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The majority of expectant parents want to ensure their baby is as healthy as possible. Along with pre-genetic tests that determine certain genetic traits or risks parents may pass to their offspring, prenatal testings are quite common. These help you carry a healthy pregnancy to term, and check in on the baby’s health. Amniocentesis is one of these prenatal tests: it diagnoses genetic disorders and other health issues in a fetus:

• Fetal infection can be determined through amniocentesis, along with other illnesses 
• Fetal lung testing is rarely done, but if a delivery is planned to happen sooner than 39 weeks amniotic fluid helps see if a baby’s lungs are mature enough for birth
• Sometimes there is an amniotic fluid build-up in the uterus–polyhydramnios–and it is drained through amniocentesis

What is the procedure?

It is normal to be nervous about any medical procedure, much more so if you are pregnant! The goal of amniocentesis is to extract amniotic fluid from your uterus, and most procedures happen between 15-20 weeks of gestation. Here’s what you should expect on the day of your appointment:

1. You will lie on your back, just like you would prepare for a routine ultrasound. That’s the first step, as the ultrasound will show where your baby is in your uterus that particular day and time. 
2. The ultrasound will remain on screen as your healthcare provider inserts a very thin needle through your stomach wall and into the uterus. The needle is removed swiftly as amniotic fluid is drawn into the syringe. 
3. There is no sedation or numbing used, and it is important that you stay still. Even after the needle is removed, the ultrasound will remain in use to monitor your baby’s heart rate. 
4. You may experience mild cramping during the procedure, and/or shortly after, but you should be able to resume your normal activities after the test. 

When is it necessary?

As one of many prenatal testings, amniocentesis provides details on certain genetic conditions and issues that other procedures may not fully address. It can detect chromosomal, genetic disorders, or congenital disabilities such as down syndrome, Tay-Sachs disease, neural tube defects, and Rh disease. 

If the results of a routine prenatal screening test are worrisome, your doctor may suggest amniocentesis to rule out another diagnosis. If you’ve had a pregnancy with a genetic condition, amniocentesis will look for that condition in your current pregnancy. If the parents are carriers of a genetic condition, or have a family history, amniocentesis shows whether your baby is affected by it. Unusual ultrasound findings are another reason for further testing. Babies born to people over 35 have a higher risk of chromosomal conditions, so if you’ve had a prenatal cell-free DNA screening that came back positive, amniocentesis will shed light into possible conditions. 

Even if your doctor suggests amniocentesis, and explains why, the final decision is up to you; as with any healthcare issue, you always have the right to seek out other professional opinions!