NT scan...

Hi everyone,

I'm sure this topic has been talked about, but I tried to do a search and didn't come up with anything specific (because it wouldn't use 'NT' in the search :rolleyes:).

We saw the GP about two weeks ago, who said to think abut whether we want to have the NT scan done, and come back in 4 weeks for a check-up and let her know so she can refer us. I quite liked that she told us to think about it, talked to us about some of the things to think about... I'm really impressed actually. She seems very pro-choice and pro-information, whereas I have heard most just give you the referral and tell you to get it done.

We have talked about it, and aren't sure. We know that we wouldn't terminate except for extreme circumstances. My bro has CP, I've worked with with people with disabilities, and I feel very strongly about not terminating on the basis of a disability. We both do, which is good. We have talked about it before, with the AC counsellor.

I'm just not sure what the point of having the scan would be. I guess it would be good to know, just is case, and to prepare.

Just wondering how others made the choice to get the NT scan done... or did you just get it done without thinking much about it?

Hi Alisia

I decided to have the NT scan done just because I wanted to see bub as my previous scan at 8 weeks was just a blob and with my endo I was still worried about how it was all going. So, I basically chose to have the scan to see the progress of bub rather than finding out my downs risk (for me that was just an extra bonus of the scan).

Leasha - like you I was in 2 minds about having my NT scan done (could probably search under "Nuchal"). I knew that if there was some "problem" that I wouldnt terminate. However, as you said, my thoughts were along the lines of - if there is something wrong I/we could prepare for it and prepare our families. For me, if there had been something wrong I would have quit work instead of taking maternity leave and financially it would have made things harder. So I guess being prepared is a good thing and having the scan does not mean having to terminate. Since having bub (NT scan was fine, baby is fine!) I have realised how much harder it would have been if she had a disability and we didnt know.
I say go with your gut!

I had the NT scan done for 2 main reasons. Firstly because I'm an old duck! and 2 so we could check on the general progress of our bubs. I really don't know what we would have done if the Downs risk had come back high. I've had a termination before (so I could start chemo) and it was the most traumatic experience I've ever been through so I don't know if I could do it again. If you are young (which you are) and feel strongly about not terminating on the basis of a disability then perhaps a NT isn't for you. If you just want to see bub then maybe ask for a general scan rather than the scan plus PAPPA.

Kris how awful! I hope your ok now?

Alisia, I felt the same way, my ob gave me the choice and I decided that I wouldn't be comfortable with having an amnio or termination and dh felt the same way so we decided against the NT scan. I ended up with a light bleed at 15 weeks and they did an U/S just to check things were ok, the ultrasonographer was fantastic and said even thought it's a bit late (nt scans done at 12/13 weeks) she did a quick check anyway and said she couldn't see any abnormalities.
I found it strange this pregnancy compared to my last 2 as I've been offered all these different tests and extra scans etc that I never had to think about last time, I guess it's good in some ways because they can pick things up quickly but in other ways I found my self stressing over what to do and all the risks.
I hope I haven't added to your confusion :hug:

You can also have a scan and not have the NT checked.
Thats whay I had planned to have, but then the radiographer went and blabbed it out anyway.
The only reason I had a 12 week scan at all was becuase I'd had earlier bleeding and a scan at 5 weeks so they wanted to check everything was OK.

The main reason i had it done was because DP and i wanted to know and put our minds at ease instead of wondering the whole 9 months, we would rather know earlier on than finding out when i gave birth.

like others have said u are young and if your not worried about it then maybe just get the scan to see how bub is going!

My DH and I decided not to go for the NT scan. We both decided we couldn't terminate if the result was high, would not want the risk of the amnio and also did not want the anxiety of a probability throughout the pregnancy.

That said I am now 39 weeks along the pregnancy and my main anxiety is whether the baby is genetically okay! So maybe I should have had the NT scan anyway as preparation. I guess we just didn't know at the time and this being our first baby - you have such a brief window of opportunity to decide.

I sometimes curse technology and that we have so many options nowadays! Despite this we're looking forward to the arrival of our bub and will love and adore him/her whoever he or she is.:dance:

Me personally i think it would b good to know in advance if there was a problem so i could prepare.Even though i had the scan with my first child they never picked up anything abnormal & they still don't know why she has a intellectual disability,so i guess they can't always pick up everything but if there was something at least u could prepare yourself emotionally & educationally if u know what i mean.

Because of my age (41) I really have no alternative but to get it done. If the risk came up high I would then have further testing and depending on the result then have to make a very difficult decision.

The NT test does not tell you if you will or will not have a child with downs syndrome. Women who have the test done and come up as low risk can and do still have down syndrome babies. The results will tell you that with a certain measurement say 1 pregnancy out of 30 with the same measurement will have a downs baby or say 1 pregnancy out of 1000 with that measurement will have a downs baby - not if you specifically will have one. So you could be low risk and be the 1 out of 1000 that has the down syndrome baby or equally if you come up high risk and have a "normal" baby (sorry if that terminology offends, I wasn't sure how to put it).

If I was under 35 I'm pretty sure I would not be having the NT done.

i only got it done because i wanted to see bubs and if i didnt i woudlnt of had a scan till 20weeks

We didnt' get it done simply because we wouldn't have aborted if something was awry anyway. Though it makes sense to be able to prepare for a condition if there is one....I'd not thought about that. If I was older and DH and I and our family had medical conditions that could be passed on then we might just so we could read up.

You can have an ultrasound and request that the NT not be measured. You still get to see the baby, but don't have the knowledge (good or bad) that the NT measurement will add.

Like others, DH & I decided to have the scan done, purely to see bubs and get a new little picture...I wasn't at risk for a downs syndrome baby at the ages 26 & 29, and we had both decided that even if the tests came back with a high chance we wouldn't have terminated. Some ob's generally don't offer it unless you are over the age of 35. But it is a pregnancy test provided and anyone can have it or request it. The test is just a simple blood test and a scan (NT measured)...if the results are high, the next step and only if you want it is amnio.

I'm so glad that you have a wonderful GP to help you through your journey...it helps enormously.

Hey Leasha
Big congrats to you again.
We opted to not have the NT done, the doc explained to me that it was only 75% accurate anyway and at our 10 week scan it was well below any alarming size so we decided we would leave it in the hands of the gods. You get an early scan if you have had help to conceive so you could always ask them to check for you then.

My thoughts were I was not prepared to abort, unless absolutely necessary...I couldnt stand the thought of being told I was high risk and then stressing about it for 6 months, to find out it was fine and finally I wanted to trust my body, if there was something wrong with the baby, I wanted to believe i would miscarry naturally.

Dont know if that helps xx

Hi Leasha

I was 37 when I became pregnant and I'm a worry wart by nature so decided to have the test done because I didn't want to spend the rest of the pregnancy worried. When you're my age you read so many worrying stats that you feel almost silly if you don't have the test. Luckily, the test came back all good and I now have a beautiful, healthy baby girl.