A local anaesthetic is generally given prior to the needle being inserted into the abdomen. However, the insertion of the needle may cause some temporary, local discomfort, but should not be any more painful than any other type of injection. Obviously, the amount of discomfort felt will vary from woman to woman and may depend upon the individual's own pain threshold or, indeed, their state of mind. If you think that something is going to hurt, then you will naturally tense up and you will inevitably feel more pain and vice versa. It is normal to feel slight menstrual-like cramps for a few hours following the procedure, but naturally the more tense and anxious you are, the worse the pain is likely to be.
Some women suffer no pain at all.
A very small number of women may miscarry following an amniocentesis and statistics show that this risk is 1 in 150 to 200. However, two to three percent of women who do not have amniocentesis will naturally miscarry after sixteen weeks anyway. It is difficult, therefore, to determine whether a miscarriage following amniocentesis has been caused by the procedure or whether it would have occurred anyway, even if the procedure had not been performed. It has hence been concluded that most miscarriages following amniocentesis are not due to the procedure itself. This is to help replace the amniotic fluid that has been withdrawn.