NT OR NO NT

[appletree100]

I'm sure this question has come up before but perhaps there are peeps out there that are also 12 weeks and cant make up there mind whether to have the NT scan done, I am 33 and 12 weeks today....

Up until a few days ago my husband and I decided not to have it done - I was happy, I loved being preggers and started to really bond with my little lime growing.

Then after a few nights without sleep thinking about this NT scan I decided to bring the subject up AGAIN with my very patient hubby and the conclusion is just to go ahead with it and not to worry about it until I get a high risk result. I hate the fact the result can throw you in the wrong direction as its just a 'screening tool'. But I also am so curious I have to have it done.

I am really struggling with this guys - it unearths all these questions about myself and pretty much everything. How many of you guys have just gone for it and how many say no thanks.

The scan is TOMORROW and I was looking forward to it.

Thank you

love love love

Would it make a difference to the outcome of your pregnancy? If you’d terminate if there was a chromosomal problem then I’d say do it, but if you know you’d keep the baby in all circumstances then I wouldn’t bother as it’s just something extra to worry about.

I worried as well. Me and DP have different views on what we would do if it came back high risk, it made me want to bury my head in the sand and not find out.

I did choose to test in the end as if the outcome was high risk then we would have been better off knowing that nearer the beginning. Turns out I had nothing to worry about anyway thankfully :)

I was in the exact same predicament, i had myself traumatised about it! I got it done in the end, as i just couldnt get it out of my head. It was a very low reading, like 0.49mm, i was so thrilled i could 'put it to bed' as such. That's not to say it's a positive or negative result, it just makes me extremely low risk on that one reading- which was good enough for me.

If youre worried about it get it done- at your age it's such a low chance- so a low reading will put your mind at rest, it certainly did mine.

Me and DH agreed to have it done because we were both in agreement that in certain circumstances we would terminate. Some people say they would never terminate but would like to know if there was a problem so they can be prepared for it. Others say they won't have the tests and will just deal with any problems once the baby is born. All 3 approaches are fine and you just need to know which one you and your partner want to adopt and take it from there.

With dc1 I had a risk of 1/160 which was high enough to worry me but too low to justify any diagnostic testing. After that I didn't think I would have it again in subsequent pregnancies.

However, when it came to it with dc2 I did decide to have it because actually I felt like I would worry more not knowing. It turned out to be very low risk so I was glad I found out because it was reassuring.

Be aware though that, even if you refuse the formal nuchal test, the sonographer still has to tell you if the nuchal fold looks abnormally large as they still have to check for abnormalities.

Agreed Writerwannabe, there is no right or wrong approach, just one that best suits your own beliefs and needs etc.

Interestingly though, my consultant said that in her mind, anyone who wants to take the test has already decided to terminate whether they know it or not... Dont all jump down my throat, i'm only repeating what she said.

She said a good % of couples will say they just want to know 'so that they can be prepared', but that when faced with a positive result, 100% of them have ended up terminating in the end. She also said that and US or Eastern European (and also French for some reason) clients she has treated have all said from the outset they would terminate, it's only Irish or English patients say that they do not know what they will do, and just 'want to know'... That said, it's a small private hospital that only delivers 2000 babies a yr so it's a very tiny sample and also a 'niche' sample IYKWIM. All very interesting though nonetheless.

I am pregnant with my third dc, and at 38 have never been tested as I would not choose to terminate. I have never worried throughout any of my pregnancies.

I am really torn about having mine for various reasons, I'd never terminate so I'd rather not know, particularly as my history of loss due to chromosomal problems is something they add into the equation, so I'll come out higher no matter what the reasons are, but due to my history one of the two blood tests is very important (suggests if the placenta might struggle).

The hospital sent out a leaflet about it with the appointment letter and it had the number of the hospital 'downs syndrome testing support worker' on it, so I rang her and had a chat and it was incredibly helpful- she brought out points I would not have thought of, without trying to change my mind in any way....is there any way you could get there earlier tomorrow and ask to speak to a MOS about it if you are unsure, it really did clarify things for me

sorry first paragraph a bit senseless- meant my risk ratio will come out as high regardless of my nuchal reading due to the other factors they are using

armadale in your situation I woudl probably leave it and not test, to be honest. Given you'd never terminate. That's just my view though! Also, given the likelihood of a high result, you'd only worry yourself more and it will not make any difference to your decision. best of luck what ever you decide (all of you) and H&H pregnancy!

There are benefits beyond the screening for the NT screening.

Obviously sometimes something will come up that shows baby is incompatible with life (or has sadly already passed) - I think it is better to know sooner rather than later in that situation.

A raised nuchal doesn't just indicate a chromosomal problem, it can also indicate an issue with the heart even if the chromosomes are typical. Which would mean a fetal echo/cardiac scan (more in depth than a regular anatomy scan) at 20 weeks to study the heart in more detail. If there was an issue then doctors would know before the birth and plans could be put in place, otherwise it could go undiagnosed.

The blood test results don't just show a likelihood of Down Syndrome. They also show a likelihood of a few other trisomies which are not compatible with life at all. Also if the values are considerably outside the normal range, they can indicate problems with the placenta which can lead to later issues with growth, necessitating a third trimester growth scan which you don't usually get. I have a friend in real life who had a very low PAPP-A and her son's IUGR was picked up on a growth scan she wouldn't have otherwise had, and he was delivered safely early.

They also check a bunch of other things too - presence of certain organs, growth etc. It's a nice way to confirm your dates more or less as well.

Not everything bad that shows up on an NT scan is fixable, but there are still plenty of things that if discovered (and some can only be discovered at the NT stage) could result in a better outcome later on.

These days if you did get a worrying screen positive result from the NT screening, you can have a non-invasive maternal blood test called Harmony (or NIFTY/Panorama) which is 99.9% accurate for T21 (the most common) So you could have your mind put at rest without ever risking the baby. Kings College and UCLH both offer it on the NHS now, I imagine more places will shortly and right now there are no shortage of private places offering it for money. It takes two weeks for results but its mere existence takes away many of the horrible choices parents had to face as regards invasive testing even a year ago.

Thanks Chica, I think we have decided that too- we will let the hosptial do the 2 blood tests so the consultant will know if we have another placenta problem as there are things that can then be employed, but on the understanding that they will not give us a NT reading or a downs risk ratio- the hops are OK with that.

I haven't had the screening tests in all 3 of my pregnancies. I knew I wouldn't be happy to have an amnio or CVS with the risk of miscarriage and I'm fairly certain for downs syndrome we wouldn't terminate. The other genetic illnesses like Edwards or Turners tend to have more markers they can spot on the scans so would be more likely to be picked up that way.

My reasoning was that even with a high risk result following the screening tests there's still a very good chance the baby is healthy and I wasn't prepared to take the 1% miscarriage risk so I'd just have worried throughout the entire pregnancy.

As others have said it's a very personal decision and there is no right or wrong.

I believe the Harmony test is in the £100's? That's not something we could have afforded. Hopefully it'll become more available on the nhs then there would be no reason not to have the tests for us.

Thank you so much everyone :) So helpful.

ChicaMomma thanks for those stats - I thought I was a horrid person to even consider that I would consider terminating for any reason at all ;)

As I would love a good sleep tonight I am going to decide to take the test and not think about it. If faced with a dodgy score... well one step at a time I guess.

I love this forum

Cant wait to see the little one now :)

I had the nt test done in my last two pregnancies. Was in my forties and did not have the trople test or the invasive tests. In my case the nt was a fairly accurate predictor. With dd3 i got a good result and had a healthy baby. With ds3 the result was not good. My baby had downs and died before birth at 21 weeks. I am glad i did the tests. The first time it put my mind at rest, the second time while trying to stick my head in the sand i could kind of brace myself.

I'm sorry to hear about your DS3 madwoman - how very sad x x

What Crispy said. as always
Forewarned is forearmed. Much better to know what is what in advance.
And as someone else also said, if the sonographer thinks anything looks amiss, they must tell you anyway.

When I had mine I told the sonographer that my friend had declined to have it, sonographer said that even if you opt out, they still measure anyway and you'll be informed if it's high

Yes. You basically opt out of the blood test part.