NT measurement at scan

[Isittimeforbubblesyet]

Hi everyone,

Just looking for some advice really. Had my 12 week scan on Tuesday and she dated me at 13 weeks exactly which was further than I thought. The baby was in a really awkward position and it took a long time to get measurements but she said the NT was 2.4mm and really hesitated when she said it was normal.
I asked what she meant and she said it was OK and to remember the risk would be calculated on my age and blood test. But this has sent my already bad anxiety through the roof. I am 36 so already know I'm higher risk due to age. I looked online and saw that this was the higher end of normal and the measurement is on th 88th percentile. My notes say the CRL was 68.1mm. She didn't mention anything about a nasal bone or the heart.
I am literally sick with worry and can't sleep. This is my second but a very much longed baby after trying for two years and having a mmc. I thought the scan would reassure me but it has actually made me worse.
They said if the risk was high, I would know by Tuesday but that feels like forever away. Does anyone have any experience of this? Any advice would be greatly received

I completely understand what you're going through and it's a very worrying time.
Its really important to focus on the fact that the NT measurement is well within normal range and that had there been any other obvious structural issues, she would have mentioned them. They don't withhold that kind of information. The obvious time to worry is if NT is measuring over 3.5mm and even then sometimes it turns out to be nothing.
36 is higher risk not necessarily high and vast majority of women your age are having absolutely healthy babies.
Also, the hospital tends to get back to you fairly quickly if the bloods show anything they want to investigate further. So, no news is usually good news.
Currently - you have nothing to worry about. Best of luck. x

Mine was 2.7mm at 13+1, I m 25 and my result came back as 1:180 chance so low risk and absolutely everything was normal on the 20 week scan.

I think under 3.5mm is considered low risk so wouldn’t lead to other tests. CRL is the size of the baby.

My NT was 3,8mm and led to lots of other tests, although the fetal medicine consultant reassured me it was only just above normal. I am sitting with my 13 week old twins sleeping on me right now - both perfectly healthy.

Good luck, please don’t worry. Sounds like baby is doing well.

I was similar - I'm 35, baby measured a few days ahead of my calculations at 13 weeks and NT was 2.15 which worked out as 77th centile for the CRL. OH and I spent a very stressful evening googling everything we could after the scan, which wasn't the best idea! Sometimes a little knowledge is a bad thing. As others have said, your measurement is within the normal range so it all hangs on the bloods.

I found the two days waiting for 'the phonecall' super stressful as I convinced myself that something was wrong. I ended up finding the number for the Screening Midwife and called 48 hours after my appointment. I called on the pretense of wanting to double check when I would hear of there was a problem, but hoping they would just tell me there and then. Which they did! Turns out I was low risk - 1/2500-50,000 for the three syndromes. I've tried to put it out of my mind since then and not Google things! Good luck 🤞🤞🤞

p.s. one thing that might be encouraging is that your baby is measuring big for your dates, like mine did - I believe babies with an issue are often smaller, though not 100% on that.

The other thing I would say is not to read too much into the sonographer's hesitation about saying it's 'normal'. I think they always have to be really cautious when saying things like that as you could have a tiny NT but still end up flagged due to bloods, so they probably don't hand out reassurances to anyone at that point.

Thank you so much everyone and I'm so glad to hear the reassuring stories. I had my scan on Tuesday and haven't heard anything yet so hoping thats positive although they did say it could take up to a week for a high risk result.
I just cant believe the anxiety about this. I have never suffered with this before and was so chilled during my first pregnancy.
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond ladies. I really appreciate it

As previous posters have mentioned, anything under 3.5mm is considered 'normal'. My first child had an NT of 2.7mm and bloods came back low risk and he was born healthy. My current pregnancy, the NT was 2.2mm but bloods combined with my age (38) came back high risk (1/110) but Harmony test came back low risk 1/10,000. Try and focus on the fact that the NT is within the normal range, rather than where it sits within that range. Hopefully you'll get your bloods back soon and feel a bit more relaxed about it.

Huh? That's a completely normal NT measurement.

My son's NT was 4.7 and he is perfectly healthy. If they were worried they would advise CVS or Amnio. Try not to worry 💐

Thanks everyone. I've been a bit more relaxed today as I know its very unlikely to get a call at the weekend but I know I'll be a wreck again on Monday. Its just how hesitant she was when telling me and how long it took to get the measurement. And then I saw that many are not even told their measurement at the scan so that had made it a little worse.
Thanks again for your encouraging words

Try not to worry, my nt was 3.6 just a tiny bit over at 12 weeks and I was referred to fetal medicine also my age 37 and high risk bloods from this, 1 in 15 for DS, by 14 weeks the nt was gone, don't be like me not enjoying this pregnancy one bit until now 35 weeks, I've had tons of scans and all came back normal even the heart scan looks good, I had the nipt test that came back low risk also, it's been the most stressful nearly 9 months ever, and sometimes I think the docs make you worry over nothing, it took a very long time to get that first nt measurement as baby was in a weird position and I had to jump walk run just to get him to move lol, I've read alot of success stories on here but also some not good endings with the higher nt readings x

My letter came today saying my risk downs syndrome is 1:623 and for edwards and patau 1:26457.
Really sad at the result for downs so think I'll go for the harmony test.

I don't think that is a high risk result. What's giving you reason to worry?

Hi @Dia12 thanks for commenting. I know its technically low risk but I think I've seen much lower risks, even for my age. I guess also because it was 1:10000 for my son.
I know I am probably overreacting as I have been suffering really bad anxiety during this pregnancy but I just feel like it's so high risk 😔

I mean your result is really low risk. I know where you're coming from comparing it to previous pregnancy / other people's pregnancies of 1:10,000. This pregnancy I was actually high risk (1:110) which was super anxiety inducing. But even with my previous pregnancy when I got 1:1300 I still felt anxious when comparing it to my friends getting 1:10,000.

Have the harmony test if it will make you worry less. I had it for this pregnancy when I got my high risk result and when it came back low risk (1:10,000) I felt much more reassured. Pregnancy is loooong, seems a shame to spend it worrying.

Thank you @Aria2015 pregnancy is long and I have been so stressed since I found out I was pregnant.
I called the Fetal Medicine Centre today and they squeezed me in. Did a really detailed scan and said they couldn't see any physical markers and that I will get the harmony results in two weeks. Feeling a little better after the scan as it was so thorough but hoping the results come back OK.

That's great news. Hopefully you'll be able to relax a bit once you get your results back.

Your scan would have been ok as you are actually in the low risk category.

Hi OP hope everything is still ok for you, was just reading through some of the posts I'm following and thought I'd ask xx

Hi @Missy38 so sorry for the late reply. For some reason, I didn't get a notification.
Harmony came back low risk for all 3 (less than 1 in 10000) so that was a relief. Im 18 weeks now and anxiously waiting for my 20 week scan xx

Brill news, my due date the 2nd so just waiting now, very uncomfortable though, think he's comfy in there lol

Just a quick update for you girls, baby born yesterday with no problems what so ever, he is perfect, even though the nt was over and 1 in 15 for DS, no chromosome problems nothing, good luck with the rest of your pregnancy x

@Missy38 ah congratulations! What lovely news! Enjoy your baby!