Sent out of the blue foetal medicine appointment.

[WorriedFTM]

First time pregnancy. I'm in my early thirties, 23 + 4, healthy weight, non smoker, no health issues other than being a bit anaemic (on iron). Both my partner and I were tall and big babies! Believed to be a straight forward pregnancy so far. 12 week and 20 week scan reported as normal. Low risk pregnancy for midwife led care.

Elected to have combined screening test and got my results ages ago. The result was that the risk of having downs, Edwards or Patau's syndrome is low.

Got home today to find a letter inviting me to a appointment with a foetal medicine consultant in 5 weeks. No further information provided other than an information sheet about being at risk of a small baby. One passage on the info sheet is highlighted which states
"Some women who have opted for Down's syndrome screening tests may receive an appointment for an extra growth scan. This is because the combined test can identify a risk factor for a small baby".

Utterly confused as my combined screening results were low risk? Very worried as no idea what this appointment is all about. Re read all of my maternity notes but can't find anything amiss. 5 weeks is a long time to spend wondering what is wrong! Has anybody else been in a similar situation? What was the outcome?

Thank you.

Did you agree to take part in any studies? There might be research looking for features in the combined test that could predict low birth weight.

(Disclaimer: I am not pregnant nor do I work in obstetrics)

One of the blood tests they measure at screening is something called Papp - A . Low levels can be associated with smaller babies so extra scans are done to keep an eye on growth . Nothing to worry about .

No advice on your situation ( congrats BTW) be it at my 20 week scan we was offered the chance to take part in an extra scan in regards to foetal movement and to check the heart. We went ahead an it was great, we we're very lucky everything was working correctly, how it should. Took about half an hour, we got extra scan photos and reassurance and the consultants got in their trainjng.

Do you think it could be something like that? For extra training purposes. I decided it was worth going through it so I could see there was no problems or anything we should know about and selfishly I knew it was a chance to see my little boy for an extra half an hour an it being a good cause all round :)

Try not to worry ( easier said than done) my little flump isnt so little anymore at over 2 years old. They would have contacted you over any concerns x

Also sorry if Ive gotten the wrong end of the stick, I'm currently trying to make my tea whilst my little boy shouts mummy whilst his dad is round trying to get him ready for bed haha

As a previous poster has said it might be due to low papp-a.
I have it with this pregnancy (3rd) and have been given an extra scan at 23 weeks (Doppler scan) and a growth scan at 33 weeks.

I am low risk for downs etc too but I was phoned the following day by Fetal medicine to inform me of this rogue reading. It can mean low growth, poor placental function, higher risk of pre eclampsia...or nothing....

I was given quite a fair bit of extra care due to this result so it seems unusual to not have told you. (I'm taking low dose aspirin for example)

Call Fetal medicine, my department were very helpful and encouraged me to call if I needed help understanding results.

Thank you for all the speedy replies and reassurance.

I've been quite superstitious about allowing myself to buy any baby stuff until the "all clear" & today was the first afternoon that i bought some baby bits.

I think I did tick the box to participate in research studies but I would have imagined that would have been mentioned in the appointment. I'm guessing it might well indeed be PAPP-A related. Something which I know very little about so will read up on now...

Thank you once again!

*appointment letter

Not exactly the same situation but whilst I was pregnant I received an appointment letter from the Haematology clinic within the Oncology dept at my local hospital. It was totally out of the blue and scared me half to death because of it coming from the cancer people.

I rang them up at the first available opportunity so that's what I'd recommend in your situation. Is there a phone number on your letter? If you ring them, you'll be able to find out why you've been referred to them or if it's for a study or whatever, and hopefully put your mind at ease.

In the end, mine was a referral because of abnormal blood results that in some cases indicate leukaemia. Thankfully I was fine but sending letters out of the blue like we have both experienced is terrifying and hospitals really shouldn't do it because of the fear if causes.

Give them a call tomorrow morning. If things at the 20 weeks scan were all okay, there shouldn't be too much to worry about but it can be scary. Best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy 😘

Phoned up the foetal medicine unit this morning and you are all quite right. It is because I have a low Papp-A level so will need to be closely monitored in the third tri.

Thanks again!