Nuchal scan question

[Duckie155]

Hi,

I went for my 12 week scan on Monday. All was fine and I was so excited to see my baby!!

I asked the girl doing my scan if the bridge of the nose looked good and she said yes, then she said I will have a look at the nuchal lining and measured it at 1mm & said it looked good.

I am now wondering if I should cancel my combined nuchal scan which I was due to have next tuesday as it is £200, then I could just wait for my 16 week blood test. I know this was not an official nuchal scan but this girl indicated that the lining was 1mm which I believe is normal.
What does anyone think?

[homemama]

It really is up to you. If you feel happy with what you were told and are confident that the sonographer knew what she was doing then that's fine.
It also depends how much of a difference any results would make to you.

Remember that the risk is calculated using your exact gestation. So a given measurement at just 12wks would give a different risk from the same measurement at 13.5wks.

FWIW, my measurement was 1.8mm and combined with my bloods, gave me a risk of 1:25000

[Duckie155]

Thanks for the reply, I was 11 weeks, 6 days when she measured it at 1mm. The sonographer did not suggest that I rely on her, she assumed I would go for the nuchal scan, it is only afterwards that I have thought about cancelling it. If I'd have thought at the time I'd have asked her how sure she was and if she was trained in measuring nuchal linings?
My thinking is that I will get given a risk score when I get my 16 week blood test and if I am a high risk I would probably have an amnio. I would also have an amnio if I had a high risk from nuchal so perhaps I could just wait. I mean either way if I am high risk I would have an amnio. I suppose whatever I choose to do i will never be 100% confident that my baby is clear without the amnio.

[Mumpbump]

The blood tests seem to be very unreliable. TBH, I would stick with the proper nuchal fold test to get as accurate risk assessment as possible. It doesn't matter if you would not have an amniocentesis anyway, but if you would then I would have thought it better to get the more accurate risk assessment.

[Duckie155]

Thanks for your advice.
Do you think it is best to have the combined or has anyone just had the scan without the bloods?

[Mumpbump]

In my area, the NFS is routine, but I'm not sure whether they take the bloods into account or not.

[midnightexpress]

IME, they take several measurements at the nuchal scan and then take an average of them, so it should be more accurate, esp when combined with the bloods.

It also depends on your age. If you're an older mum, your risk factor at the 16wk test will automatically come back as 'high risk', whereas the results of a nuchal scan could mean that you could avoid an amnio. So, for example I had ds1 at 39 and my risk based on bloods and age alone was something like 1:250, but with nuchal scan it was reduced to around 1:8000. With just the basic test I would have seriously considered an amnio, but with the nuchal results the risk of miscarriage from amnio (around 1:100, I think) was so much higher that we decided against it.

If you're the worrying kind, I'd definitely think it was £200 well spent.

HTH.