Health professionals use the 18-20 week scan to examine the baby's size and position, and also to check if his/her brain, heart, lungs and other internal organs are developing as expected. Please ask your hospital about this before your appointment. He was sure the consultant on Monday would see that the measurements were completely normal and that there was nothing to worry about. No one else ever met the object of my grief. However, a few hours later there was another shift change. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks. Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. Though the 18-20 week scan can detect when certain parts of the baby's body have grown abnormally, it may not be possible for clinicians to identify why it has happened or make a firm diagnosis based on the scan alone. During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. And so we had to go out a couple of times, [wife] had to walk around, and she had a drink of water, which is supposed to sort of change things inside, or help the baby turn around or something because the sonographer couldn't get the measurements she wanted. With my oldest it turns out she has a minor thing that affects 1 in 1000 of the population and wont harm her at all it's just "there" and with my second the issue turned out to be nothing. And before they gave me any of the results she asked a colleague to come and told me she wanted to check something, with a colleague, and by then I was getting very concerned because I'd never had that happen before. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. But the consultant had found more spots on the heart and the measurements were the same. And they took me to another room and they explained that the baby had what they thought was ventriculomegaly or something. And the doctor - because it was a doctor rather then just the, a sonographer or whatever the correct term is - was scanning my wife, and she hovered over the heart of the baby and said, 'Oh there's the heart, we'll come back to that'. We had so much power, we could decide that this little thing should die. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly.
Ending a pregnancy for fetal abnormality - The 18-20 week antenatal The only thing you're thinking now is the birth, and what if something goes wrong in the birth? The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. I endured 12 hours of medication and in the early hours February 7, 56 days after my first scan (at nearly 18 weeks), I miscarried our babies. You might be offered another test to find out for certain if your baby has one of the conditions. We just couldn't use the words. Many described how sonographers and doctors were very restrained and didn't speak at all until they had analysed all the baby's details. She wanted to have a look at the skull, which was the main thing, but she couldn't see it from where the baby was. There are no known risks to your baby or the mother from having an ultrasound scan but it is important that you consider carefully whether or not to have the 20-week scan. I had an appointment with my consultant 2 days later, and again he said, you know, 'Very common - shouldn't worry about it too much, you know, if, the problem is if they find anything else wrong'. The thing about that which I felt was difficult is that we could tell when being scanned that there was something very seriously wrong. I was experiencing some light bleeding for the past few days. The consultant had said it wouldn't be like a normal delivery. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. I think it's the same - in fact I think it was probably the same room, same consultant - and [sighs] I suppose it felt upsetting because at the dating scan you're full of hope and this scan we knew wasn't going to be good, we knew it was maybe the last time we would see the baby moving around. So when that happened to us I really didn't worry, I thought, you know, it was literally the baby was in awkward position, they couldn't see the heart and that was why. Can you remember that minute. And it all seemed so near at hand, you know, 31, 30 weeks, you feel like you're nearly, you're on the home stretch. And thank God I did. As I left the room to compose myself. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. Baby loss stories I wanted to let nature take its course.
How common is it to find anomolies at the 20 week scan? - Netmums The nursery I had selected for our two-year-old son; my maternity leave; the bunk beds; the summer holiday suitable for a newborn baby. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. Registered office: Nicholas House, 3 Laurence Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BB. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. This was on the Friday. Went back a week later for the scan and, you were with me for this one, weren't you? We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. From losing my dad to his battle with cancer, to then having to face another battle with cancer and my mum; thankfully she pulled though. As you felt that, you know, it was probably going to show lots of problems and it just wasn't what we wanted, but at the same time we needed to sort of see it and, we needed to prove it I suppose. Fine, go on my own. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. I wrote a few things down last night when we were trying to go over things, just to remind myself. It was positive, and I felt elated. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the scan. I didn't have a clue. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. I'd had the scan in the scanning room, I can't remember what they call it now, it's silly, it's gone from my head. But they didn't. 26/09/2019 22:46. So I suppose from that aspect, mind you having not been told that or sitting there, I wouldn't have thought necessarily that was odd. But it was very evident. I just feel very unlucky. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . This time, they discovered the baby has a two vessel cord (only one vessel from placenta to baby instead of two) and I've been monitored to make sure the baby grows properly and kidneys aren't damaged. So it was, there was very, very little movement from the baby because I remembered first time round by that stage, you know, that the baby was quite big and it moved around a lot at a later scan. My baby might have Down's syndrome. 20 week scans look for 11 different anomalies as a rule, however, indicators (markers) are not terribly reliable and in all the literature I found, the targets set for stonographers look like they only pick up around 50% or less of these variants. Saturday came. Intellectually, I knew this was not the case. After she had taken all the measurements, the sonographer told us that she was concerned with the length of the baby's limbs in relation to the head. And it's like, I really wanted to see it and I didn't, and it was it was very mixed. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment.
What are the chances of bad news at the 20 week scan | Mumsnet The baby was very, very small. For example, the babys brain, kidneys, internal organs or bones may not have developed properly. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. It took 20 minutes to push him out. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. He told me that they may want to do blood tests, but that 'he didn't see the point'.
The consultant showed us the letter with our result on and, yes, there were the words "Down's syndrome". DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. I wanted to be a passive patient while the doctor did what he had to do. A few people recalled how frightened and alarmed they became when they sensed that the atmosphere in the scanning room changed in an instant from 'jokey' to serious when the baby's problems were detected. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. Some people want to find out if their baby has one of the 11 conditions and some do not. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine. Can you describe the difference between the scan at this later stage in a pregnancy? And in this instance the scan was very evident that there was something very seriously wrong. Finally, Monday came and we went back to the hospital. The first words I said were: "If there's anything wrong then it's my fault", I had been working 70, nearly 80 hours the previous weeks and pushed myself hard. And it turned out the baby's heart wasn't forming properly, the chambers weren't forming properly. So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been. (See 'Resources'). I didn't really know what that was. If you are offered further tests, you will be given more information about them so that you can decide whether or not you want to have them. Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. Sometimes women were told that the sonographer had found a 'marker' or sign of a chromosomal condition and had to wait for an amniocentesis to confirm the findings. I could hardly breathe. Has anyone been told the sex incorrectly at their 20 week scan? Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. I think there might be a problem'. Last reviewed July 2017. We didn't name him. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. Sometimes a post mortem was needed to confirm the 20-week diagnosis to see if the baby had inherited a genetic problem (such as Fowler syndrome - see 'Resources'). Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and over again. All my plans were beginning to fall down. She didn't say at the time that it was a major problem or that it was something to watch out for. Possibly with hindsight we could have been more worried about it, but was probably a good thing we weren't, because we weren't worried about anything basically. I think at that time she had come to terms better with the fact that this baby was going to be terminated, and I don't think I was quite there. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. As two youngest siblings, we were both permanently stuck in the irresponsible, childish role. Maybe. And I wish that I'd been told at that point, that somebody had actually turned round to me and said, 'Look, I'm sorry, but I think there's something very wrong. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." Though the 18-20 week scan can detect when certain parts of the baby's body have grown abnormally, it may not be possible for clinicians to identify why it has happened or make a firm diagnosis based on the scan alone. Our week-by-week PREGNANCY emails are a must for parents-to-be. But I was struggling mentally with the anguish, grief and endless hospital visits. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, NHS fetal anomaly screening programme (FASP), Screening tests for you and your baby (STFYAYB), nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, more information and details of support groups. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. Last updated July 2017. We felt as if we were in limbo. 12/12/2012 22:41. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. And at that, I let out a scream I think. I give obsessively to charity, especially those linked to sick children. So we went home, me to rest in an attempt to prevent miscarriage, my partner to reassure us both. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. The first midwife seemed to understand what we were trying to say, and said she would ask the doctor to come and talk to us. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. I managed to tell my mum, who said she would come with us to the hospital. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face. I couldn't really believe what they were saying. At this point it wasn't looking great. And everybody knows and everything is right. So I was a bit ignorant of the kind of things, you know, what the scans were really doing - maybe it was, a bit na've I think. We'll make an appointment with the senior sonographer, the consultant at the local hospital, and she'll do your scan and she'll be able to tell you more things'. We went, I went in to the scanning room and they're quite bland facially anyway, whether everything's fine or not they just look at the screen to start off with and do measurements but I very quickly realised that the woman's demeanour wasn't, even for a bland face, was concerning. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. It's, I mean you can't tell from these scans what you're looking at really, but I remember thinking, 'it just doesn't look quite right' or something, but I didn't give it much thought. And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. It seemed inconceivable that we would not be having a baby in May. And attribute some blame to them. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. The hardest thing I have ever done. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. And shortly after that, that scan we'd finished and the consultant leant back and said, 'I'm afraid we have some problems here'. And, sometimes, I wish I had invited my whole family into the hospital room to see him. And I'd been on the internet looking up all sorts of things and everything was so negative, it was very depressing, because I thought, 'Well, maybe they've made a mistake, or maybe it's something they can fix, I don't know'.
11 physical conditions (20-week scan) - GOV.UK He bluntly told me, he wasn't interested in whatever was seen before, he was only going to go by what he saw that day. I've realised that being a nice person is a luxury some can't afford. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. I think I was about 20 weeks cos they, the hospital I think did the 12 and the 20, that was their standard thing and, yeah, so I got the 20 weeks one. Maybe our son would have overcome his problems, survived his illnesses, led a happy life. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. Well send you a link to a feedback form. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. We, I was with my mum, and they scanned and found choroid plexus cysts on the brain, which is just a mark, it's a marker on the brain, it's a, what they call a 'soft marker'. 17/12/2020 17:13. It was sick. I then found that soft markers means 'vague unproven suggestion of a link', and that echogenic locii are small concentrations of calcium which are incredibly common and harmless. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. It was a bit worrying but on the plus side I got an extra couple of scans and an extra couple of pictures. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing.