Nuchal Translucency - 3.9mm

[Piggel]

Hi,

I’m 32 and this is my second pregnancy. Fell pregnant with my now 14 month old in August 2021 (when I was 30). Thankfully that pregnancy went without a hitch.

However I’ve just left my 12 week scan to be told the NT is measuring at 3.9mm and that anything above 3.5mm is a concern. I’m currently measuring at 12 weeks and 4 days. I’ve also done the screening for Down’s, Edwards’s & Patau’s syndrome and should have the results within 2 weeks. There were no other physical abnormalities noted throughout the scan. But I’m worried sick and can’t stop crying. This all seems so scary and overwhelming and 2 weeks feels forever away for the results. Has anyone else been in the same boat and had a positive outcome? I’ve attached my scan but don’t believe this is showing the NT, but I just feel so anxious for my little baby.

Thanks for your reply @Bloodystressed1 you’re so nearly there now - I’m excited for you to meet your little one.

The sex curveball must be tough given how much waiting and uncertainty you’ve been in since 12 weeks. I feel for you. Some people might see that as such a small thing but I understand the scale of it.

Please, please do update when you have a chance. I’ve found so much support and positivity from just reading old mn threads.

Good luck with the next few weeks!

Hi @IDTM I put this thread to the back of my mind as I’ve had so much anxiety around this pregnancy.

I had the CVS procedure done around 12/13 weeks and everything came back negative. It took just over 3 weeks to get the results. We also found out we’re having another boy.
We then went back to King’s at 16 weeks for an early Cardiology scan and then again at 21 weeks for an anomaly scan and another Cardiology scan and everything looked normal. King’s discharged me after this as they were happy with everything so that’s as reassuring as it gets scan wise!

I’ve also just remembered that I had my initial 12 week scan done on the Monday and baby’s NT was measuring 3.9mm, and when I went to King’s the Friday of that same week they measured the fluid as 3.5mm. So they think the first Sonographer was a bit off with their measurements. But given that my blood tests came back as high risk we agreed to go ahead with the CVS.

I’m 30 weeks today and I’m trying to make the most of it as we’re determined this will be our last pregnancy (someone’s getting snipped next year!) but it’s really hard to do. It’s such a shame as my first pregnancy was a breeze but I guess it just goes to show you no two pregnancies are the same! Will you be having any further scans? I’m having growth scans and everything looked good at the 28 week scan. We’re also going to try and book a 4D scan to try and get us excited for the last few weeks. Fingers crossed you can enjoy the second half of your pregnancy too x

Hi @IDTM - I had a baby with NT of 3.6mm. He’s 6 months old now and perfectly healthy - I don’t see any difference in him compared to his older brothers at all. Their NTs were <2mm. I had every single test going between weeks 12-20 after the first scan, including amnio. All tests were normal but it didn’t give me the certainty I craved. It was a very stressful pregnancy but he’s here now and it seems like a bad dream. Sending love and wishing you and your babies well. So sorry doctors have been pessimistic. Not what you need. x

Hi @Piggel thanks for your message. Sorry you had to wait so long for your CVS results (torture) and I’m pleased King’s discharged you - that must be reassuring in itself.

I’ve got 22 week scans in mid December. Hoping for similar to you - that they’re positive and I get discharged. If you feel up to it, please post an update once you’re out the other side. 🤍

Hi @Surprisepregnancy1 loved reading your positive post. Thrilled for you.

I’m envious of those who had CVS and amnio. We were offered them but advised against them because of increased risk with twins and Twin 2 developing without any issues.

It’s unbelievably stressful, especially when this isn’t your first pregnancy (like @Piggel too). I was incredibly naive going into this one and it’s totally knocked me. How did you both juggle work? I’m currently signed off but I’m in a strange limbo where I’m not actually receiving bad news but there’s this overwhelming worry over the whole pregnancy and, in my case, no clarity. Tough to let work down but my head is just scrambled.

Evening @IDTM I didn’t really handle work after I got the news at my 12 week scan. No one at work knew I was pregnant until I called my Manager crying after the scan and I told her I wouldn’t be working that day. I got my King’s appointment for the CVS confirmed that same day and I called her again and said I wouldn’t be working that week. I’m normally pretty good at putting personal stuff to the side and just getting on with things but I couldn’t with this. She was very understanding and just told the rest of the team I needed some personal time. I went back to work the next week as I knew there was nothing else we could do and nothing that could immediately be done after the CVS other than waiting. And work was a good distraction for me at that point. I’ve continued working since having that 1 week off and will go for as long as possible. But I’m enjoying work atm and feel I can balance things. If you’re not in the right headspace there’s no point forcing it. But equally I know that for me being left with my own thoughts isn’t always a good thing so just make sure you have people to talk to, keep in touch with etc. You just need need to do what’s best for you. Could you do reduced hours at work or a phased return?

Thanks @Piggel same as you - had to tell them following the 12 week scan due to the news. The worst bit so far has been the pre meeting to the 17 week anomaly scan where they basically ran through all the worst case scenarios and decisions I might have to make BEFORE scanning me. Scan was fine but I went into such a spiral of panic waiting for my echo that I stopped work immediately. The headspace it’s freed up and ability to rest has been game changing and I’m feeling a lot more positive.

I’m just pretty desperate for positive stories and outcomes from mothers who have been in the same situation. They’re the things that are really helping me have hope about an outcome I can’t change or control.

Hi ladies - I often check back on these threads for people going through a high nt so I can try to offer some reassurance. Especially as this helped me so much when I was going through it myself.

Good news story
I had my little boy back in 2021 and at our first scan with him we were told he had a raised nt at 3.7mm. It felt like everyone was very worried about this and we were referred to fetal medicine. I didn’t opt for the cvs or amnio as my blood results came back low risk but had a fetal echo at 20 weeks which was all good.
My whole pregnancy was filled with anxiety, worry and stress - I was consumed by google searching and trying to find good news stories. It was awful - I almost regret getting that 12 week scan.
Fast forward and I gave birth to the most perfect little baby boy who was just a chunky baby with a roll of chub on his neck. He’s now a fit and healthy 2 year old and I can’t believe I wasted my pregnancy worrying.
i really hope that this helps some of you feel even the slightest bit more positive - I know what it’s like and I’m sending you all a huge hug.

Hi @Jodie89x thanks for posting. I’m in a very similar boat to you with my only ‘negative’ bit of news being the raised NT. Anomaly, echo etc all good. I feel like I’m not going to stop worrying until they’re 2 as I’ve been told to track milestones if nothing is obvious at birth.

It’s the doctors/midwives/screening team that got me worried. The consultants further down the line have seemed far more relaxed. I’m doing so much research to ask better questions, questions that can have quantifiable risk or reassurance as their answers. It’s exhausting.

This is planned to be my last pregnancy and I’m just wishing it away, it’s such a shame. Hope for a positive outcome for me and hope to be able to post positivity to help others when all this is over x

Hi @IDTM thought I would revisit this thread after giving birth!

So long story short after my original post, my mental health took a real hit in the third trimester. I really didn’t see how I’d ever be ok giving birth and having a second baby after everything I’d gone through with this pregnancy. Even though we knew everything was negative after the CVS I was just so anxious.

Anyway I had my DS on 19th Jan and everything was and is fine! He’s super cute and snuggly. He’s just over 4 weeks now and is doing well. Midwives and Health Visitors are happy with him. Like you I found myself wishing the pregnancy away and now my son is here I can’t help but feel guilty. But on the other hand I’m also reminding myself that I couldn’t help how I was feeling before as it just felt so overwhelming. And I was obviously hormonal too!

Hope this helps and you’ve managed to keep positive and enjoy what you can of your pregnancy. Let us know how you get on x

Congratulations @Piggel on the arrival of your baby!

my DD was born on the 18th Jan also after wishing away the 3rd trimester. All is well here too, apart from her not wanting to be put down!

try not to worry too much @IDTM although I know it’s easier said than done!

That’s such wonderful news @Piggel & @oodles50! Thank you for the updates. I’m so pleased for you.

Mentally, I feel I’m doing ok with the NT as nothing has caused concern since November and I was discharged from George’s in Jan.

There’s also just been so much more to get out heads around, expecting twins when DD is still so young (she’ll be 19 months when they arrive). On top of that, I’m anaemic and have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes again. The twins are 5lbs each at 32 weeks so I’m enormous and battling PGP/hip pain so am not really mobile.

Just over 4 weeks until my c-section but 60% of twins will arrive before that so just taking each day as it comes and trying to keep them in as long as possible. Right now I’m in survival mode trying to physically get through and, sounds awful, but I haven’t had too much time to bring the NT anxiety to the fore.

How are you getting on @Bloodystressed1?

x

Hi @IDTM best of luck with your c-section - sounds like a marathon of a pregnancy! Hope you have some time to chill before they arrive although much easier said than done with a little one.
All seems good my end, my little boy was born in December with no signs of Down syndrome or any other abnormalities. I’ve enquired about full genetic testing, given the high NT and no amino, but have repeatedly been told this would only be explored if he shows signs of anything down the line. So at the moment I am just trying to enjoy him. Similarly to @Piggel , the ongoing stress of the pregnancy took a toll on my mental health and it’s been hard to shake the residual feelings of stress and anxiety since the birth. But I’m getting there and he is gorgeous!
keep us updated, wishing you all the best with it. X

@Bloodystressed1 wonderful news! I’ve also asked about full genetic testing post delivery and been told the same. Might ask if they can use my amniotic fluid at the c-section to run an amnio. Not even sure if that’s possible (but it should be! 😂). x

Delighted to be reading this - congratulations @Piggel @oodles50 and @Bloodystressed1 and enjoy your snuggly bundles! All the best for the rest of your pregnancy and c-section @IDTM x

Hi, I know this is quite an old post but saw it was added to recently and really just wanted to look for reassurance and ask advice really, I think I’ve read this post twice in my long quest to find reassuring stories these past few days ahhhh!!

I had my 12 week scan this week which showed a NT measure of 3.7mm, I was referred at the hospital to be rescanned the next day by a consultant, she didn’t remeasure the fluid but she did do a full check to look for any other abnormalities and said everything looked reassuring, she said the rods reassuring about three times but I really don’t even feel reassured my anxiety is so high, my partner is very calm and chilled about it which is great but I am an anxious mess.

Ive been told I’ll be rescanned at 16 weeks where I will also be given the opportunity to have the amnio (if that’s how you spell it?) I am not eligible for the NITP as this pregnancy was originally a twin one but had a vanishing twin so the results are skewed.

I’m also awaiting the blood test results I got after the 12 week scan which I was always planning on having anyway….

i just feel so stressed, I'm trying to not but my last pregnancy was ectopic so I've been anxious from day one with this one and I am struggling.

i just wondered what people thought if the second scan seemed white positive should I try be a bit more positive… sorry for the long message!

but any experiences or advice really appreciated!

Hi Han1234,

Yours seems very similar to mine. I had an early scan at around 5/6 weeks and there was 2 sacs so I was told twins. I went back 2 weeks later and one of the sacs had disappeared.

I went for my 12 week scan and the baby wouldn't get in a good position, was asked to walk up and down, wriggle around but it still wasn't playing game. She said NT measurement was 3.8mm so we were referred straight to fetal medicine within the hospital. I was told all the probabilities. Had my bloods but was already told that due to the NT, my age etc that I would come back high risk and it did. We went for CVS, couldn't have it done as the placenta wasn't accessible so had to wait another week for amino.

Before the amino, I was rescanned and after the amino had been performed the specialist said to me that from looking at the scan and doing all the measurements that they take during the 16 week scan that everything looked completely fine and within range. And he was not concerned, however they can't see everything but he was hopeful results will come back ok.

My initial results came back after a week and were negative for DS, Edward's and patau syndromes. It's now been 23 days since my amino and I still don't have the full microarray back.

I have my 20 week scan on Monday which is where they can see much more.

There are lots of positive outcomes that I've read about on here. Just hoping in the next week for more positives so I can finally relax. It has been so stressful and waiting has been horrendous so I feel your pain.

Hi @Han1234,

Twin pregnancy here - 19 days from delivery now. One of the twins had NT of 1.9 and the other 3.9 at 12 weeks. Sent to a consultant the same day, following a number of scary meetings/bombardment of info immediately after the scan.

I wouldn’t believe myself if the me right now told the September me how much better I’d feel, but I do. Hopefully the below helps. 🤍

I went into a complete meltdown following the higher NT measurement and needed 1-2 weeks off work to sit and cry in bed. It was overwhelming and I totally feel for you going through this. Every scan since then has been positive and I was discharged from Fetal medicine in January.

We had an NIPT (Harmony) at 10 weeks, which made the 12 week news more shocking. Results were low probability for the three trisomys. Due to the nature of the pregnancy we decided against CVS or Amnio as there were no issues with the other twin.

Being totally clear, our worst case scenario was a severely disabled child over losing the pregnancy but we came to the conclusion that they’re so small around the 12 week mark and we’d get more answers between 17-24 weeks. If our NIPT had come back with any concerns or we weren’t able to have it, we would have proceeded with invasive testing.

The Fetal echo and anomaly scans were much more reassuring (loads between 18 and 26 weeks). One sonographer said they wouldn’t know why they were scanning me if they didn’t have my notes as the baby looked perfect.

What helped me was (slightly self-made) percentages and probabilities but also rationally breaking it down and trying not to let the anxiety take over.

1. these are mm measurements so you’re 0.2mm over the threshold, which is tiny. Some countries have a cut off of 4mm.

2. if NT stays high at future scans, that’s more concerning than if it falls to a normal bracket

3. the probability of abnormalities increases per bracket (3.6-4.5mm / 4.6-5.5mm / 5.6-6.5mm / 6.6-7.5mm) etc

4. 95% ish of abnormalities are the three trisomys. Out of the remaining 5% (approx 500 abnormalities screened in the microarray) more than half* of those would go hand in hand with a serious heart defect, which would show on Fetal echo scans.
   *I took this as 60% knocking off 3% of the 5% outstanding abnormalities and calculating my risk as 2%.

5. I took comfort in the fact that the skeleton looks good, the baby was moving well and if something was seriously, seriously wrong, it’s likely my body would make the decision for me or there would be a large growth discrepancy between the twins.

Feel free to message me if you want to chat. It’s a worrying time but it’s also the hospital’s job to run through worst case scenarios, however unlikely. This is my last pregnancy and it’s been somewhat ruined by months of worry.

Plan of action for us now is physical checks on delivery and then we will have a blood test carried out on both babies to highlight any genetic issues. The other option is keeping a keen eye on twin 1’s milestones until they’re two but I feel, for me, I’d constantly be looking for something and comparing them to the other twin.

Good luck. Trust your gut, speak to your partner loads and loads about it. Discuss how conclusive information might change your path. Hold tight, the bigger the baby, the more they can see. 🫶🏻

Hope you get your microarray back soon @linz1987 Your amnio result should give you huge reassurance. It’s a conclusive, diagnostic test and your trisomy results are fab! Wishing you luck 🍀

Thanks so so so much for this response, I have messaged you seperate properly as I couldn’t work out how to reply on here but that is so informative and helpful I really appreciate it.

Thank you IDTM, they came back this morning all clear!

Hi just wondering if you have any updates, reading this thread after having 3.6mm on the nt test has really helped

Hi @Jessy2 I’m so sorry this took me a few days to see. How are you doing? Hope you’re ok.

My twins were safely delivered at the end of March and Twin 1 is absolutely perfect! We’ll get a genetic test done as a kind of postpartum microarray test in the next few months just to screen for anything that might crop up or hasn’t been picked up but right now, looks like a total false alarm and a lot of worrying/ruined pregnancy for nothing.

She also has a massive neck so hoping it was just that! 😂 Sending love to you and (easier said than done) try not to worry until they give you something to worry about. Pregnancies are difficult all on tbeir own, let alone when they’re full of anxiety. There are so many positive stories from people who have had this worrying result at 12 weeks.

Hi Guys. Just adding on to this post because I have made myself sick with worry and just need someone to talk to me. My NT was 2.9mm. My sonograoher said everything was fine then I got the dreaded call the next day by midwife saying baby has 1/135 chance of DS. My hcg mom was 1.4 and papa mom was 0.7. I am so so upset. I have completely disassociated from this pregnancy. I feel broken. I have a 3 year old healthy son, who I had no issues with so this came as a shock. I had the NIPT the same day the midwife gave me the results. The wait is killing me. And I how do I not just assume the worst. Hoping and praying everything is okay.

Hi@Amy215. Sorry to hear about the high risk results you received. I felt the exact same way you did, especially as my then 15 month old was perfectly healthy. And it had been less than 2 years since conceiving him. I just couldn’t understand how I could have had such an easy low risk pregnancy, to then having my second baby be “high risk.” He’s now a healthy 9 month old btw!
Have you had the NIPT results or are you currently waiting on them? Did your midwife discuss other options? As you’ve probably read I opted for the CVS procedure which is a more invasive test, but I wanted to know for certain what was going on with my baby one way or another rather than fractions or percentages. I’m sure there’s other options but I can’t really remember now. This whole experience seems to be a lifetime ago.
Just try not to blame yourself. This could and does happen to anyone from all different walks of life

i had my NIPT test on Thursday, still awaiting results. I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I have made myself sick with worry. I’m just hoping everything comes back okay. I haven’t even decided yet if I get cvs/amnio. I’m going to cross that bridge once I get results back. But I just can’t stop thinking the worst case scenario. It’s impossible to be positive right now. I feel like my whole world has shattered