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Original poster

Nuchal fold measuing 7mm at 20 weeks

30 replies

emily127 · 11/04/2017 21:19

Anyone ever had any experience of this?? Every thing else was fine but this was measuring 1mm more than the ideal range.
Blood tests at week 12 showed chance of Down's syndrome being 1 in 78500 so this has really hard me hard as everything up until now has been perfect.
We've opted to have the amniocentesis test but just worrying sick in the mean time! Appreciate any advice x

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TwinkleStars15 · 11/04/2017 21:58

Sorry to hear that, I'm no expert but 7mm seems a lot, however don't they usually measure this at your 12 week scan? Just a suggestion, have you thought about a Harmony Test rather than the amnio? I had one because our risk came back at 1:273 - it costs £400 but is a simple blood test with no risk at all, whereas the amnio carries the risk of miscarriage. Obviously it's a lot of money so you might not be in a position to consider it. Good luck though x

Original poster
emily127 · 11/04/2017 22:27

Thanks twinkle. Sonography said they'd like it to be 6mm so slightly over.. I had blood tests done but at my 12 weeks scan everything was measuring perfectly. Never heard of that test but wouldn't have that money unfortunately x

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Danniecake30 · 21/04/2017 03:56

Hi Emily,
I had the same measurement on my nuchal scan. I had blood test after which confirmed low hormone levels (PAPP-A etc) I opted to go for a cvs which involves a needle in the bump and bits of placenta removed for testing. It was uncomfortable having the needle inserted but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I was absolutely terrified but it turned out to be so much less scary than I expected. I got the results within a few days and everything cane back clear, thus was all at 13 weeks and I'm now almost 36 weeks with a strong healthy wriggler. I know they say cvs and the amnio has a risk of miscarriage but the chances are small and you'll be monitored carefully. It's still a horrible decision to have to make and I really feel for you love xxx

Original poster
emily127 · 21/04/2017 20:13

@Danniecake30 thanks for you reply, glad to hear everything came back okay for you! At my appointment the consultant explained that because of this measurement, my chances of something being wrong had increased 10 times (despite the midwife insisting last week they wouldn't be able to tell me this!) so my chances were now 1/7850. So we decided against the amino as the miscarriage risk was 1/300 - ive been given the opinion of amino at 32weeks as the risk is only early labour.. I decided to go ahead with this as I would like reassurance but could change my mind before then! Seems like a lot of stress that wasn't really needed.. hope everything goes ok for you and congrats!! xxxx

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DalaHorse · 21/04/2017 20:17

I've had three dcs and have never heard of measuring the nuchal at 20 weeks. In fact I understood it was only useful when measured up to 14 weeks. Have they mentioned any other "markers" from the 20 week scan? Or did they say everything else looked fine?

Occadodo · 21/04/2017 20:18

It depends on your final decision.
If you found your child had DS then would you abort?
If so then have the amino...
we have severely disabled Son and with our las child we refused testing as there was no point. We had created a life and a life with disabilities can still be a great one .... as we already know!
Life is full of risks .... our DD was born NT ....
best of luck!'

DalaHorse · 21/04/2017 20:20

Dannie - but your nuchal was at the 12 week scan? Op is saying (I think) that her 12 week scan was fine but they have measured nuchal at 20 weeks (unusually I think) and it shows a higher reading.

If yours was at 12 weeks and op's is at 20 weeks there isn't a comparison in the situation, unfortunately.

Apologies if I've read it wrong.

Original poster
emily127 · 21/04/2017 20:51

@DalaHorse to be honest I think it's just something that is done in the area my hospital is in - a lot of people I've spoken have said that they never have any nuchal reading at 20 weeks either (if everything was fine at the 12 week scan like mine was).. the consultant also commented that it is currently being debated whether or not to stop the measuring. No there were no other markers and everything else looks fine.. xx

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Original poster
emily127 · 21/04/2017 20:53

@Occadodo to be honest I'm not sure what I would do.. I was considering the amino as I needed reassurance as the midwife stated they were unable to tell me how much my risk had increased (it was originally 1/78,500!) and I couldn't find any answers from my own research either.. I decided against it when it was later explained my chances are now 1/7850 due to the nuchal measurement so it's put my mind at ease xx

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DalaHorse · 21/04/2017 20:54

Well, I know nothing technical about it but if your 12 week nuchal & scan was fine and there aren't any other markers at the 20 week scan then surely (hopefully) it's just "one of those things".

Fingers crossed for you!

Original poster
emily127 · 21/04/2017 21:08

@DalaHorse thank you! I hope so too and it certainly seems that way, the consultant I saw yesterday said that in the majority of cases like mine it is just one of those things so hoping it's the same for me!

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Occadodo · 21/04/2017 22:03

When we consulted our extremely experienced midwife about this she said would you back a horse with those odds??? Made sense then.

She also said they had a woman with no markers at all and great nuchal fold and very very low odds have a child with DS .... so nothing is certain. I think the harmony would give better info now but my DS is 7 and it wasn't about then.

My SIL had the amino when her bloods came back at 1:98.... but she had a 1:100 chance of loading the baby through amino ! Crazy in my opinion!
What will be will be.... children are a blessing and amazing in every form.
Relax and enjoy your pregnancy... your baby will love you no matter what !!!!

Danniecake30 · 22/04/2017 07:26

@dalahorse my nuchal was done at 12 weeks. As part of my job I actually organise all the pregnancy scans for West Yorkshire, so I know from experience that the nuchal fold scan is only really useful up until 14 weeks and 1 day. Anything over that and the measurements can be invalid as the nuchal can increase slightly with fluid or decrease, showing a false negative result (basically a result that there's no risk when there is, as the size of the nuchal fold can reduce as the baby grows). In our area we don't count the measurements after 14 weeks, but can do a blood test up to 16 weeks. I can't imagine why they would find the results to be reliable at 20 weeks! Sorry for the late reply, hope you're ok Emily xxx

Original poster
emily127 · 22/04/2017 08:17

@Occadodo thanks for your post, I finally feel like I can enjoy the pregnancy now I've been given actual odds! X

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Original poster
emily127 · 22/04/2017 08:20

@Danniecake30 that's so interesting! I wonder why they would even bother doing my measurement at 20 weeks?! Kinda makes sense that no one else I've spoken to have had it done. Having another scan in 10 days to look closer at baby's heart so hopefully that'll come back all fine and I won't bother with anymore testing as I'm sure baby is ok and I've been worried for no reason! Thank you xx

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mumofthreegirls3 · 24/04/2017 19:45

Emily - just had my 20 week scan today to be told that my measurement was 6.4mm and like you I had a low risk on bloods at 12 weeks (1 in 50,000). I too have been told that it increases risk tenfold so now 1in 5000. My consultant was fairly relaxed about it (my sonographer was not so helpful - she seemed to panic causing me to panic!). I have another scan a week tomorrow so fingers crossed all goes well for both of us. It's scary, despite the odds, so thinking of you! Hope you get good results.

Original poster
emily127 · 24/04/2017 20:12

@mumofthreegirls3 I'm surprised that someone else has gone through this as I thought I was the only one! Yes, increased by ten fold does sound like a lot so it's quite scary but at least our odds were really good to begin with! When I went back for a rescan they couldn't get an exact measurement (he kept hiding behind my belly button!) but it was still over - going back in a week to have a closer look at his heart. Hope everything goes okay for you too, thank you xx

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HaleySheridan96 · 21/03/2020 12:39

May I ask your out come Emily? I’m measuring 7mm at 20w 4d.. they couldn’t get a good reading because baby was moving ALOT so they got 5.7mm at first and then 7mm. I have been so worried 😟 heart and brain are perfect. My blood work at 15 weeks came back perfect nothing was detected.. I did blood work again I get my results back in a few days and I also go back for another ultrasound on Tuesday. Anyways, I hope all is well I hope to hear from you soon :)

SabahAli92 · 10/05/2020 22:09

Hi Haley, I'm currently in a similar situation to you. I had my anomaly scan yesterday and although everything measured normal for the baby the nuchal fold measured 7mm. Currently awaiting the consultants opinion as my harmony test and 1st trimester scans were all perfectly normal. Could you give me an update as to what happened in your situation? Im really nervous and seem to be obsessing over the numbers

TenThousandSpoons0 · 10/05/2020 23:35

Hi, hope all goes well for you both. I see this is an old thread but seeing as it has come up again I just wanted to add a couple of things in case it’s helpful to you or anyone else reading.

In the previous posts there’s a lot of confusion about the measurement being done at 20 weeks as no one seems to have heard of it - it’s important to know that the nuchal translucency (measured around 11-14 weeks) and the nuchal fold (measured at your 20 week scan) are different things and the measurements can’t be directly compared. 7mm at 12 weeks is very significant - normal would be around 2.5. At 20 weeks, 7mm is still above the 6mm cutoff but it doesn’t raise your risk anywhere near as much. Basically, anything over 6mm may increase your chance of Down syndrome by about 7-10 times - if your NIPT was low risk, your overall risk is still very very low. (Same goes for combined screening).

Nuchal fold is one of the routine measurements done at 20 weeks that most people wouldn’t actually notice being done tbh. It’s done as part of the same views where they look at the structures in the back of baby’s brain.

Most of the time baby is absolutely fine - it can be increased in 1% of totally normal babies. If there are any other problems on the scan then of course that makes it more likely there’s something going on.

Hope that helps x

SabahAli92 · 18/05/2020 21:43

Thank you so much for the clarity! Yes the sonographer did mention now that I think of it that it can affect 1% of normal babies! Other than the nuchal fold being increased the baby looked totally healthy and she didnt seem overly concerned! I guess its the hormones taking effect over my brain :/.
I really appreciate your response! It really has put my mind at ease Smile

SabahAli92 · 20/05/2020 15:42

Update on my previous post for anyone going through something similar:
Had my scan today and everything turned out fine! The consultant said that because of the position of my baby, sometimes the nuchal fold increased and also decreased. She took 3 measurements today one was 3mm, another 5.6mm and another 5.8mm; and showed me how they differed with baby's movements. Other then that baby was in perfect health!

Worriednewmom · 15/09/2020 09:05

Hello ladies!

How did you all get on???

I’m 20 weeks not and the NT was 7.3. Everything else on the scan was fine and my bloods at 12 weeks showed low risk of everything. They seem to be pushing amino on me but I really don’t want the risk.

Anyone else experiencing similar?

Derya123 · 13/11/2020 17:30

Hello ladies

I have just come back from my 20 weeks scan and have been told my nuchal fold was 7mm theyve made an appointment for me to go back on Tuesday to see the specialist who will look further into this however im freaking out dont know how im going to wait until Tuesday!! My 14 week results came back low risk too and everything else has been fine since including today the sonographer said everything seemed perfect. Please can you let me know how all of yours has progressed since??? Super anxious and worried! Thanks xxx

Baby3April2021 · 08/01/2021 19:44

Can anyone on this thread give an update? How did everything turn out for you all?

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