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Pregnancy

Nuchal translucency (NT) scan

59 replies

loganberry12 · 17/01/2009 20:45

Hi as im 42 will i be offered a NT scan automatically?

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BoffinMum · 17/01/2009 20:49

Probably not - you will have to pay. Ridiculous I know.

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loganberry12 · 17/01/2009 20:50

Oh i thought if you are over 35 it was automatically offered! do you know how much it cost?

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dinny · 17/01/2009 20:54

depends which area, I think

I've had them on NHS every pregnancy (London and now Surrey)

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AccidentalMum · 17/01/2009 20:57

Interested too....what have people paid (esp. with the blood test at the same time that makes it more accurate....and what is that called?!).
Ta x

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BoffinMum · 17/01/2009 20:58

I went to the fetal medicine centre and paid £150 for scan and bloods. It was very efficient there.

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loganberry12 · 17/01/2009 20:59

I live in kent so will have to speak to my midwife about it when i see her on the 27th.

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AccidentalMum · 17/01/2009 21:01

Ta BM

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Tee2072 · 17/01/2009 21:01

It depends on where you live. I will be 40 when the baby is born and have had a triple blood test instead. Hopefully will have the results on Monday!

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seeker · 17/01/2009 21:12

I live in Kent and had the NT test for both of mine. Dd was 13 years ago so it wasn't widely available, but I got it free with Dr Nikoliades(swoon swoon) at Kings. With ds I also got it free at Kent and Canterbury Hospital. It was also available at William Harvey. I really don;t think you have to pay - ask your midwife.

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Clary · 17/01/2009 21:12

It's free for all pgs where I live (East Mids).

Only in the last yr or so tho. It was suggested for DS2 (now 5) but would've been £100.

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GinaFordAteMyBaby · 17/01/2009 22:13

For both my pregnancies in two different London boroughs I've been offered the NT scan at around 11-13 weeks. The NHS leaflet I was given on screening tests also says that all women are now offered screening for Downs - you should be offered the scan and then if you have an increased risk they will then offer you the blood tests. That's how it read to me anyway. You can see the leaflet here

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BoffinMum · 17/01/2009 22:27

I could have gone to the local NHS hospital and paid them £150 to have a scan on the NHS machine but that felt morally wrong somehow, I thought it shoud be free if it was in an NHS hospital and I was an NHS patient. So I decided to go to the place where they invented it to get the best treatment, if I was going to be shelling out.

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iwantitnow · 17/01/2009 22:49

NHS will probably offer it - depends on your area. It also depends on what you would do if you had a high risk result. I'm 38 and went to the Fetal Medicine centre this time so I could have the bloods and nuchal result done at the same time - much more accurate result than nuchal on its own. Although my hospital does offer bloods as well over 35 you don't get such a detailed result and FMC looked at lots of different things not just the nuchal fold e.g. angle of the forehead. Worth the £150 IMO.

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BoffinMum · 18/01/2009 09:00

I do think you need the bloods doing at the same time, so I agree with iwantitnow. Plus if there's a problem they can do the other tests (CVS, Amnio) more or less immediately I think, if I remember right, which must make things a lot less stressful. FMC were extremely thorough, I have to say, and even were able to give us a good idea of the sex at about 11 or 12 weeks.

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civatt73 · 18/01/2009 09:12

Hi
I live in Fife and am newly pregnant. Feeling sick - with exitement and fear ! Can anyone tell me how many scans i should expect in Fife ?
Thanks

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JetLi · 18/01/2009 09:53

I paid £185 for nuchal scan and bloods in a private hospital in Sheffield. It's not offered on the NHS locally... FWIW I believe I can claim this back on my Westfield plan (or 75% of it at least). I got an immediate scan result and then waited a couple of days for the combined blood/scan result.

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sarah293 · 18/01/2009 09:54

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JetLi · 18/01/2009 09:55

SIL confirms it is offered on the NHS in Newcastle if that's any use to anyone. Ahh - the postcode lottery - isn't it just fab!

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jeee · 18/01/2009 09:58

Had it in Kent 7 yrs, 6 yrs and 2 yrs ago - always free. That's East Kent. HTH.

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duchesse · 18/01/2009 10:01

I am shocked this has not yet been extended to the entire country. I had the NT and various soft marker scans on the NHS 14 and 12 years ago in Surrey when I was expecting my daughters. I assumed it would have rolled out to the rest of the country by now.

I know they do the NT here in Devon on the NHS as I will be having it done on the 29th for this pregnancy. Am shuddering to think what odds they will offer at my age (41).

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Diege · 18/01/2009 10:10

The aim was that all NHS hospitals should offer (for free) nuchal transclucency testing by April 2007. Obviously that hasn't been acheived, and my consultant said that the 'lag' has been due to lack of funding for training, and also the fact that existing (albeit less accurate) screening is already in place (ie, double/triple test). So def not free in all NHS hospitals I'm afraid!

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Nekabu · 18/01/2009 10:11

duchesse, I was fully expecting a pants result (pretty much no matter what my test results) due to my age as just about everything I'd seen had indicated that older mums got a high risk category anyway. I had the NT and bloods done at the start of January and was very pleasantly surprised to get a low one. Lots of luck with yours!

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sarah293 · 18/01/2009 10:29

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duchesse · 18/01/2009 10:39

Riven- the thing is that at the age I am in this pregnancy (41), and knowing what I know about services for severely disabled people in this country I wouldn't (probably) actually want to bring a child into the world who would almost certainly outlive us both and still need 1 to 1 after we've gone, because I'm pretty certain they wouldn't get it. I am aware of your circumstances re your little daughter and I know one can't plan for everything, but I personally feel more secure having a better idea of who is coming and their potential needs, or even if bringing them into the world at this late age is realistic. I am not bothered about any condition that would not make the child extremely dependent.

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sarah293 · 18/01/2009 10:45

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