Up until yesterday afternoon, it wasn't the procedure I'd been worried about, but the potential results of the amnio. But as it got closer and closer to the time of my appointment, I became more and more tense. I'm not sure why, though knowledge of the 1:200 chance of having a miscarriage resulting from having a long needle poked into my womb, may have influenced things. The boy was wonderfully supportive. He took the day off work and took me out to lunch beforehand (to my huge relief, there was no need for me to have a full bladder before the procedure). Not that it was particularly enjoyable for him, since apparently I was wearing a very anxious expression on my face the whole time.
The operation took fifteen minutes, from preparation to my getting off the table. First there was a scan (this time the baby actually looked like a baby) to show the doctor where to put his needle; then my abdomen was swabbed with something really cold (probably a local anaesthetic); then I saw a long, pointy needle and stopped watching.
What I felt though, was a sharp prick going through two layers (the skin and the muscle?), followed by a something warm being sucked up through a thin tube. It was all quite uncomfortable, and it was an effort for me to breathe; I was scared that if I let my diaphragm move in and out, I'd accidentally poke my foetus in the eye or something.
I was a bit stunned afterwards; vulnerable, fragile and traumatised even. I can't explain why, except that I'd just had a long needle poked into my womb and some of its insides sucked out. Anyway, that's all over now, until we get the results back.
9 comments:
As one who is very scared of needles, I squirmed while reading that and can only imagine your discomfort. Feeling better yet?
Ugh! Thank God you didn't have to have a full bladder too!
Having had a fine needle biopsy a couple of years ago, when a lump was found on my jaw, I do sympathise,
Not a patch on what you went through though!
Procedure: Swab lump, poke looooong skinny needle into lump, shove needle in and out of lump to "scrape" cells, threaten to do again if not enuf cells captured.
Luckily I couldn't see it happening but my boy was watching - he turned an interesting shade of green...
And luckily, they didn't have to do it again!
Yes thanks, Ilcoffee. I don't normally have a problem with needles, but - like I said - it was a big one and it went thru my stomach...
Desiree: having a needle in your jaw can't have been a heck of a lot of fun though
Hey Kristin - as you're only 29 you're at very low risk of having a Down's child. So you're probably going to be fine. I, on the other hand, am no spring chicken so it wasn't so hard to decide to go ahead with it. The hardest part is waiting 2-3 weeks for the results...
as if bearing the child isn't enough... here's a needle.
brilliant
I feel for you. This must be a difficult time but with any luck the outcome will be all clear and then you can relax a bit for the rest of your pregancy
Hope you're well over the trauma of being jabbed! And hoping the results are good! (Which of course they will be :))
As luck would have it, the 2-3 day test result was not to be (because there was blood in the amnio fluid). 2-3 weeks is a helluva long time to wait.
im glad you didnt pee yourself... or poke the baby
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