v good reputation. What was your risk?

[Yaya70]

Hi, I would honestly try to put the risk of miscarriage out of your mind as it really is negligible, especially if done by people as experienced as the FMC. Are you having it done by Nicolaides himself? Personally, I only wanted him to do mine, but my CVS was on twins so the risk was a higher. He only works there on Wednesdays.

If you've already decided to go for the CVS, don't get too hung up on the numbers. The thing to remember is that the FMC is the best place to have the procedure done and you will be in the best hands there.

When Nicolaides did my CVS, he told me that the risk depends on many things, such as the position of the placenta or how much "padding" you have -- so the thinner you are the lower your risk. He quoted a risk of between 1 in 100 and 1 in 500 for me and closer to the 1 in 500 mark.

All the risk is during the procedure itself. So as long as the heart is beating after the procedure, the risk of miscarriage is gone.

Good luck!

[Janzen]

Thank you everyone! Your responses are so helpful.

My appointment is with Nicolaides. I'm booked in for a nuchal scan in two weeks, so I don't know our risk yet. I'm 39 so I'm preparing for the real possibility that the risk will be high.

FMC said that if the nuchal results came back high risk, we can have the CVS right then. That scares me since I'm the type of person that needs to mull things over. So I'm more inclined to wait several weeks and then decide whether or not to get an amnio. But my friends who have had CVS (and one who found the baby had life-threatening disorder) tell me that they much preferred knowing at 12 weeks. I guess I'm preparing myself for having a CVS right away, if necessary, and it's so reassuring to have this information in advance.

[cece]

You know you don't have to have the NF measuremnet or the CVS done don't you? It isn't compulsary. IN fact with my last one I didn't have any testing done. I knew I would not be able to terminate, so didn't seem worth the stress.

[Yaya70]

Janzen, I know plenty of ladies who are 39 or older who came back as low risk. Yes, your age will push up your background risk, but it's certainly not inevitable that you will be given a high risk score.

For me, the decision as to whether to have the CVS was made for me because my risk of a chromosomal problem was so high. Perhaps have a chat with your partner beforehand and decide what sort of risk level you would be comfortable with, though it's difficult to know how you would react in a situation unless you're facing it.

Best of luck with your appointment.