chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet

But he was not sure. During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. There, I would give birth. I felt crushed, I wanted him to at least acknowledge what had been found already. The doctor told me he was 98% sure this was a failing twin pregnancy. I feel empty and incomplete. I had to be rescanned latter. 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 thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? It felt so wrong. You know there's always that bit on the bottom of the thing, 'These are diagnostics, do not bring other children,' - blah, blah, blah.. it's not, you know, it's not a family outing kind of thing, but it feels like it. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. On the third day, we got a phone call. Living in this world must be unbearable for them. I know it is still early days. Eventually she got the measurements she wanted. No one else felt him kick. Slightly marked from our peers. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. And they, sort of two of them were looking at the scan machine and then they sort of switched everything off and said, 'Oh, I think we have, might have a problem'. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. As I left the room to compose myself. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. At first the closeness came through a sense of guilt. Try to relax and take it easy. I wanted to be a passive patient while the doctor did what he had to do. Never being able to look after himself. Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. Had 34wk scan last week and all is well - of all the babies found to have a two vessel cord, was told less than 6% experience any growth issues etc. Purpose of screening. I wanted to let nature take its course. 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. All pregnant women should be given the booklet by their midwife or GP Screening tests for you and your baby by Public Health England, which gives detailed information about the types of scan offered and what they are looking for. It feels very lonely and isolating. We saw the consultant, who was reassuring, saying that he would rescan me and was sure everything would be fine. This was on the Friday. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. 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. Others, including those who had been given leaflets to read about the scan beforehand as well as some who were health professionals, said that they had been nave about the 20-week scan. You might be offered another test to find out for certain if your baby has one of the conditions. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. And at that point I don't think we, I don't think we realised that there might have to be a decision, because we'd talked about it with, with Down's and the other possible problems, but at this point it was, well okay what can be done to fix the problem - because yes the heart's not developing properly but there must be something we can do. 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. . An hour passed and I started to panic. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. So obviously quite relaxed. We walked all the way home. The next day, it was confirmed that my bloods had again dropped. You're in and out and that was it. 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. Most scans show that babies seem to be developing as expected, and none of the 11 conditions are found. The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. Many described how sonographers and doctors were very restrained and didn't speak at all until they had analysed all the baby's details. But you know I knew we had, we had to make a decision that was right for the baby as well. Just wonder whether anyone had ever been told? My belly was growing and I was feeling great. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. 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. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. Away you go'. My heart goes out to you OP. I think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. He suggested he perform an amniocentesis immediately, to rule out any chromosomal problems. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' Limitations of the 18-20 week scan As soon as we arrived, we were shown to this little room. It was over. I came back probably about 17 weeks pregnant and had the anomaly scan at 20 weeks and like most people expected everything to be fine and to come away with a lovely picture but unfortunately that isn't what happened. We'd sort of put those discussions to the back of our mind, and then all of a sudden there are other abnormalities so yeah it was a bit a bit of a shocker [laughs]. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. . You may need to have a full bladder when you come for the appointment. But at the 20 week scan, which was on a Wednesday, we saw the nurse at the local hospital, the sonographer, and she did a scan and she found that the femur length was quite short in the, in the fetus. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. And I remember, the first thing I remember when something might be wrong, was I saw, I finally, we finally saw an image of the skull on the screen, and there appeared to be a sort of black hole shape in the middle. Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. (See 'Resources'). Only this time, no cry came. The pain was bearable but uncomfortable, the hospital rang me a few days later and asked me how I was. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. 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. 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 '. Some of the other conditions, such as heart defects, are more difficult to see. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. And I went for, I went for a normal 12-week scan, at my local hospital and everything, they said everything was fine, there was no problem. So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. No, we really didn't, with hindsight we probably should have, but not at all, it never occurred to us to be worried about it. It was, 'Oh we'll come back to that'. 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. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. Specialist scans I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. Fine, go on my own. Again, we weren't understood. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. Cardiac surgery can do some amazing things. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here), tbh, they never give you good news at scans. Specialist scans had a powerful effect on some parents because they could see the baby more clearly and in some cases people recognised which parts of the baby's body were not working properly. I had to stop myself from yanking out the needle. Having the scan does not hurt but the sonographer may need to apply slight pressure to get the best views of your baby. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? We were convinced everything would be OK. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. The doctor gave her consent, and I took the four little tablets. When I think about how long it took them to deliberate ultimately, maybe not, but it just felt like a bit of a fast food situation, didn't it? Next most likely is that baby doesn't co-operate and they can't see some parts of anatomy and call you back 2 weeks later just because they couldn't see (i had this but because twin pregnancy I was due to be scanned 2 weeks later anyway). This short video explains screening for 11 physical conditions in pregnancy. But other than that everything was fine. I returned to be told they wanted to scan me again, another internal to see exactly what was happening. Find more information and details of support groups on NHS.UK. And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. And thank God I did. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . And again, you know, you read all the books and it tells you 'this is the diagnostics', but after a while you don't hear that inside your head any more No, no, no, I'm fine - because everything's perfect. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. I could hardly breathe. Last reviewed July 2017. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. In the case of a suspected abnormality, women should be seen for a second opinion by an expert in fetal ultrasound, such as a fetal medicine specialist. Another sick joke. Others, including those who had been given leaflets to read about the scan beforehand as well as some who were health professionals, said that they had been nave about the 20-week scan. Could you tell? I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. I've still had no cramps or bleeding so fingers crossed everything is ok I just couldn't believe I fell down the stairs, I can't remember the last time I ever did that! The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. 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. But the consultant had found more spots on the heart and the measurements were the same. I pray it's just her heart but I can't see anything else is wrong as I have been scanned by a consultant since I was 14 weeks and every time he has said everything looks okay and she is growing consistently. If this happens, you will be offered one further scan by 23 weeks of pregnancy. I remained positive, we researched lots of cases of mistaken dates, inconclusive scans, and compared them to our situation; scrutinising everything to try and believe it was all one big misunderstanding. 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. The chances that anything bad will be discovered are v v small. The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. He looked fine. It sounds crazy, but I just knew. In order for the sonographer to get good images of your baby, the scan is carried out in a dimly lit room. And I, and, I felt the weight of deciding what to do about it. And this baby sort of floated, and occasionally there was a slight movement, but it was very you could almost see that he was really poorly just from looking at the screen. Just that really! He had to come to the decision by himself. So I trusted him. I was becoming numb to the whole process. Rather sharply, my partner tried to explain. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. But the closeness has remained after the drama has died down. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. It wasn't measuring at all the right measurements for the age - there was a heart defect, the limbs were sort of distorted, the arms were, you know - you could see that the arms were very sort of contracted, the hands were contracted. We left for home feeling completely numb. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. blood tests, CVS) were clear - and as one woman put it, 'after the triple test* (Down's syndrome screening) you stop thinking anything can go wrong'. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. Not a good sign in a hospital consulting room. I couldn't bring myself to push. It's a bit at the back of the brain and - no I can't remember what it is - it's called, it's something that's called Dandy-Walker mal, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have produced a report on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales (May 2010). And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. 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. She endured many agonising rounds of scans and tests, and unfortunately met with some unhelpful attitudes from some healthcare professionals. I was becoming numb to the whole process. 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. I had my little leaflet, printed off leaflet about choroid plexus cysts. Please note that the opinions expressed by users in Tommys Book of #misCOURAGE are solely those of the user, who is unlikely to have had medical training. And she said that, you know, as the, if the baby did develop further there would probably be other problems with internal organs that weren't really that visible at that stage. And they took me into another room. Mm-hm. We had to discuss what we wanted to do with the little body after delivery. When I told him what had happened, he refused to believe anything was wrong and said he'd sort it out when he came home. As I waited for the doctor back on the EPU unit. It's been a heartbreaking nightmare. At which point they turned round and said, 'Well, there is something very seriously wrong with the baby, we don't know exactly what, but you do need to have a more in-depth scan at your regional hospital to find out the detail'. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. 10/03/2021 16:13, @Cormoransjacket No discussion, no quiet contemplation. But no. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Thick milky discharge at 14 weeks.tmi pic attached. The sonographer will be able to tell you the results of the scan at the time. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. You could see her face, and the major aspect that was, that was the indication of what was wrong was the thickening at the back of the neck in this instance, which, when you're looking at a fetus is, you know, sort of half a centimetre thicker or not is completely immaterial to me, and would look like a completely normal neck, but from the point of view of the consultant was severely abnormal. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. That they could have spotted something, or not? Most scans are carried out by specially trained staff called sonographers. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. Saturday came. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. I would be put to sleep, and when I woke up I wouldn't be pregnant any more. While some parents understood the clinician's restraint - even when they had to wait an hour or more for a definite diagnosis - others disliked being kept in suspense and wanted to be told what the clinician was thinking. And it was Christmas Eve and at the time I didn't think, the sonographer did spend a little bit of time scanning us and queried my dates several times and then explained that she couldn't quite see the baby's heart properly and would we come back in a couple of days? Likely to have serious medical problems all his life. So on the Monday we went in to see the senior sonographer, I think she was a consultant at the hospital. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). . I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. . Has anyone been told the sex incorrectly at their 20 week scan? But with time although we will never forget, I know we will be ok again. Some of the conditions that can be seen on the scan will mean the baby may need treatment or surgery after it is born, for example cleft lip. A black and white picture of your baby will then be seen on the ultrasound screen. You've had a scan, you've had the blood tests, you've been good. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. And of course some other measurements she needed to take like the width of the skull, which she couldn't take because the fetus was in the wrong position. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. See more information about the 20-week ultrasound scan. But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. Yeah - in, stomach, out. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, midwife or hospital immediately. And how wrong could they be? Instead, we were shown to a room slightly away from the rest of the ward and the midwife stayed with us to talk through what was going to happen. He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests, Ending the pregnancy for family & personal reasons, Deciding whether to see, hold and name the baby, Photographs and other mementoes of the baby, Saying goodbye to the baby - services & funerals, Coping with bereavement - women's experiences, Coping with bereavement - men's experiences, Men's ideas about their role in ending a pregnancy. And so, yeah we got to, carried on with the pregnancy, kept seeing the consultant, kept sitting in the waiting room outside, because there was a terribly long waiting time sometimes, depending on what time you had the appointment. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. Yeah, yeah. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). See you in -. Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. I've realised that being a nice person is a luxury some can't afford. (See. We're still not at the end of our journey, but we're much further along. Then I picked myself up. And it turned out the baby's heart wasn't forming properly, the chambers weren't forming properly. And my partner and I would have a completely different life from the one we'd imagined. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. I didn't have a clue. By the time I left the hospital, I was in shock. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. 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 was then told yet again bad news. At that point, I got very not upset but quite sort of strongly severe sort of with the people at the hospital saying, 'Look, you know, that's 24 hours, possibly a 48 hours' wait - that's not something that's tenable. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. I didn't sleep that night I don't think. Later, I did see and hold our baby. That he was small. They sort of drew some diagrams, and they said, 'But we need to refer you to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis'. This image shows a baby's face and hands at 20 weeks, and gives you an idea of what you'll be able to see at this scan. The weeks since that day have been very weird. It was just sort of deadpan faces, very serious looks, someone else coming to check. I can feel my child kick, it responds when he shouts at football - I mean literally, this baby used to dance around whenever he'd like scream at a goal - and there cannot be anything wrong with this child because it's part of us already. Our baby was beautiful. And, sometimes, I wish I had invited my whole family into the hospital room to see him. All my instincts were to protect my belly, yet here I was allowing someone to stick a huge needle into it. Like many things, the theory is very different from the reality. I couldn't bear to see the baby and asked the midwife to take him away immediately. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. It can be such a shock so do whatever you need to feel better. Severe chromosomal conditions such as Edwards' syndrome are now often picked up in the first trimester antenatal screening but itwill usually be more obviousat the 18- 20 week scan, though usually a firm diagnosis will not be made until one or two specialists have weighed up all available evidence about the baby - which usually means that another expert needs to scan the baby again, or until the woman has had an amniocentesis. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. I couldn't really believe what they were saying. We had the same conversation, but obviously were not making any sense to her at all. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. How was that scan different from the dating scan? I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. [Husband] couldn't make it. It took 20 minutes to push him out. That he - I think I was 21 weeks and 3 days, and he was coming up at 19 weeks and 4 days, or something like that. And even at that early stage it was beginning to sink in that there was something really not right. There was complete silence during the scan. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. An appointment should be arranged as soon as possible and ideally within three working days. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. Do you have any thoughts about that? When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. That was an extremely difficult day. And the local hospital wanted to send us off to the regional hospital to actually confirm that, and were not really prepared to say at that time that there was something very seriously wrong. In some cases concerns in utero fix themselves sometimes needs treatment. 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'. She didn't say at the time that it was a major problem or that it was something to watch out for. I believed at this point I had miscarried, they wanted me to come back I'm for a follow up scan. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? Well, at the regional hospital it was a 3-D scan. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. 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. The "why me?" You can change your cookie settings at any time. Or, at the very least, heart problems. We'd just spent some time away on a, on a summer holiday and come back expecting to have this scan and be told, 'All fine. 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. 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. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. Somehow, I walked from the sofa up to the bathroom and told my partner.