Confused whether to have the nuchal scan or not - advice please

[Saffra]

Because of various issues, I didn't have my booking appt until last Friday @ 12 + 2. At my appt, the midwife said that if I wanted a nuchal scan, I would need to have it done privately. My dating scan is tomorrow. According to my own dates of my last period, I would only have this week to have the scan, otherwise it's too late.

I will have a quadruple test @ 16 weeks. The midwife said there's no difference in accuracy between this test and the combined nuchal scan & blood test. However, this info conflicts with other info I've read/heard. So, confused as to whether to pay for the scan or not.

I'm 33 and the scan is £190.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Don't know what the quadruple test is. I think you only go for a nuchal scan if the results might impact on whether you decide to continue with the pregnancy.

It really depends as TSC says on what you would do with thw information. I have never had the blood test at 16 weeks in all 3 of my pgs because I wouldn't terminate anyway, or even go for amnio probably.

Honestly, I'd say don't bother. You're having the quadruple so, if that shows a possible problem, then you'd probably have an amnio anyway.

I'm 40 and pregnant so a prime candidate for problems. If I'd wanted the nuchal scan I'd of had to pay for it too, so opted to go straight for the amnio and keep the cash in my pocket.

If it was a free test I'd say go for it anyway, but £190 is a lot of money. If you can spare the money then do it, if not, wait for the other tests.

Hmmm, just to give the other view... if you have the nuchal now, then if you did need to have an invasive test or make the awful decision to terminate, then you would know when the baby was smaller, probably not feeling it kick, etc. Waiting makes it more difficult IMO and I was glad I went through a CVS earlier on in the pregnancy (which turned out ok thank goodness).

I've only ever heard that the 16 week bloods are less reliable than the nuchal scan, not that it's the same. Having said that, when I got my high risk result from a nuchal for this pregnancy (1:15) I did a lot of googling (silly me!) but did find that the number of false positive screening test results was high for both tests.

The only other thing is that a private nuchal test is very thorough - and takes into account more variables than the NHS nuchal. I've had both types (first pregancy was a private one as it wasn't available in my area on the NHS then) and the private nuchal didn't just tell me my risk result but it was also a more enjoyable scan experience where they went into a lot more detail and showed me all sorts on the screen over a much longer time than an NHS dating and nuchal scan would. £190 is a lot, but I got a lot out of mine.

Claire x

Private nuchal is highly accurate, up to 90% and includes the bloods. The MW is not correct in saying that the quad test is as accurate. Google it if you need to know exact percentages.

Think about what you would do with the information if it came back from a nuchal with a raised risk and then decide.

For me, it gave me a decent result despite my age (over 40) and so it was enough for me to avoid the amnio. It was the best £150 I have spent as really eased many anxieties.

Thank you everyone for responding to my post.

My current thinking is that if the screening tests put me at a high risk category, I would go down the amnio route for further testing. I know there is a risk with this as it's invasive, which is why I am considering the nuchal.

My midwife said that about half of expectant mums opt to have the nuchal scan done privately (although I'm not sure whether this is in my area, or just of those that she sees). I thought this seemed like a high figure, which is why I'm thinking it might be a sensible thing to do. But, I just don't feel like I've had the best quality information from my midwife, and so not confident in deciding.

I don't know how quickly they can get the quadruple test results back (as things haven't been all that efficient so far). I have to book the quadruple test myself tomorrow for 16 weeks. If there's delays for whatever reason, then I'm worried I would be left making decisions later and later in my pregnancy.

Still unsure! DH and I are hardly flush with cash at the moment but I don't think you can put a price tag on peace of mind. I think I'll wait until my scan tomorrow and see how I feel.

Also think about your risk levels when deciding. You are not in the older age category so are quite low risk anyway. That is worth thinking about.

I decided against the scan in the end. Discussed it with DH and we were both 50:50, so decided not to bother as I wasn't high risk age. Thanks for your comments everyone... much appreciated it.

Yes, due September - very excited now that I've had my dating scan!

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