The Canberra Hospital - Fetal Medicine Unit

Amniocentesis a patients guide

What is amniocentesis?

Who should have the test?

Amniocentesis is a procedure where a small

quantity of the fluid surrounding the fetus in the
uterus is withdrawn through a needle passed
through the abdominal wall of the mother.

For a healthy couple with no previous history of

this abnormality, the risk of giving birth to an infant
with a chromosomal abnormality is related to the
age of the mother. The risks are approximately as
follows:

When is it performed?
It is usually performed from around the 15th week
of pregnancy. Sometimes the amount of fluid
(liquor) present at this time is not enough, and the
procedure may need to be deferred for a week
or two.

Womans age:

Risk:

20

1 in 1500

30

1 in 800

35

1 in 170

37

1 in 80

What are the indications?

40

1 in 40

The most common indication for the procedure

is to detect the presence of chromosomal
abnormalities in the fetus. Every cell in the body
contains genetic information (chromosomes).
Cells shed from the skin of the foetus are found in
the liquor surrounding it. By culturing these cells,
the arrangement of the chromosomes making
up the genetic information inside the cell can
be identified. The most common chromosomal
abnormality is Down Syndrome, but there are
other abnormalities.

45

1 in 20

These values change significantly if a mother had

a previous baby with Down syndrome.
There are other indications for amniocentesis but
these usually involve rare problems. The test will
not diagnose many common abnormalities like
a cleft lip or a heart abnormality. It is for that
reason we still recommend a morphology scan
if the results are normal. If your pregnancy is
otherwise uncomplicated this scan will be
done by a private service.
The figures above should be viewed in relation
to the overall risk.

Is my partner welcome?

What should you do after the test?

Partners and support persons are very welcome.

It is very useful for them to be present at the
discussion prior to the procedure. They will also
have an opportunity to see the ultrasound scan
performed prior to the procedure. If possible
please do not bring children as they may become
bored and disruptive.

A quiet day is all we suggest. If there is vaginal

blood or fluid loss, you should report it to your
referring doctor right away and rest in bed until
the problem settles. Fluid loss is not too unusual
and is not necessarily a sign of miscarriage.

How is it done?
An ultrasound scan is performed to check
on the babys age and to choose a site for
amniocentesis. Sometimes, if the pregnancy
is not as far advanced as expected (and this
bears no significance as to whether the fetus
is normal or not), you will be asked to return at
another time. Under ultrasound guidance the
amniocentesis needle is inserted through the skin
into the pregnancy sac. A small amount of liquor
is removed. This is not painful but some discomfort
following the procedure is not unusual. We usually
do not use local anaesthetic to numb the skin
because there is some evidence that it might
interfere with the growth of the culture.

What are the risks?

Approximately 0.5-1% of women who have
an amniocentesis will miscarry because of the
procedure but because spontaneous miscarriage
is not uncommon at this stage of pregnancy, an
absolute figure is difficult to assess. If miscarriage
does occur, it normally will happen within a week
or two.
Current knowledge is that ultrasound scanning is
harmless to both mother and baby.

When are the results known?

The chromosome studies take two to three weeks,
or sometimes a little longer. Very occasionally
the amniotic fluid cells fail to grow and a
chromosome result is not possible. If this happens,
we would usually notify you about two weeks
after the initial test, when it becomes obvious that
growth is not occurring and we would normally
offer to repeat the test. Cell culture failure has no
relationship to chromosomal abnormalities. The
result will also include the babys gender. If you do
not want to know this information, it is important to
tell the clinic staff. We will contact you as soon as
the results are available.

Consent Form for this Procedure

You will be asked to sign a consent form for
this procedure stating that you have read this
information and understand it. If you do not
understand anything, please discuss this further
with the medical staff at the time of your
appointment. Please refrain from asking
administrative staff for medical information
it can often lead to more confusion

December 2007