Amniocentesis Test

Up bright and early at 5:45am for a 7:30am appointment with a long needle. Well at least Fiona was, I was up just a little bit later but still very early. We were on the road by 6:30am leaving what I thought was plenty of time to make the 25km trip into town for the Amniocentesis. Turns out I was wrong. The traffic leading into the city was heavy at 6:30am and this wasn’t even the main arterial road!

Needless to say we arrive 15minutes late and then had to wait a little while whilst we were slotted back into the regime. Donna, our sonographer started explaining how proceeding were going to take place for the test and what the tests were. Much of this information I had already learnt from our previous visit or the internet but I did pick up a couple of extra things.

The FISH (Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization) Test which marks the chromosomes with a fluorescent dye is used to get a quick result (normally within 24hrs) for the most common chromosome problems (trisomy 13, 18 and 21) plus the x & y chromosomes (these determine the baby's sex).  As our test was done on a Friday we I should get a phone call on Monday with the results.

After the FISH Test is done the lab grows the cells for a few days in order to test for all the other chromosomal defects and some 10 days later we should have the results of this test too.

After everything was explained and Fiona had signed to all important consent form, another ultrasound is performed. At this point Fiona is a little over 15 weeks pregnant and the baby has grown substantially in just 3weeks since the last scan. The baby is now almost 10cm from crown to rump, up from 6.8cm 3 weeks ago. For the first time was also started to see well defined fingers and toes on the baby as well as long legs with well defined bones in them.

In the picture above you can just see two hands with little fingers.

In the picture above you can see the long legs to the right on the scan with the baby laying on its back.

Along with these photos with also have another 3d picture, this time the baby was playing a little bit of hide and seek so the best shot we got was of its hands together, shown in the picture below.

With the test now completed, Fiona needs to take it easy for the rest of the day and just keep an eye on herself in case she springs a leak (a bit like in the cartoons where the character is shot and then drinks a glass of water and it comes out of its stomach, or at least that’s the image I have in mind).

Assuming Fiona doesn’t spring a leak or get an infection or has any other issues over the next 48hours all we can do is wait for the results on Monday.

With Fiona working on Monday we opted for the results to be phoned through to me so if the news isn’t good at least Fiona won’t have to deal with that whilst she’s at work and can come home and find the news out when I’m around to support her. Of course the flip side of that coin is that I will have to cope with the news by myself until she gets home. But if you are a glass half full type person then all this worry is not needed as everything should be fine with the odds being in our favour for sure.

So for now, I guess we wait…