To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Being generous and kind generally happens only when you're happy. 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 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. When he came back, he agreed on a termination. The chances that anything bad will be discovered are v v small. It took 20 minutes to push him out. We were told to go to the hospital immediately. Some of the other conditions, such as heart defects, are more difficult to see. Last reviewed July 2017. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. 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. 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. We left for home feeling completely numb. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. We just couldn't use the words. The same anxious wait for a little, pathetic cry. It is extremely rare for these pregnancies to reach term as they typically spontaneously miscarry early in pregnancy. Later, I did see and hold our baby. I wasn't ready to make a decision straight away, and I was told I could call them in the morning. The "why me?" It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. I managed to tell my mum, who said she would come with us to the hospital. For instance a couple who knew their baby was 'on the small size' were told he was fine at the 18-20 week scan, but discovered at 32 weeks that he had microcephaly. We were convinced everything would be OK. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. He felt strong and fit and healthy. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. And I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being selfish. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. 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'). These opinions do not represent the opinions of Tommys and are not advice from Tommy's. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. Went back a week later for the scan and, you were with me for this one, weren't you? Not marginalised into being a victim. It seemed a very arbitrary system, and so you quite often sat outside in the waiting room for a couple of hours before you actually got to see the consultant, which was, seemed you know, I kind of remember thinking before we went in to see him on the particular day when we found out there was a problem, 'Why are we sitting here? or sort of light chat that we'd, we'd experienced before with previous scans. At the time the same thing had, exactly the same thing had happened to my friend a month before, and her scan was absolutely fine. And everybody knows and everything is right. The milk came and stayed for what seemed like for ever. It was horrible. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. We had amnio and then spent a week in absoute anguish waiting for the outcome which was no trisomies. Only this time, no cry came. 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'. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. The pain was bearable but uncomfortable, the hospital rang me a few days later and asked me how I was. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. And you could see, where you should have a picture of 4 chambers, you could really see 2. The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. I've realised that being a nice person is a luxury some can't afford. I used to think the feeling of your baby kicking inside you and the sight of a foot poking against your skin were the most fantastic things in the world. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. And I said, I was still laughing, and I thought he was joking with me, and he said now I sort of could tell from his face that by that point he wasn't really joking anymore. He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. 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. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. I could hardly breathe. 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. So I was, they couldn't actually finish the scan then, the baby was moving around too much, so they couldn't scan the heart and the stomach. You have accepted additional cookies. I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. You do not have to have the scan. I was then told yet again bad news. 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. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. It was exactly like the labour I had with my first child. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. The same anticipation. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. 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've had, you've had your Down's Syndrome check and that's okay. So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. The anomaly scan, also called the 20 week scan or mid-pregnancy scan, is used to detect pregnancy irregularities significant in diagnosis of any of the following conditions: In most instances no serious issue will be found during the scan and many parents-to be will come away knowing that all is progressing nicely and, perhaps, having found out . 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. And it was then because we were at 20 weeks by this point, there was only fairly short window to actually, to get some more tests done, find out what the problems were, and then make any decisions that might have to be made. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. All my plans were beginning to fall down. That was an extremely difficult day. So it was quite common, this is what happens. But that was too easy. 17/12/2020 17:13. You might be offered another test to find out for certain if your baby has one of the conditions. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . 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. And, it does not occur to you in the slightest. 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. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. 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. 15/02/2014 08:02. So we went home really and I sort of had to think about it all night. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . (See. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. My belly was growing and I was feeling great. There's nothing wrong, you know, we've had all the tests, everything's fine,' and being very upbeat about it all. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. Some stories I hear are amazing! The doctor didn't come. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? Anyway we went in for the meeting with the consultant on this particular time, and we'd got to, I was 30 weeks pregnant by then. In most cases the scan will show that your baby appears to be developing as expected but sometimes a condition is found or suspected. 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. 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]. Specialist scans are performed in specialist fetal units and if clinicians feel that there might be problems scanning will be done up to 32 weeks. It was the end of January, very end - about the 29th - I'd gone into, I'd gone into 5 months by then. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. 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'. Tears started to roll down my face. The doctor gave her consent, and I took the four little tablets. Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. Some people want to find out if their baby has one of the 11 conditions and some do not. How was that scan different from the dating scan? Find more information and details of support groups on NHS.UK. 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. 12/12/2012 22:41. 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. Last updated July 2017. Specialist scans are performed in specialist fetal units and if clinicians feel that there might be problems scanning will be done up to 32 weeks. After half an hour of lying on the bed, I was starting to get nervous, but was excited to find out that the baby would be a boy and that I could see his little heart beating strongly. Well, at the regional hospital it was a 3-D scan. Then I picked myself up. If this happens, you will be offered one further scan by 23 weeks of pregnancy. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face. The baby was kicking so hard that I began to believe him. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. It was just a few little things like the kidneys were hard to find, and the stomach was hard to find, but that might be because it wasn't filled with fluid. So we went back the day after Boxing Day, the 27th, and the consultant greeted us, which made my alarm bells go, and she started scanning us and I think her lines were, 'What concerns me about this baby is that they've got a diaphragmatic hernia, which has meant that part of the stomach of the baby was in its chest cavity.'. And thank God I did. 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 '. So we decided that, to have the scan and we went along I think early in the week for that, and spent quite a lot of time with the consultant after that. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. Never lacking a sense of the dramatic, it felt as if we shared the responsibility for the terrible, dirty act that we had committed. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. 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. The sonographer will be able to tell you the results of the scan at the time. 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. And that was Monday afternoon. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. As though I went power mad for a week, killing my innocent unborn child, and now I am tainted for ever. So she said, 'Come back on Monday. 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. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. 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. However, a few hours later there was another shift change. And then I can't remember an awful lot more about that scan apart from that feeling of searching of how to react in an unknown situation - your brain's kind of trying to work out what to say, what to do, but I had no idea what to say or what to do and I think my first thought was, does that mean our first daughter's okay? Just that really! Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. He was sure the consultant on Monday would see that the measurements were completely normal and that there was nothing to worry about. And I knew there was no way out. He wanted to talk about it, but I didn't. 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. He looked excited. All women are offered a dating scan, and an 18- 20 week fetal anomaly ultrasound scan, in line with NICE and UK National Screening Committee recommendations. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. I give pregnant women dirty looks. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Do you have any thoughts about that? Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. Our baby was beautiful. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. Instinctively, did it feel right? Or, at the very least, heart problems. There was cause for concern. We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. But it was very evident. I was then told yet again bad news. 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). For example, the babys brain, kidneys, internal organs or bones may not have developed properly. Most scans are carried out by specially trained staff called sonographers. I was young, I didn't need one. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. Having the scan does not hurt but the sonographer may need to apply slight pressure to get the best views of your baby. You may like someone to come with you to the scan appointment. My partner's face was lit up, seeing the baby for the first time. 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. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home And I, and, I felt the weight of deciding what to do about it. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail. This might be uncomfortable. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. 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. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. By this time, we were tired. 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. Away you go'. The scan looks for 11 different conditions in your baby and cannot find everything that might be wrong. Mm-hm. We understand the real meaning of "shit happens". So I sort of went home quite, fairly kind of happy and I, at, at this point I hadn't any idea things could go wrong anyway. 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. I popped out from work, telling my boss I'd be back in half an hour. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. Thankfully I was met by an amazing sonographer, she was compassionate and understanding. I let out an animal scream and [wife] kind of leapt onto me on the bed. But he was wrong. Thick milky discharge at 14 weeks.tmi pic attached. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. And I assumed my partner would feel the same. That they could have spotted something, or not? The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. 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. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. So we'd gone through the Down's syndrome or worse scare, we'd had conversations about what we would do, if it was confirmed that it was Down's syndrome or another syndrome, another sort of chromosome abnormality. Sometimes doctors will wait to give the baby more time to develop and carry out repeat scans - this had confused several parents we talked to who had gone for repeat scans not knowing that the baby might have a problem. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. I had to be rescanned latter. 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. 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. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. For instance a couple who knew their baby was 'on the small size' were told he was fine at the 18-20 week scan, but discovered at 32 weeks that he had microcephaly. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/screening-tests-for-you-and-your-baby/11-physical-conditions-20-week-scan. Life expectancy of 30 or 40. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. I have horrible thoughts. By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. It was far too much power; neither of us wanted it. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. And I can just remember flashing a look at you as if to say, 'Have I made a mistake here somewhere? Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. Baby loss support It's part of our family. And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. It was real. No discussion, no quiet contemplation. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . Then, three days later, I would go to the labour ward - the ward I had been expecting to visit in two and a half months. 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. He suggested he perform an amniocentesis immediately, to rule out any chromosomal problems. It sounds crazy, but I just knew. I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. So that just left the talipes. 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. You have rejected additional cookies. Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. x. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to me. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. Those two weeks were agonising for us both. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). Picture every packed football staduim up and down the country - all healthy pregnancies and births. Although the anomaly scan is often called a 20-week scan, you may have it any time between 18 and 22 weeks, although it's usually done between 18 and 20 weeks. 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. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. But no. And it's like, I really wanted to see it and I didn't, and it was it was very mixed. I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. I still feel guilty, I still cry at random times. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. . I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. Maybe. Intellectually, I knew this was not the case. The same rush of excitement. So we hid in our house. And the next day we went back to the hospital and we had another scan with a specialist, and he confirmed it was a condition called holoprosencephaly, which I'd never heard of any of these words before, they were just such long words. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing. You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine.
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