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For decades, patients have been counseled that the procedure-related fetal loss rate after second-trimester amniocentesis is about 1 in 200 (i.e., 0.5% above the rate without amnio). To determine whether this figure is accurate, researchers in Istanbul conducted a large, prospective case-control study. A total of 2068 women with singleton gestations who underwent amniocentesis at 15 to 22 weeks’ gestation (cases) were matched for maternal age, parity, and prior spontaneous abortions with 2068 women who did not have prenatal testing (controls). Women carrying fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities or major malformations were excluded.
The rate of fetal loss within 30 days of amniocentesis or study inclusion did not differ significantly betwee…