NT measuring almost 9mm and fluid on baby's abdomen

[Achainofdaisies]

I just had my 12 week scan. I was told that the baby had fluid all around its head and around its abdomen. The neck measurement was 8.7mm. The fetal medicine midwife gave me information and booked me in for a new scan on Monday with a consultant. There was talk of more tests. Noone seemed hopeful.
I honestly don't want to wait for endless testing if the outcome is going to be bad regardless. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Thank you x

Hi there. I was in a similar position 2 years ago. At the 12 week scan our baby had a NT of 8mm. Straightaway I knew deep down there was unlikely to be a good outcome.

I felt similar to you, I didn’t want to prolong things if there wasn’t any hope. I had to wait for 2 weeks for a fetal medicine appt for a CVS but the day before that I got a positive result for T18 from the NIPT test. Have you been offered one of those? How did it go yesterday?

With the agreement of the consultant, we didn’t have a CVS and went straight to a medical TFMR as baby was so clearly very unwell. A limited post mortem showed T18 and a few associated things like some organs on the outside of the abdomen.

im not going to lie, it was awful, we were truly heartbroken. But gradually the raw pain eased and we got through the toughest days. Our precious rainbow came 13 months after the TFMR. I wish you lots of strength and peace x

Thank you so much. I've actually read your story as I trawled every message board for information. I am so sorry you went through that. So happy to hear about your sweet rainbow baby.
We went back for a follow up and baby had passed. I am currently in the bereavement suite waiting for the first set of pessaries.
Very anxious about what is to come. Also now suddenly thinking what happens after. Can I handle trying again? It's shit!

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. So so difficult for you. I hope today goes ok for you and the staff are kind.

You will have probably read my posts but one thing I did was ask the midwife to look at baby once delivered and let me know if she thought it was/wasn't wise for us to see baby. I felt a bit sick after delivery so waited half an hour or so. We were then shown baby in a little knitted blanket, just so I could see their head. I'm really glad I did, I think I would have always wondered.

You will probably be asked if you'd like a post mortem, we decided to have a limited one and I'm glad we did as it confirmed the T18 and also the gender.

You might like to ask what follow up you will get, perhaps a Consultant appt to go through a post mortem and discuss any future tests or care. I made sure I know what to do if/when I got pregnant again and what extra testing I could get. It helped me be prepared.

I know the thought of a future pregnancy will be daunting, but I tried to remember that 'most babies are healthy', that it would be really really unlikely to happen again and it wouldn't change the outcome if I didn't allow myself to have hope. I had so much extra care, early scans, a NIPT at 10 weeks etc.

Take care of yourself x