I didn't get the NT scan done, but like other ladies I had a dating scan done at 12 weeks. This meant I got to see DD, and the sonographer had a quick check of her nuchal thickness and nasal bone anyway and said that it all looked good.
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I didn't get the NT scan done, but like other ladies I had a dating scan done at 12 weeks. This meant I got to see DD, and the sonographer had a quick check of her nuchal thickness and nasal bone anyway and said that it all looked good.
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I have not had the NT scan with either of my pregnancies, I will however get it done if I have a third. When I had my 19 week scan the woman said there were 3 soft markers for down syndrome, which probably meant nothing but because I hadn't had the NT test they couldn't rule out their significance. Needless to say I was a little stressed. I didn't want to terminate a DS baby, but noone wants there to be anything wrong with their baby.
I didn't want an amnio based on one u/s showing soft markers so after much stressing I had a second opinion scan done at another centre. Two specialists scanned me, I was there for over an hour while they analysed everything from every possible angle, and they could only find 1 of the 3 markers that were supposedly there 5 days earlier, hence I was still low risk and had been stressing for no reason. Well, I am still to have this baby so I guess we are still to find out for sure, but no amnio was recommended and I haven't worried about it since.
Even if you do not wish to terminate, the NT scan is much more accurate at detecting and ruling out problems than any later scans. Also therapy for DS babies starts about a week after birth so knowing in advance can be a big help to your stress levels after the birth. It can also allow you to 'warn' people before the baby is born so you are not bombarded with pitying looks after the birth.
It is definitely up to you, but I would say that the NT scan is more likely to rule out problems than anything else and you can relax for the rest of the pregnancy.
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If the sonographer's are looking at nuchal thickness, then they are doing a screen. This is ok if you are happy for it to occur and it all looks good, BUT if you have stated that you don't want the screen (and don't want the info that measuring the NT can bring) and this is done then you may be presented with info that you didn't want to have.
All ultrasounds are done to look for things that are 'out of the norm', and people should be aware that this is their real purpose, not to give parents an opportunity to look at their baby.
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Kate, I realise that this is the purpose of the scans. Having a look at DD was an added bonus for us. We were there for a dating scan. It wasn't an NT scan and was not backed up with the usual blood tests.
There are additional ultrasounds you can get though if you just want to have a look at your baby. I won't begrudge any woman who wants to have a look at their bubba! It is a great stress relief and a wonderful way to bond.
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However, if she examined the NT, the NT scan has been done, even though that wasn't the purpose of you having the scan. The blood test in conjunction with the NT scan is known as the first trimester screen, (which you didn't have) but by default you ended up having the NT scan.Kate, I realise that this is the purpose of the scans. Having a look at DD was an added bonus for us
There are additional ultrasounds you can get though if you just want to have a look at your baby. I won't begrudge any woman who wants to have a look at their bubba! It is a great stress relief and a wonderful way to bond.
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We had our NT scan on Friday and yes, we did want to know if bubs was at risk but more than anything, we just booked it for a sticky at bubs!!!!
Besides the obvious (ie testing for downs syndrome) these scans can also pick up so many other issues so you can make any necessary decisions for the future if need be. They can also provide reassurance that all is ok in there. That was a huge relief for me and DH.
The scan was wonderful and so clear and we got to hear the heartbeat. We were very lucky though as bubs was behaving (performing!) for the camera. It was truly magical and we could have sat their all day (hey, all weekend!) and just watched bubs. If you're not concerned about possible problems then at the least its a great excuse to say hello to your little one
Last edited by Taurean; March 16th, 2009 at 11:34 AM.
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I have had the NT scan done all three times. I do not know whether or not I would go ahead with further testing - I think it would depend on what the risk actually was. Even if I did proceed with further testing, I really don't think that I could ever go through with a termination. So the reason I decided to proceed with the NT scan was actually for two reasons.
Firstly, to give me comfort that bubs was alright, and that the risks were low (I am in a low risk category). Yes I am aware that this reason could backfire.
Secondly, so the if there was a high risk, I would have time to process this information, consider all my options and hopefully be able to look back and feel that I had made the right choice - whatever that is - based on the information that I had at the time. It would also allow me time to prepare myself for the knowledge that maybe my baby might be different to how I had always envisioned them to be.
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We had a dating scan. I didn't want the NT measurement as such, and didn't have the bloodtest - I believe I am low risk for DS and have heard lots of stories about getting inaccurate results anyway.
But I had a sense that I wanted to know if bubs was ok otherwise (i.e. healthy heart beat, all arms and legs etc!), so we had a 'dating' scan and I was reassured to see that in all other respects baby looked healthy.
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My main motivation for the first scan was always to just see the baby. Yay for seeing the baby - there's one in there!!
I now realise just how dangerous these scans can be. I was given a risk of 1:2 of 1:6 of Trisomy 18, which I was not expecting at all. I was expecting to have a look at my little baby and that be the end of it.
I had to wait four weeks for an amniocentesis - we would have terminated as we cannot or did not want to look after a DS baby see what Nae Nae said - she hit the nail on the head. After six weeks of stress and mental pain ( with two weeks waiting for amnio results) we were told nothing was wrong at all.
They are dangerous in that they are not just you being able to view the baby, they may reveal something you may have to make a very difficult decision on or something that may change your life or scar you, even if everything ends up being OK in the end.
I would say that if you are not going to terminate - don't have it. It will cause you nothing but grief if they see the Nuchal Fold like how they want. I am very cynical of this test and believe it has literally scarred me and instilled a fear in to me - sounds a bit stupid, I know. I didn't understand the true implications of it, until it was too late. I believe the implications should be highlighted by doctors more than they are.
Just remember, that's my opinion and I'm still not very happy with how things went, or how I was treated by the medical establishment.
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Not sure if ive just read the above wrong or not, but trisomy 18 is edwards syndrome, not DS.
it is a chromosomal abnormality but nothing like DS.
Quote from wikipedia:
The survival rate of Edwards Syndrome is very low. About 95% die in utero. Of liveborn infants, only 50% live to 2 months, and only 5-10% will survive their first year of life.
-end quote-
this is the kind of situation where i would have to consider termination as (if my math serves me correctly) out of say 1000 trisomy 18 births, only would 5 of these bubbas make it to 1 yr old, and are usually very deformed, unlike children with DS.
just clearing that up
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Yes Tattoo, I left out some words:
1:2 of DS and 1:6 or Trisomy 18 (Edwards). Was diagnosed high risk for both, which my useless Dr simply said is "not viable for life".
My Dr had about as much heart as Snow's!!
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Just to put my 2cents worth in.
I had the NT at 12 weeks as scheduled, wasn't really offered if i wanted it or not, just given referral by my OB and off I went. I was 29 at the time and DH was 30. I got a high risk reading for DS with a 1 in 119 chance of DS (blood results were great, NT measurement was not). We had the CVS testing (under a huge lack of information - but that's another story) and all our results came back perfect. We did have to go for an additional ultrasound at 26 weeks to double check babies heart was all OK as I was told by my OB that a higher NT measurement (DD had a 3.8mm measurement, anything over 3.0mm is high) could mean a problem with the heart. So the extra ultrasound was to check things were all OK and if not then just meant we'd have to have specialists on stand by for my delivery. Luckily DD was all fine and born perfectly healthy but I'd probably have the NT test again just for peace of mind that baby was all OK.
It is really up to you what you decide to do. If bubba is healthy then you will have a relaxed pregnancy, but I myself would also like to know if something was wrong so that I could be prepared and have the medical staff needed as soon as that baby came into the world.
I was not at all happy with the experience simply because the "so called" Dr who gave us this news literally gave it to us in less than 4 minutes and didn't provide much detail about the positives of "there are still 118 chances that baby is fine" etc etc.. The Dr's bedside manner was shocking!!! If it wasn't for a work colleague who talked me through it after her own experience I would have had a stroke by the time I got my results.
I do agree somewhat with the idea of "if you won't terminate then not worth the stress" but at the same time it's important to remember that they aren't just testing for DS, they are testing for a host of other things which may not be life or death for your baby but will allow either yourself or your OB/Dr to be prepared for something different or provide additional care which may be needed. Remember that even if you have the NT scan, if you get a high result then you don't need to do anything (e.g. further testing) if you choose not to, but you could then at least be prepared should it become reality..
Good luck with your decision, no decisions during pregnancy are ever easy!
Last edited by snowchickie79; March 16th, 2009 at 10:41 PM.
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I got an NT scan more for curiosity, as my brother has DS and although his type of DS (mosaic) isnt hereditary, i still wanted to know. my mum works for the down syndrome association and i have been involved with fundraising, helping out and been around kids with ds all my life so i knew that if we did have a baby with ds we would have the best support available. i ended up being low risk, but remember this doesnt mean theres still not a chance. not trying to worry you but it just means your at LESS risk.
i would only terminate if it had looked like bubs would not fully develop/survive gestation, i suppose i am alot more informed and 'relaxed' (prob not the best word) about potentially facing DS, they didnt have scans like that when my mum had my brother so it was a total shock but she wouldnt change it for the world, neither would i or any of my family, he might not be 'normal' but has touched so many lives and lives life to the fullest.
alot of ppl say (not in here, just in general) that you should terminate cause they dont get to lead a 'normal' life, but its not about that, its about each person living THIER best life, reaching THIER potential. im not trying to stir the pot im just offering an opinion from someone 'in the know'
not meaning to blab on but basically i think you need to talk long and hard with your partner and discuss the what ifs before you go for the scan...cause if you DO get a 'high risk' result, you wont be able to think straight and may make a decision you will regret. GL
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I have only had it with my second pg and that was only because my Dr said he had to fill his quota of referrals for it ROFL. Apparently he must not have been sending enough women to have it done. I didn't really think about it at the time of the appointment but later that week I had some very heavy bleeding so it timing of the scan was great as it was only 4 days after I had had the bleed. At the scan the biggest concern was the cause of the bleed, and not the NT, that was done after he'd made sure the baby and the placenta were fine. My risk was very low going into the scan and the results reflected that, so I choose not to have it with my 3rd and 4th pregnancies.
If you have the strength of your convictions that you would not terminate a DS baby then perhaps it isn't necessary for you, especially if you are in a low risk category. There is some evidenced to suggest that it is a flawed test anyway. So that alone is enough to turn me off having it. I personally would rather deal with finding out at birth when you can help yourself deal with it by actioning early intervention etc and just get on with life than spend the pregnancy 'mourning' for the baby you wont get kwim?
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For us, it wasn't just my decision but my husband's too. We had the NT scan at 13 weeks.
He wanted to know that the baby was low risk for DS etc. He would have wanted to terminate the pregnancy. He was really frightened about the possibility of us having a disabled child, much more so than I am, and I guess I realised it was important to respect his worries about it.
I also wanted to know (would want to prepare myself for the arrival of a DS baby), but I am pretty sure that I would not have wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Not a nice situation to contemplate, disagreeing with my husband about something like that. I think my decision would prevail, but not sure what that would do to our marriage.
Anyway, in the end, knowing that the risk of DS is low anyway (and having a good understanding of statistics myself - I'm not easily scared by risk factors for stuff), I decided that the chance for both of us, especially my husband, to bond with our baby by seeing her more clearly looking like a little human was of such value that it was worth the small risk of finding out a stressful result and then having to wait for an amnio. This while pregnancy thing is so concrete to me and so abstract to him - he doesn't feel the kicks and movements, he doesn't experience the host of physical effects it has on me. So to him the baby is less important, less real, than she is to me. I think anything that gives my husband a greater opportunity to bond with the baby before she arrives is a good thing.
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I had the NT test and would again. My reasons are not just because of my higher risk factor simply because of my age but that I'm a worry wart and I would want to know. If I didn't know, I would spend the whole of the pregnancy worrying anyway. I would also have an amnio to find out conclusively. I have no idea if I would terminate. Really, having thought about it a lot, still NO IDEA.
But, if the test was positve, I would want to use the time in the pregnancy to come to terms with it. For me, it would be too confronting to deal with those feelings the moment the baby arrives. I think when you're pregnant, you can't help to start visualising what sort of baby you're carrying, what their personality will be etc. A lot of parents with kids with disabilities talk about the grieving process - grieving because they had imagined having one sort of child and now they're dealing with someone completely different. I haven't expressed that well. I'm someone who would rather deal with those feelings during the pregnancy rather than straight afterwards. I think having a newborn is so full on anyway, I can't imagine having to deal with all the feelings of having an unexpectedly disabled child on top of that.
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My docs did it automatically with each of my pg, so I'm not exactly the best gague. IMO it was a good chance to see the little one and take the stress out of worrying if everything was ok.
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I was never offered it, but if I was I would have done it. I am a planner, If I was given a high risk, I would have counselling and get to know the support networks available. Having had a baby who was very sick early on, I know the pain of not knowing what was going on, and having her hooked up to all the tubes and monitors. I never expected it and it was a big contributor to PND. I would much rather be able to be prepared with the support that I need than thrown into something that I could have prepared for but didn't.
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