Notch in uterine artery doppler trace - help?

[jasmine51]

Does anyone have experience of being told they have a 'notch' in the doppler trace of one of the uterine arteries. I have been put on 2 wkly check ups (I'm 25wks) and after googling it I have terrified myself (broke the cardinal no googling rule!)
Does it always mean trouble? Is the problem related to PE or is it dangerous for the LO? the consultant said to focus on getting to 28 wks which terrified me even more not surprisingly.
Please tell me if you had this and that the outcome was positive.

Just me?

I am afraid I have no idea but did not want you to go unanswered. Good luck xx

Hi Jasmine51, yes I had a notch in uterine artery doppler trace in my first pregnancy. I can't remember all the details and don't have my hospital notes from that pregnancy, but I do remember getting v upset with my consultant at St Mary's about it and he was very firm that it was nothing to worry about. I think I still worried a bit (and did the dreaded Googling) but he was so firm about it I think he did get through to me.

And everything turned out fine. Completely healthy baby and normal birth.

I do vaguely remember being told (by the sonographer or midwife I think) that I should be careful re blood pressure getting too high (was a bit of an issue in my pregnancy) and try to avoid stress etc. I did tell my work about it as I wanted them to be aware and go a bit easy on me.

Hope that helps - sorry I can't remember more.

cas thanks for that. The consultants warnings really threw me so Im really glad your outcome was so positive. I've been told to watch my blood pressure too...but tbh I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that. I'm not a stressy type of person and am certainly taking things VERY easy during this pg so I wonder what raised blood pressure actually feels like. I'll stay away from google and just do my deep breathing til I see the MW next week!
I look forward to seeing in anyone else has had this picked up in their pgs. Thanks again

hello i have the same thing happening with me, i was wondering what your outcome was ? i'm 27 weeks and i have to get ultrasounds every 2 weeks now

Hi there,
I had possible notching too, relating to high blood pressure. I have white coat hypertension and them making me go to 2 weekly scans just made it worse.
The consultants said that sometimes it can be an early indicator of PE, but can also just be associated with raised BP. In the end I asked if I could montitor my BP at home and call them if it was consistantly high, as baby's growth was fine and constant appointments were stressful.
They agreed, blood pressure came down, by the 2o week scan notching had gone, baby was born naturally at full term.
The consultants also made me feel like it was going to be a miracle if we got to 28 weeks. Not the way we'd like to enjoy our pregnancies!
I think sometimes early pregnancy can have an effect your BP, which does settle down a bit, as the body gets used to the new blood volume and extra work the heart has to do.
I hope this helps a little, it's a bit vague, I know....

hello mmmsrb have they mentioned anything about the baby's growth?

did they say anything other than a notch in the dopplers - i.e. any mention of endiastolic flow etc?

my ds1 had absent endiastolic flow in the umbilical artery which was related to IUGR (interuterine growth restriction). we had to have growth scans every two weeks from 25 weeks with him and then twice a week after 27 weeks. we made it to 31 weeks and then he was born by elcs as he wasn't growing.

can give more info but don't want to worry you unnecessarily.

did they mention anything about why they needed to scan you or anything to do with growth?

Hi

I have been told that I have to be scanned every 2 weeks, am just a bit worried. I had a stillbirth last November so I am really concerned really dont understand anything, Never had PE before and all previous pregnancies have been full term and good healthy babies, so why should this be different.

Hi beautiful786. Sorry for your loss last year.

I also had a stillborn in July 2010 and am currently 32 weeks pregnancy with DD. I have had 2 weekly check ups since I was 24 weeks, just to be on the safe side. As of 34 weeks I will be going to a consultation every week (my Stillborn was at 34 weeks) so they want to keep a close eye on both me and baby.

My DD1 was healthy, full term, no problems either. I find it puts my mind at rest to have scans and appointments every 2 weeks.

Hi..Its my 24th week running and I had a doppler scan at 21st week. The doctor said the mean PI has increased by 1.6 and the baby's head measures too small because of notch at the right artery(screen positive). I am worried. Is it gonna affect the baby? The doctor advised scan at 28th week to see the growth. This terrifies me a lot. She also mentioned, my BP is going high and need to work on it !