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I'm just curious to see what nuchal measurements other ladies had at the 19 week ultrasound.
I had a bad 12 week NT ultrasound (had CVS and came back all OK) and just had my 19 week one and i'm paranoid!!!
So would love to hear what other ladies got as their measurements at 19 weeks.
I can see the measurement on my DVD and they told me all ok but i'm still paranoid.
OR does anyone know what the average nuchal is at 19-20 weeks?
They don't do the nuchal fold measurement at 19wks, only on the 11-13wk scan. Outside of those dates the figure is innacurate. Not to mention that regardless of what the acutal measurement is, every women would have a different 'risk' ratio depending on her own unique circumstances, so you can't even begin to compare with someone else.
there was a really good show on channel 9 last sunday morning (13/4/08) - although it could have been the sunday before but I'm pretty sure it was only last weekend about nuchal tranlucency's questioning the accuracy of them. they have found that using different frequencies can change a woman's results from being low risk to high risk or visa versa. it was very controversial and well worth trying to get a copy of. NTs can be wrong and I work in a child care centre and I have heard SO MANY stories of them being wrong (both ways). They also covered in the show people who had had amnios that resulted in the amniotic fluid leaking, etc It was very sad for those poor women.
people seem to forget also that the NT scan is a screening test not a diagnostic test. it only tests for the risk level of problems, not the actual problem. amnio and cvs are diagnostic tests and can give a definitive answer, but carry risks. the level of technology we now enjoy has its own drawbacks, and i don't know if we always get the right support before having these tests from our health professionals.
we did have the NT scan done, because i have epilepsy and take medication. my specialist was very good at explaining our choices, but the doctor who referred us was not.
I saw the Sunday show interviews and must agree that the 12 week NT scan and the explanation given to prospective parents put in the "high risk" category is very lacking. We had a horrible time with our entire experience (which has made me somewhat apprehensive about any u/s) and the Dr we saw who gave us the news, spoke with us less than 4 minutes and didn't give us nearly as much information as we should have been supplied. I can't help but think that the u/s company look at CVS as a huge money making opportunity, it is $$, and do not look at it from the parents point of view. We had CVS done the very next morning but were not at all given the facts. If it wasn't for a caring co-worker who went through the same thing and rung to explain and reassure me I think I would have given myself a stroke in the wait for the results. All came back fine but that fear is still in the back of my mind.
At the 19 week u/s the u/s doctor clearly measures the NT and the measurement is changed numerous times on the screen which concerned me simply from our 12wk experience. I have the DVD to replay! The report sent to my OB all came back saying things were fine but the fact they measured so many times worried me from the beginning.
I only wish the Sunday show interview was released earlier so I could have benefited from that information, but i hope that future "parents to be" take note of the information and when told they are "high risk" do not jump to the conclusions that we instantly felt caused by such a short coming of real information about the risks of both our baby having a problem and also the risks from the additional testing.
I think that the show needs to be mandatory viewing for the high risk mums whose doctors want them to have further testing and that doctors/hospitals/antenatal clinics should make this available to them. I like your comment though about it being money-making - most likely the reason why this story only had such limited exposure on an early sunday morning. It shows both sides of the story and I think the risks are made out clearly on the show, it explains the procedure quite thoroughly and also you have the opportunity to listen to parents who have had it done.