If you’re expecting, you may have already had one or more prenatal tests such as amniocentesis or a triple screen.

But sometimes it can be hard to know which test to get and what the results mean. Here’s a brief guide.

Pregnancy tests can give health care providers and parents information about the baby’s well-being and the pregnancy’s progress. They can show whether you are carrying twins or if your baby has a birth defect.

There are two types of prenatal tests: screening tests and diagnostic tests.

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Every parent wants a healthy baby, which is why pregnant women eat healthy, take prenatal vitamins and get regular checkups. They also try to avoid anything potentially harmful to the baby.

For many moms-to-be, this includes opting out of some diagnostic tests.

According to a recent WiserPregnancy survey, less than 20% of women have either amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) – two tests that can tell parents if the baby has an increased risk of having a birth defect or inherited genetic problem.

That’s despite the statistic that 1 in 33 babies are born with a birth defect, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Interestingly, although the tests have about the same risk of miscarriage or complication, women have different reasons for declining the tests:

• 50% say no to CVS because they see no benefit in knowing the test results
• 30% are not comfortable with the risk for a miscarriage or complications associated with CVS
• 41% of women are not comfortable with the risk for a miscarriage or other complications associated with amniocentesis
• 35% say no to amniocentesis because they don’t see a benefit in knowing the results

About 6% of women surveyed had a CVS and 10% had or plan to have an amniocentesis.  The primary reason: Their doctors recommended it.

So when choosing between easing anxiety or putting their baby at risk, many couples live with their anxiety.

Did you get CVS or amniocentesis? Why did you decide to do it or decline it?