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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Nuchal scan result :(

15 replies

Alikersh · 19/08/2011 11:54

Just got a phone call from the midwife, my test result came back as 1 in 100. I'm 35 so I know that my chances increase but am bloody panicking now!! Burst into tears as soon as I got off the phone with my DH who is being a sweetie but there's not much he can do.
The scan itself was apparently good, nothing detected there, it was the blood test and my details that pushed it to higher risk.
Have talked it over with the mw and am going for the amnio at 16 weeks, which gives me another 3 weeks of worrying about the whole thing. I really wish I'd never had the sodding test done at all...
Anyone had an amnio done? Any info/advice would be good, am really feeling crappy & weepy at the mo.

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RunningGuerita · 19/08/2011 12:05

I have no good advice to give, but just wanted to say that I am sorry that you are so worried. I can imagine how upsetting it can be. Hang in there.

Mouseketool · 19/08/2011 12:22

So sorry you are in limbo

You could try over here for some amnio experiences & advice

crazyhead · 19/08/2011 12:30

Try not to panic too much, remember your background risk alone (eg age) will make the figures look worse, and various things could give you a funny blood result (mine wasn't amazing, and apparently my bleeding in early pg might have worsened the result)

Take care and remember the odds are still very much on your side

benne81 · 19/08/2011 12:33

Hi - really sorry to hear your news. What are you increased risk of - trisomy 18 (edwards) ,21 (downs),13? We were given increased risk of edwards 1:86 based soley on blood test results (really low pappa and HCG). It was so upsetting to hear but actually when we thought about it it was a 98.9% chance that everything was fine. In the end we had repeated scans to check growth/ signs of edwards at 16, 20, 28,32,34 weeks and everything seems to be going fine. We decided not to go for the CVS or amino in the end because the misscarriage risk was too great and with Edwards (trisomy 18) you would usually expect to see something on scan and unlikely it would go to full term. We would have made a different decision if it was increased risk of downs though.

Anyway basically what I'm saying is my blood tests were in my boots but hopefully things seem to be going very smoothly with the pregnancy (I'm 35 weeks tomorrow), all my scans have been fine and I think that blood test results are just normal for me. I know this is a very difficult time but these are just screening tests and you still have a 99% chance that everything will be normal. Fingers and toes crossed for you.

Danthe4th · 19/08/2011 12:35

Just a positive experience from me, my result was 1 in 7 and I then had the amnio and paid for the results to come through quickly and it was all fine and my ds is now aged 9 and i'm now 44.
The amnio isn't awful, more uncomfortable and fascinating as I can remember my ds trying to touch the needle. If you can still pay to rush the results through do it was only £30 but that was 10 years ago but worth asking. The staff were wonderful and very thoughtful. I hope it goes well for you.

MotherPanda · 19/08/2011 12:37

remember - 1 in 100 means that you have a 99% chance of your baby NOT having downs :)

try not to worry - as you said, the scan came up well. good luck :)

worldgonecrazy · 19/08/2011 12:38

How far gone are you? If your scan was okay and all the "soft markers" were normal, e.g. length of thigh bone, nasal bone is there, skull shape normal, no heart defects, then is it worth the risk of carrying out an amnio? I know the risk of miscarriage from amnio is only 1/100 but as you are such a low risk for your age group, you may want to take further advice.

Original poster

Alikersh · 19/08/2011 12:45

Only just found the antenatal choices thread, have had a look over there. Might repost but there does seem to be very good advice on it to just look at & many people going through much worse than me.
Thinking it's going to be a very long 3 weeks (and it's my daughters birthday & school starts that week!)..
Thanks for the support xxx

OP posts:

Sandra2011 · 19/08/2011 12:55

When I was much much older than you.....

at 39 my background risk for down's was 1:96 but my adjusted risk was 1:3184

Adjusted risk: clearly visible nasal bone, healthy fetal heart, and my bloods.

kh0609 · 19/08/2011 13:38

Alikersh - i know how you are feeling im 22 weeks pregnant and i came back as high risk wen i had the nuchal scan. Im 32, like you my scan was fine it was my bloods that gave me a risk of 1:25. When i received the phone call i was in shock and cried for a very long time. Knowing i had to wait until 16 week for the amnio left like a life time as i felt i needed to know straight away. Having only told people i was pregnant after the 12 week scan i found myself not wanting to meet and talk to people who were wanting to congratulate me on my 'happy news' when i was constantly worrying.

I had good days and bad days and found after the initial shock had wore off the time began to pass more quickly until i had the amnio. If you are like me it will be on your mind all the time. As the amnio was getting closer i started to feel nervous and question if having an amnio was the right thing to do. The consultant who preformed my amnio had a very low miscarriage rate which put my mind at rest. The actual amnio was fine and not nearly as bad as i thought it would be. i suffered no pain and only a slight period type cramp when my stomache was being numbed, after he had finished i was showed my baby on the screen and assured it had all gone according to plan and my baby was fine.

My results came back within 2 days all clear, the relief was amazing.

What helped to get through what i can only describe as the worst month of my life was focusing on the fact there was a higher chance my baby would be fine than not. If my scan had showed signs of downs i would probably have been in a worser state than i was, so try and focus on your positive scan results.

Good luck and let me know how you get on xx

Flossie2 · 19/08/2011 14:25

Hi there, just had to post as I've just been through exactly the same. My results came back as 1:15 but two weeks ago I got the all clear. It was terrible waiting for the amnio and then the results but thankfully all is well. I think your odds are pretty good, mine sounded so low. The amnio didn't take long and I was ok afterwards, just made sure I rested for the remainder of the day. We had the first results within 48 hours on the NHS. The rest of the chromosones are then analysed over two weeks.

I found it very difficult keeping it all to myself but luckily I hadn't told many people our baby news. Once we had the all clear I was able to tell people the happy news. Try to keep calm and think that you do have good odds. My high results came from hormones found in my blood and I had high results with another of my children too. The baby neck fold was fine.

One positive outcome - as well as knowing that your baby is well - is that you will be offered the chance to find out the babies sex. An amnio is a definitive result so there is no "maybe's"... Sending you lots of positive thoughts and really hope things go well.

Flossie2 · 19/08/2011 14:28

Ps I had my amnio at 15+ 3 days. I was told by the doctor it can be any time from 15 weeks. Maybe ask your midwife if they could bring it forward? The sooner the better for you as it's so hard waiting x

grubbalo · 19/08/2011 17:09

Also - I know 1:100 is higher risk than you'd like, but it's not actually that high. To put it into perspective, your chance of getting 3 numbers and winning £10 on the lottery is 1:50 (and if you're anything like me you'll know that doesn't happen very often) and your risk is half of that. I realise that for me sitting here I can be all blase about it, but try to bear in mind that 1:100 still means that they think 99 times out of 100 there would be nothing wrong.

Best of luck x

ApocalypseCheeseToastie · 19/08/2011 17:16

My sister came back as 1/10 she refused amniotic as wouldn't terminate, and didn,t want to take the risk. Her dd dozen,t have downs syndrome

pruney1977 · 19/08/2011 18:28

Hi
They couldn't scan the nuchal fold with me because the baby wouldn't stay still or in the right position. They told me to talk to the midwife about having the blood test and she said that on its own, the blood test is 3 times more likely to give a false positive. I don't know if that means yours is more likely to be a false positive because you had a good scan but it might.
To help us make our decision my MW asked us what we'd do with the results and, for us, it wouldn't make a difference as we wouldn't have an amnio or any other test that risked miscarriage but that's a choice that was personal to us and everyone has to make for themselves.
But I would second what others have said and that a 1 in 100 chance of having a downs baby also means that that is a 99 in 100 chance that your baby won't have it.
I think I read somewhere that amnio results also have a margin of error.
I don't really think I've said anything that would help you but I do feel for you being in this position, in a way it's why I'm glad the scan couldn't be done for us and we'd refused the test. Good luck x

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