With my second  child (daughter) I waited for the amnio. And she had CAH and I had to continue the dex the whole pregnancy. If she did not have CAH - I would have stopped the dex. There would be no reason to continue the dex if it was a girl without CAH or a boy (with or without CAH). With my third and fourth child - I had CVS because I wanted to know sooner and get off the dex sooner. Our third child had CAH and the fourth child did not have CAH. Both boys.  I stopped the dex at 12 weeks. 

Yes - I would recommend the CVS. You know everything so much sooner. You can ask for them to tell you sex after 48 hours (I forgot the name for the test - but tell them that you need to know the sex as fast as possible so that you can stop the dex treatment). Insist that they tell you the sex - as soon as possible (it does require them to run the test fast - and they charge you more for it). Also insist that the Dr. Maria New lab in New York City do the DNA testing for CAH. The cultures are sent to her to analyze for CAH. She is the best in the United States for this. It can be done locally but sent to her. The dex is a very low dose... and safe.  My children were all fine on the dex. And Jessica did not need any surgery.

It can be scary.... but it necessary. Try not to get too worked up about it. One of my friends said to just schedule and get it over with and then you can relax the rest of the pregnancy. She was right.  Knowing that it was a normal child (no chromosomal problems - like Downs or whatever) was worth it. I am an older mom - so that was more of a concern that CAH. The amnio or cvs feels like a blood test - just close you eyes and it is over with very quickly. I wouldn't recommend an early amnio (before 17 weeks) because there isn't enough amnio fluid and it can rupture the sack and cause a misscarriage.  The CVS doesn't even go into the uterus and therefor safer in that sense. Do get a very experience doctor (genetic doctor). Ask how many that the doctor has personnaly done. How often does the doctor do the CVS. Do they have their own lab?