scared, 12week scan, something might be wrong

[needsanswers]

hi im 12+2 weeks preg with my 2nd child, i have endomentriosis and had two miscarriges before i have my daughter, including 1 that the baby had died at 7weeks but didnt bleed till 11weeks so had a D'n'C the following day. i was then lucky enough to have my amazing daughter who is now 3.
I am currently preg with my 2nd child due early decemeber, i has my 12week scan yesterdat which showed that the skin behind babys neck (where they test for downs etc) is 3.1mm and anything below 2.5mm is considered normal, i now have to wait 10days for my blood results to come back.
I had finally gotten over the scary 12weeks of miscarrige now i have this to deal with, i am terrified crying constantly, my daughter keeps talking about the baby and how excited she is which upsets me more. does any1 have any advise or stories to share with me? anything would help...

[niccibabe]

Hi, I didn't want your post to go unanswered.

The counsellor at the hospital may be able to see you while you are waiting.

My local hospital didn't do the measurements at 12 weeks when I was expecting, so we decided to go private and got a scan and blood tests done - results were back in 2 days. Consultant phoned with results and got a letter the day after. If it would ease your mind, maybe you could do this - it gives you a second opinion too... but it was expensive.

My DH had a lovely attitude, his view was that the scans and tests give us a little more notice of the love that we'll need for our DC with any difficulties they may or may not have.

Does your daughter go to nursery/childminder, etc? If you can get a little time alone to get your head round everything, you'll be able to be 'usual mummy' more easily for your daughter.

[Safariboots]

Hi,
Didn?t want to read and run, Just sending you hugs and some best wishes.
It's not an easy time, hope the results come back fine; I?ve recently been there a few weeks ago worrying over the nuchal tests and remember the stress, pondering the possibilities of things going wrong. Keep strong, XX

[needsanswers]

@niccibabe, my midwife has said not to worry and just wait for blood results and we would go from there, easier said then done tho. My daughter goes to kindygarten 3days a week for two hours, so i had a good cry while she was there yesterday, still very upsetting tho.

@safariboots how did your tests turn out? did you also have to wait for your blood results to come back? they say if the bloods come back ok that i will then have to wait until my 19week scan and have an hour long scan where they will focus on babys heart. The thing i dont understand is why would they be focusing on babys heart i thought down syndrome and most other possibilities that could be wrong are to do with the brain so shouldn't they focus on that not the heart? there is so much to think about and so long to wait

[madwomanintheattic]

heart complications are one of the more serious risks to health with down syndrome. i'm not sure that looking at general brain formation at this stage will tell you anything about downs.

brains are funny things. looking at them doesn't always give you a clear idea of disability. according to my dd2's brain scan, she shouldn't really be walking and talking, but she does both.

it's only natural to be worried, hopefully you will get the all-clear soon. if not, there are plenty of lovely mners with children with all sorts of disabilities who can answer any questions.

hang in there x

[cookie9]

Need answers your nt is slightly higher than norm but the blood tests give a much better idea. This is just a screening test not a diagnosis so even if the blood test show you are higher risk it is just that a risk not a diagnosis. Some hospitals contact you sooner if the tests put you into a higher risk category. Once you have the results you can decide whether to have a diagnostic test or not. Good luck

[Mmmmcheese]

The pregnancy book I have says that if the double test (nuchal test and blood test) shows you are high risk it still means you only have a 1:66 chance of having a baby with downs syndrome. That is still quite low odds.

[FannyLogan]

Hi,

Try reposting in antenatal tests/choices, the ladies over there have loads of experience.

3.1 is not considered high where I am, over 3.5 is. But it is on the high side. BUT it doesn't mean anything is wrong. My nuchal was 4.6 which is off the scale. Combined with bloods I had a 1 in 3 chance of downs, but amino showed.normal and perfect.3 week old.ds.asleep on my lap.as. I speak.

Downs can mean heart prob rather than brain prob, so that's why they would. Focus on heart at 20 week scan. High nuchal.and no downs can also mean heart prob so again will focus on this.

[Wombat33]

Needanswers my hospital also said there would be a long wait for the blood results (2 weeks I think), but I got myself so worked up with worry that I called tham after 2 days and they were able to tell me the results over the phone. Might be worth a try?

[Molybdenum]

I would go private. See if there is a hospital or clinic in your area that does OSCAR or equivalent. We did this and the whole process took less than two hours. We arrived and they took blood immediately. We then went off for a cup of tea for about 45 minutes while they analysed the blood. Then they called us in for the scan with a lovely professor of obstetrics. He was just fantastic, spent ages talking us through everything on the scan. He gave us a low risk score and we left with big smiles after less than two hours. It was not at all expensive, less than £200 I think, and if it will save you two weeks of worry then I would book it immediately.
Best of luck.

[PrincessScrumpy]

A good friend of mine had this although where we live anything 3 or below is fine, above 3 is a cause for concern. She measured 3.4 so had a scan at a different hospital (I think they went private) and the sonographer got the reading down to 3 so they were happy and had no other tests. her dd was born in feb and is gorgeous with no signs of any problems.

Another friend I know was given a 1 in 5 chance of downs. After much soul searching they decided to keep the baby. It was a stressful pg but the boy is now 13 and absolutely fine - again, no sign of downs.

Try to stay calm - I know it's hard. x

[needsanswers]

thank you so much for all your replies... i live in new zealand so our hospitals and tests are a little different i think, here anything over a 2.5mm is above normal as they put it, the doctors and midwife say not to stress, but honestly its all i can think about, waking up several times a night thinking about it. the very few friends and family that i have told about it are trying to be there for me, but is hard when they dont know what im going through, and when they say things like, 'we will be here for u no matter what' and 'im so sorry you have to go through this' just seems to make it seem so more more real and terrifying altho i know their heart is in the right place. im mostly worried about if the blood test comes back with a not so good results i would be very worried to have an amnio then miscarry and find out a week or so later that the baby was fine. then what if the bloods come back fine and my 19week scan shows thats everything isnt fine. i would be faced with a horrible decision of stoping my babys heart and giving birth.. to be honest i dont think i could cope with that, or carrying on with the pregnancy and risking my child not getting to have a normal and fufilling life og getting to do all the amazing things we get to do as people. there is so much to think about, and then i almost want to kick myself because chances are baby is healthy and fine, but i still cant stop thinking of the what ifs.. iv managed to pull myself togeather now and only crying when my daugher is out of sight which is good...

[needsanswers]

thank you so much for all your replies... i live in new zealand so our hospitals and tests are a little different i think, here anything over a 2.5mm is above normal as they put it, the doctors and midwife say not to stress, but honestly its all i can think about, waking up several times a night thinking about it. the very few friends and family that i have told about it are trying to be there for me, but is hard when they dont know what im going through, and when they say things like, 'we will be here for u no matter what' and 'im so sorry you have to go through this' just seems to make it seem so more more real and terrifying altho i know their heart is in the right place. im mostly worried about if the blood test comes back with a not so good results i would be very worried to have an amnio then miscarry and find out a week or so later that the baby was fine. then what if the bloods come back fine and my 19week scan shows thats everything isnt fine. i would be faced with a horrible decision of stoping my babys heart and giving birth.. to be honest i dont think i could cope with that, or carrying on with the pregnancy and risking my child not getting to have a normal and fufilling life og getting to do all the amazing things we get to do as people. there is so much to think about, and then i almost want to kick myself because chances are baby is healthy and fine, but i still cant stop thinking of the what ifs.. iv managed to pull myself togeather now and only crying when my daugher is out of sight which is good...

[Safariboots]

Needanswers, you poor love, you've got yourself all worked up and yet the test is just an indicator. It might never happen, even though I understand your worry. Unfortunately I can't advise /don't know the NZ system as I am in the UK. I had the nuchal test on the same day as the blood tests and results came back average. I'd been really worried, being an older-ish mum (36 ) and I must say the relief after was v welcome. I tend to be a worrier though, so keeping fingers crossed till baby is delivered and safe. There's a section on here (I think Antenatal tests) where ladies share similar experiences and it might help to see how others respond if the worst case scenario develops. Sending you good vibes and great results from your blood tests

[needsanswers]

safariboots yes thank you i also posted on there and they have been very lovely and helpful, It is true there is alot of comfort knowing that other people have been through the exact same thing. You are also right i have managed to scare myself silly with all the possibilities i am very much worrier and over think things more then i probably should i think its because i never thought i would be in this position and is all such a shock to me,
thank you so much for your reply and im very happy that everything worked out well for you and your baby! Congratulations i wish u all the best :)

[candr]

Different countries have different cut offs I found due to different skeleton sizes etc. We have been told of increased risk of DS at 20 week scan (am now 24w) as they looked at fluid levels on the brain. They look for certain 'markers' which are the brain, size of heart, length of thigh bone and nose bone and structure to help asses severity of DS, having one of these markers does not mean your child has it or it could be mild. It is really stressful having to keep waiting but we have been told not to have amio as the risk of miscarrage is higher than risk of DS and will have to wait till birth to find out as our marker is brain fluid. We appreciate finding out early as although it is upsetting it gives you thinking time and time to adapt to new situation. I really hope everything is ok for you, try to find a friend you can chat to / cry on but don't let it dominate your every waking moment (easier said than done I know) It is a shock when ever you find out and am sending positive thoughts your way. Don't forget there is every chance that nothing is wrong xx

[Whelk]

dd1 had a nuchal measurement of 3.7mm. She is now 4 and perfectly healthy!
We had the combined test (bloods and measurement and my overall liklihood came back extremely low - about 1:10,000 I think.

I couldn't stop thinking about the high nuchal and had a good chat with the consultant which really reassured me.

I hope things work out for you

[Whelk]

Is it worth talking to your midwife about just how anxious you are. They may be able to speed you blood results up.
I did this once with a different blood test and different pregnancy. I felt I was going out of my mind with anxiety

[needsanswers]

whelk Thank you so much for sharing that with me, i quickly told my partner, stories like yours give me so much hope, and im praying im as lucky as u! the thing that worries me tho is if i get fantastic news like you regarding my blood results i am going to be very anxious waiting for my 19week scan to check babys heart for holes, murmers etc.. I am going to go talk to my doctor tomorrow hoping she might be able to give me some more insight into it all..
candr i am sorry you are going through something like that, it would be terrifying to me to have to wait till the birth im the type of person that likes to prepare etc, i wish you all the luck and hoping your beautiful baby is born healthy and fine, goodluck! i do find as the days go on im thinking about it a little less and have got over the initial shock so am not a crying mess anymore which is good :)

[needsanswers]

hi ladies,
After a very anxious 9days i finally have my results.. 1 in 680 of downs im considered as low risk so very very excited... cant even describe what im feeling at the moment, still a risk but so small..
Im not quite outta the woods yet my 19week scan will focus on babys heart so fingers crossed! but until then i finally get to enjoy my pregnancy!
Words cant describe how grateful i am to you incredible ladies! you helped me more then you will ever no!

[Safariboots]

Hi Needanswers, nice update and thankfully a low risk result!! Hope the anxiety subsides a bit and you can now enjoy the pregnancy. Once again, wishing you similar good news at the next scan. Take care, xx