due oct 2006 part 2

[totallyfloaty35]

Well lets fill this one up too

Hi Gingeme. When I had this last scan, they did say before they started that they would be checking for Down's. So it may be worth waiting til after that. Good luck.

Yes totaly they looked at the neck on my 13 week scan and she said it looked ok and the heart valves etc. Yes Ill wait till my scan and decide then. My Mum made me feel sooo bad though cause I rang her after and she asked what I would do if it was Downs. Im afraid I would abort the baby. I know thats bad but Im afraid thats the way I feel. Is that bad ?

I would probably do the same so dont feel bad,can you get hold of the scanner and ask them to bring your apt forward,tell them its an emergency,you shouldnt have to worry for another week x

Thanks totaly glad someones on my side. No chance of that they are always so busy at the scan room whenever weve been there. Ill just have to keep thinking positive. Im sure it will all be fine. She said they offer the test to everyone so its not like Ive been singled out for this test.

Totaly what do they offer at Harley street then and how much is it off hand? Surely its the same wherever you have the test isnt it? Oh look I must stop worrying or my blood pressure will probably go up and that wouldnt do anyone any good. Ill say ttfn ladies. xxx

Gingema,they offer full scan and amnio,but its £450. Its just that the consultant is extremally experienced in amnio,but you can check with your hospital who has the best results at amnio tests,like any procedure some drs are better than others.
But please dont worry im sure you will be ok

Hi Gingeme
No, it's not bad - so don't feel bad. You have to do what's right for you without worrying about whether it may or may not be right for someone else.

You've still been given an 88 in 89 chance of a healthy baby and the scan looked good so it's not all doom and gloom. (everything crossed!)

I think it can make a difference where you have the amnio done - an experienced practitioner will have a lower miscarriage rate. 1 in 200 to 300 is definitely lower than the national average. Getting your scan brought forward is a good plan too, or maybe get a really detailed one done privately.

Sorry - got a phone call halfway through my previous message. I think I just repeated what you said, totallyfloaty - sorry about that.

I know I couldnt stay away. Thats a bit beyond my price range Im afraid. Ill wait a week and see what happens. Thanks for your support and advice ladies. Gonna make my dinner now got 3 hungry mouths to feed by 6 oclock x

Ginge, if you are over 35 and a test showed a highrer risk, you get the test fro free. in a good hospital the chance of miscariage is 1-300.
i would do it if i were you. i'm statring to worry as well- had the 13- scan done, was fine (1:1500 risk of down's) but ahven't had any blood tests, they don't do them here.
thinking of you, this worrying must be horrible.

Gingeme, Iam an older mum as well (will be 39 when baby due), when I discussed tests with my NHS hospital, I said I would not want an amnio whatever the blood test result, they seemed to think they could do a very detailed scan instead if I requested it, might be worth talking to your midwife before next week, so they know what to expect when you go in.Good luck on whatever option you decide.

Hello Everyone. It's good to catch up on all your posts.
Whiffy sorry your holiday wasn't much fun.
I did manage to have a good time in Paris-despite us all being a gang of Essex girls, it wasn't too drunken so I didn't feel too left out. Managed to do lots of sightseeing in fact. Was shattered when I got back though. Think they are all saving the massive p*ss up for when they all come to stay with me for the Brighton hen do. AAAAH

Dogmum-I wouldn't worry re movement. I was hardly feeling DD at this stage, whereas this time-with my stomach muscles bring nackered- I feel the babay all the time! So each pregnancy is different.

Congratulations on the girls Totally and Wuzzle. Can't believe how many of us are having boys- congrats too everyone. Mrs Blobby I am a bit scared of what to do with a boy too, but I'm sure we'll learn quickly!

On a serious note, Gingeme, as you probably realise by now, I have been on the receiving end of bad news from a scan and we chose to terminate the pregnancy. From the nuchal scan, before CVS, our odds were something like 1 in 6 that there would be a serious problem (Trisomy 13 in our case). So taking that in context, your odds are actually really good. So when there was a definite problem, the odds were well above yours. CVS was used to determine what they already knew. If you do decide to have an amnio, you have the right to information concerning the miscarriage rate of the consultant performing the procedure, before you go ahead. At our 20 week scan, they did check the nasal bone and nuchal fold measurement again (although they are extra careful with us because of our history I think they did check this for everyone)
Re the procedure if you decide to have it, I assume amnio is similar to CVS (though not sure)The CVS was over and done with very quickly, although it wasn't pleasant. Good luck-try not too worry too much if possible. Chances are that all will be fine.

majormoo what a bad news, i've never met you but am crying for you.
i wish you strenght , thinking of you.
lots and lots of love and hugs !

ginge majormoo is right, your odds are in fact good, but i would still do it to be sure ( but that's me)
my sister in law decided not to, but has been woorriyng all pregnancy ( has lovely healthy baby now)

gingeme - the sonographer does do the 20 week scan in quite a lot of detail and studies all parts of the head, as well as all of the rest of the baby, so she could probably help you out a bit with just the scan, but if you know that you would terminate if the baby had a problem (which you shouldnt feel bad about, as the girls on here have said, its a personal choice thats for you to make and it needs to be whats right for you xox)then having the amnio would probably be a good idea. sorry, i know im just echoing what the other girls on here have said, but i realy didnt want to not reply to your post...my thoughts are with you xoxox

totally - were you hoping for a girl? know what you mean about the clothes :) they are really cute (and this is our first)

majormoo - thanks for the congrats :)

i'm sorry you're going through such a stressful time gingeme. i think as soon as you get pregnant you start to feel guilty about everything.try not to feel guilty, it's much better to be honest. i do have friends who've had the amnio and everything has been fine although they did say it was an unpleasant procedure. on my 20 week scan they did the check the same as the others were saying for nasal bone, nuchal fold and the heart etc so that would give a clear idea. also, because of your age your chances go up much more so it might not have been that different on the blood test from anyone elses, it's just they did their routine age calculation. as with all the hard emails we've had i'm a bit stuck to say anything that doesn't sound inapropriate. but i'm thinking of you as i'm sure we all are and we'll all have our fingers crossed when you get your scan.

Oh my Gos Im sitting here in tears now. All you ladies are so lovely and understanding and helpful. Had a long talk with dh last night and have decided that if they cant help us with the scan were gonna go ahead with the amnio test. He couldnt believe all your answers and comments on the subject. He thinks your all lovely to help us . He also said once weve all had our bambinos are we gonna carry on with this thread!! I hope so but its a bit of food for thought for you. Thankyou all soooooo much ladies. I wish you all well with the rest of your pregnancies xxxx

hi Gingeme, good to hear that you and your dh are in agreement as to what you want - that must be of great comfort to you right now. Have you had any luck pushing the scan forward a bit? As several others have already said, the less time you have to sit worrying about this the better.
just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about you and have my fingers crossed that you'll get your answers soon. xxx

hi gingeme, as nowanearly just said, it must be good that you and dp have talked about it and decided what to do. your scan is next wednesday isnt it? i realy do hope that it sheds some light on your situation and we are all here if u need a natter xoxox

gingeme, thinking of you, and hoping they'll be able to sort it all out at the scan. glad you've got your DH there to support you.. we're here for you, as you know..

Youve done it again! Im in tears. Maybe its relief that other Mums understand. No luck with moving my scan date but did have a short conversation on the phone with my midwife. She just said not to worry its a pretty routins statistic due to my age and well chat further next Wednesday. Oh thanks girls so much. By the way have any of you been able to get my email address? Just that a couple of people have tried adding me to their friends list and I havnt given it to anyone......

Glad your mw was able to reassure you. As everyone else has said, the figures you have are only your relative risk. Hope your scan goes well . It must be a really worrying time for you - feel free to bend our ears any time!

glad to hear you have been reassured by midwife gingeme and good luck with the scan when it comes around.

Rhianna-thanks for your message. Just in case I didn't make it clear, the bad news for us was last summer when I was pregnant. Fingers crossed all looks well this time, though of course scans are a living nightmare for us and being pregnant again isn't exactly a walk in the park. The baby we lost last year was a girl, so it is in some ways easier, and some ways harder, that it is a boy this time. We've had fantastic support from Kings though, which has really helped us cope.

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine.

Gosh so much happens in a day.

Majormoo - glad everything's going well with scans etc. I picked up a book from the library called 'Blooming Birth' and am glued to it. It's not technical - it's about pregnancy and birth choices. There's quite a bit about fear and putting previous bad experiences to rest so that you can enjoy this one. I'm glued.

Gingeme, everything crossed for your scan. And I know loads of people who've had the amnio and no one has talked about it being unpleasant.

Thanks all for your reassurance on baby moving. I'm still not really feeling anything, but we had our 20wk scan yesterday and saw the baby waving it's arms - little sod even yawned at us. DP has printed out an a4-sized scan picture and put it on the mantelpiece. It's embarrassing, but I'm leaving him to it. I think he's relieved it wasn't just a big pie.

Gingem - also keeping everything crossed for you.

Just out of interest how is everyone getting treated at work? With DS I had no probs this time I'm been made the scape goat for alot of things - which it is clear for all to see are not my errors and am been given all the crap jobs to do. Sorry to moan!

Work not too bad, tho this is my first. It's more that I get irritated cos I'm discouraged from charging about as usual. Plus people keep telling me not to lift stuff - easier said than done when you work in a library :).

Incidentally, re lifting, is it a risk cos you're more likely to strain something? I'm avoiding heavy weights, but can I get my OH to carry the shopping from now on? I'll need a watertight reason...