Found out at 25 weeks

[firsttimer2018]

ive just found out im pregnant for this first time at 25 weeks and its been a blur. i have been fairly ill although everything is ok now and any signs i had put down to being ill and not taking care of myself.

my partner and I are very happy but i am very worried. i havent had a 12 week or anomaly scan yet and am being booked in for those. 

i had a scan which showed baby moving, heartbeat, placenta and water good. 

im shocked and have not much time to prepare. dont know what to expect. want everything to be ok. tried to get a private scan booked but very little availability in my area.

My main question is at 25 weeks am I too late for an anomaly scan? I'm very worried.

any advice is welcome. please

[HidCat]

@firsttimer2018 wow that must have been a shock! Congratulations! The midwives will do everything they can but it may be more blood tests at this stage. Don't worry too much, technology is amazing. Glad all seems to be going well so far!

[firsttimer2018]

Thank you so much for your reply

Is it right that I can't have an anomaly scan or a test for downs?

This must happen to other people!!!

[Essexgirlupnorth]

Yes you will have missed the window for the blood test for Down syndrome.
I would imagine they would give you some kind of anomaly scan.
Good luck with your pregnancy.

[El1995]

Same thing happened to me, found out at 20 Weeks, just had blood tests etc, little lad doing just fine! (3 months old now :0) x

[firsttimer2018]

@El1995

Did the hospital refuse to scan you? Can you tell me anything else about what happened to you from finding out until delivery? At what stage did you deliver? Thank you. I've barely slept in 5 days with worry

[phlewf]

This happens to me, at 26 weeks. Obviously a mad panic at first. They treated me as high risk until I’d had a scan and a booking in appointment. After that they were happy to be midwife led.
Honestly once you get into the routine of appointments you’ll not feel like you’re catching up. I choose to believe I have excellent tummy muscles too.
Ds is 8 now.

[Monkeysocks2017]

Firsttimer2018 ( not sure how you tag on here ) there's a thread in " ask me anything " found out I was pregnant at 26 weeks, there may be some info and answers in there for you xx

[Monkeysocks2017]

And congratulations on your lovely news xx

[firsttimer2018]

Thank you!!!

[firsttimer2018]

@phlewf

Did you get all of the scans?

[firsttimer2018]

@phlewf


I am worried beyond belief. What was the process for you in terms of scans/ appointments and the like?

I am also worried that I will go even earlier than expected or am further on than doctor can tell

What was your lifestyle like before you found out?

[phlewf]

I got all the appointments that would any other woman would have had in that stage.
The first scan was the worst but they can pick up things from that point and then you know where you stand.
I wasn’t trying to get pregnant so my lifestyle was not good. It included some prescription painkillers from a and e when I turned up with severe stomach pains. I definitely wasn’t tea total.
All you can say is you didn’t know and had you known you’d do different. There’s lot of crap spoken about “just knowing” from the minute of conception. I didn’t and I wasn’t hiding anything.
As it happens ds has a generic disorder, that wouldn’t have been picked up in routine testing and has nothing to do with lifestyle. Life’s still great though.
Speak to your midwifes. They are a mixed bunch but at they will have had other woman in your situation.

[firsttimer2018]

@phlewf Yeah my lifestyle was not good either

Changed that the minute I found out

Did you have all the scans? Did you have them all quite quickly?

Baby all ok except for that generic disorder?

What age is he/she now? Thanks again

[Grazek]

I found out at 17 weeks, just about made it for quadruple test, and had my first scan at 20 weeks, had 2 more after that and at 24 weeks had proper, very detailed anomaly scan in Kings Collage Hospital.
Midwife referred me to consultant because I sign up late but they were happy with how everything is going and discharged me back to midwife led care.
I’m 31 weeks now

[phlewf]

Baby was absolutely fine, as was I. Went over my due date but totally normal v delivery.
He’s 8 now.
Had 1 scan when I found out. Then the normal ones (can’t remeber exactly).
Got shitty attitude from a pram sales person who insisted I needs 6 months to order a pram. I just ordered one of the Internet lol.

[WhirlingTurkey]

What a (happy!) shock for you OP. I'd imagine you will get a 20 week scan, just a bit later than normal. They may not be able to see everything they do at 20 weeks, but I'm not sure off of the top of my head what the true window for the anomaly scan is. The sonographer/midwife should explain all this to you though. Obviously you can't have the 12 week scan now, or the test for Down's / other trisomies. If you are unduly concerned about missing the screening you could look into private NIFTY testing, which you may still be able to have at this point.
Have you been assigned a midwife? If so you shouldn't be afraid to call her and ask these questions, that's part of what they're there for! Good luck!

[StraffeHendrik]

You can still do the genetic testing (NIPT/Harmony) for Down's. It works from a normal blood test from your arm. You could definitely do it privately (£500) or NHS may offer it since you are too late for the normal testing.

[SoyDora]

They definitely won’t refuse to scan you. They won’t be able to do the NT test as it’s too late but they’ll do an anomaly scan (albeit late). In a normal pregnancy you don’t get any scans after 20 weeks anyway.
Congratulations!

[MyDcAreMarvel]

Op try not to worry it won’t make any difference if you find out your baby has any kind of chromosome disorder at 12 weeks or 25/26.

[Ratbagratty]

30 weeks when I found out with mine (now 2 and half). I had a growth scan and what ever anomally bits they could do. Bloods, glucose test, they just crammed it all in as quick as possible! Good luck, try and take someone with you to help remember what is said, it's a huge shock and I still don't remember much of week31 and 32 as I was in shock!

[firsttimer2018]

Thank you all

@Ratbagratty wow, how did you cope?

[El1995]

Hey there! Sorry had a lot on yesterday! So I found out rather late as my previous post states, my GP didn't seem overly bothered in all honesty. I got an appointment with a midwife for the week after and after that the next few weeks were a blur! I had my scan done like a few weeks after I'd found out,I then had another one done when I was nearing 30 weeks I think? Obviously I missed the nuchal screening but was told I could have blood tests to screen for downs etc. If you're really worries about screening, I think you can pay privately to get them done in more accuracy. You get the usual anomaly scans done by the hospital but it's just a bit further on. Everything was crammed in to get everything done. I also had a 4d scan (own choice) done at 30 weeks. I didn't tell a soul until I started showing (quite late on) as I was In denial and utterly petrified! I then had a midwife appointment every few weeks, then every week, to check babies growth etc Fast forward to my due date, baby was 15 days LATE. Ended up having an elective c section as my induction failed. I fully understand your worrying, I had mental health problems during pregnancy (anxiety /ocd) I'd get a worry in my head and obsess about it for weeks (miraculously this has all gone since ds was born). He's now 3 months old and I'm sort of glad I found out late as my pregnancy was only technically like 5 months long

[firsttimer2018]

@El1995 thank you again

I'm not sleeping and worried about every little thing

Even worrying about worrying as I'm scared if I tell gp/midwife how I'm feeling they will record it and assume I'm somehow unfit.

[El1995]

Honestly don't worry about telling your GP, I had absolutely crazy thoughts and worries! I went to both my GP and midwife crying one day as I couldn't cope, they reffered me to get therapy which I found really helped things until after birth when my hormones had settled down. Thousands of people go through this and they won't see you as unfit, it's nothing they haven't already seen before. Get the help you need to put your mind at rest. I had therapy and nott once have they said I'm unfit to look after my baby son x

[Ratbagratty]

@firsttimer2018 I didn't! I went into shock for two weeks, DH organised the appointments until I could get my head around it. Work were amazing (small local shop) and told people to back off until I was ready to talk.

Everyone tried to organise me but I was in so much shock, DH got people to back off and did some bits without my consultation.

At 36 weeks I started to be really unwell over night and at 36+6 after lots of visits in to hospital was told I had pre eclampsia and hellp syndrome. Had emergency cs. My mil and sil, went to our house, cleaned and set everything up for us, I still don't think they realise how much they helped!

We survived it all but we had amazing support from family, there is more to story but some is not for me to tell and would be even more outing than this!

Take some time to get over this shock and then get yourself organised. If I can help please pm me.