Sorry to be thick but................................................................

[Mandymoo]

Do you have to ask for a nuchal fold scan or does it get done automatically? And what is it? Ive got my 12 week sacn on monday - is it the same thing?

MM - In some hospitals your 12wk scan is a Nuchal fold.... in others (like mine) its just a Dating scan and to confirm the baby is doing well.

Yes - depends on your health authority. There are only a handful that do them automatically. Most places you have to pay for a private nuchal scan.

so not every woman has a nuchal fold then? What does it scan for? Sorry to sound so ignorant

It gives a risk assessment for Downs syndrome that is much more accurate than the blood test.

Basically they measure the fold of skin at the back of the baby's neck - over a certain thickness is a marker for Downs.

Mandy the nuchal fold scan is a test principally for Downs syndrome - -usually older mothers opt for it

info here