The Risks of Being At-Risk

So I am almost 36... will be in about a month so that makes me at-risk...ha!ha!ha! I'd say living in Asia puts me more at risk, but who's comparing notes? Anyway, my doctor, a very likable man, non-chalantly told me during my first visit that he would schedule me next time for screening. I declined, but he didn't note it so on my second visit he told me while doing my sonogram that he would schedule me to see his colleague for screening and that at that time I could find out the sex of the baby if I wanted. I brushed it off and told him I wasn't interested in having the testing done. He was fine with that and there was no further discussion.

Back home a week later... I am reading a book and come across data regarding amniocentesis. I was already aware of the findings, but reading it again after my own experience with my doctor I began to think about it deeply. I wonder if he was going to tell me the risks, or if he was just going to send me off to someone else and expect them to tell me the risks - minutes before they were going to perform the procedure. Do women really know that there is a .5- 1% chance of miscarriage after amniocentesis is performed? Do they know that there are other risks, like low birth weight and respiratory distress syndrome associated with the test? Well, I for one have heard the way doctors downplay the risks of tests... "oh, yes, there is a slight risk, but nothing to worry about..." Well that is a pretty big risk if you ask me, especially since the risk of having a child with down syndrome is less that 1%... I'm not grieving the doctors. I have heard all kinds of whacked out stories about parents suing doctors for not diagnosing their child with this or that before hand so they could have terminated the pregnancy. I guess that is where the risks of the test becomes the biggest issue for me and many other moms out there. I mean, really, if you aren't planning on terminating the pregnancy no matter the outcome, then why on earth would you take the risk? But there is no true counsel. At this point I am really glad that I have the knowledge to make informed decisions because being at risk seems to pose a lot of risks.