What to think of NT & b/w results

[HotI]

FWIW there are lots of women on BB who have been told they are certain bubs has something wrong, only to birth perfectly healthy and wonderful children. The NT scan results are no where near accurate in so many cases.

The NT scan and blood tests are not diagnostic tests, they are screening tests. They do not claim to indicate with certainty that 'bubs has something wrong'. The result is a calculated value that predicts the likelihood of the baby having T21 or T18/T13 which can help determine which women should be offered further diagnostic testing. So, its not that these tests are inaccurate- they are accurate at what they do. If you want a definitive answer then you have CVS or amnio.

[MumtoA]

Hey hun

I had an NT scan result as 1: 128 (or something similar) but my bloods bumped it to 1:500 (or something similar). My Ob recommended that we have another ultrasound at 16 weeks. At this ultrasound they did a 15 point check - looked specifically at 15 keys areas of the baby that may have indicated an abnormality (in particular the nose and heart if i remember correctly). They basically told me at the 12 week scan to think about if i would go through with the amnio and that if something came up on the 16 week scan and i decided to go through with further testing they would do it on the spot. It was comforting to know that i only had to wait another 4 weeks rather than 8 to the 20 week scan and that they would be able to give me a better idea of risks through scanning rather than something more invasive.

My scan came back clear on all 15 areas and while i guess you wont know 100% until bubs arrives i felt less worried about it for the rest of my pregnancy.

I hope everything works out well for you and you enjoy your next few months with bubba

J
xo

[tweetypie]

Thanks everyone for your prompt response. I think we will leave everything as it is and wait till the 20 weeks u/s. DH seems quite calm about the numbers and seem to think everything will be ok. And if we do find out otherwise at the 20 week scan we wouldn't do anything differently anyway. I guess the only difference is if we know, we can better prepare ourselves.

I felt a little lost after the scan because other than the numbers talking and that it is entirely up to me if I want an amnio, no other option given eg. 16 u/s or genetic counsellor etc...

So that I can be better prepared for the next scan, what do they do at the 20week scan? What information should I get.What do I need to ask?

Any recommendations of sonographers that you felt gave you information to help understand your scan? - please pm me

Thanks again

[LimeSlice]

TBH if there is something wrong, they won't really be able to tell. The measurements they take and the particular aspects they look at, the thickness of the neck etc, isn't the same at the 20 weeks, that is why they do the measurements at 13 weeks.

The 20week scan is a morphology scan - so looks at things like making sure the abdominal wall has closed, the organs are insinde the body, the legs and arms are the "right" length and the organs are where they should be and functioning...they also check the spine is gorwn properly (looking for signs of spina bifida)... so basically it is to check that everything is where it should be, attached how it should be and functioning as it should be.
They will look at your placenta and make sure it has 3 vessels and is functioning correctly, and also at your ovaries.

The sonographers are usually very well trained and can explain to you what they are looking for, and why they are looking at everything. They cannot however give you a diagnosis of anything, it is not their job to interpret the scans, just to take them, but they are very helpful in helping you understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, what exactly they want to see.

HTH