Would you pay for a private nuchal scan if this was you?

[Caz10]

Please help me to make up my mind!! I'm currently 11+4 so need to decide soon. Nuchal scans are not offered on the NHS in our area, so would have to pay £200 for it to be done privately (this is a combined costs and includes bloods too).

I am 31 will be 32 when baby is born, so not high high risk but no spring chicken either.

Would not consider termination and I don't think I could have an amnio either, so I'm really just looking for knowledge to inform myself with. No family history as far as we know.

I've saved up enough money but I know how many other useful baby things £200 could buy! I think I am being swayed by the fact that our NHS scan this week was rubbish, saw baby on screen for less than a minute and then got rushed back out the door while she ushered the next people in! So the thought of a nice lengthy reassuring scan when I am a couple of weeks further on is very attractive. But that is NOT the point of the nuchal.

We could get a private normal scan for £75 but DH thinks if we're going to go private we may as well get as much info as we can.

Not sure what to do?!!!

Hi Caz - I had the private Nuchal last week - exact same situation - not offered on NHS. I am slightly older at 35 so risk increases significantly for me - 1 in 250 seemed really high , although I know this is still a 1 in 249 chance of having a healthy baby.

I paid £200 for full bloods and results there and then. Tbh the scan wasn't a nice long relaxing one, was better than NHS, but only 5 mins - she was more thorough, did more of an assessment of the baby.

Results came back as 1 in almost 5000 which sounds a lot better, she said this was good, but I have seen some other results at 1 in 10,000 etc on here!

It was reassuring, like you, I really don't want an amnio as I have had 2 m/c already, but did want to prepare myself if I was confirmed as high risk. Are you going to have the triple test if you don't have the nuchal? I took the view, it was only money and I could do without 'stuff' but reall wanted as much info about my baby as possible.
Best wishes with your decision - it is tough and only a risk factor at the end of the day. I am still worried, although less so. Hope that makes sense. ST.

If you wouldn't terminate and you wouldn't have amnio, no I wouldn't spend money on a private scan!I would save the money ofr the baby or other nice or necessary thngs!

You will, presumably, get a 20 week scan? There, they can look in huge detail at every aspect of the baby. Wait another two months for that!

I was 32 when my ds1 was conceived and had the triple blood test offered on the nhs. My ds2 was conceived when I was 37 and so I paid £165 for a nuchal fold scan privately as it was not offered on the nhs in my area. My pct considers women over 35 to be 'older mums' so I wasn't considered old first time round but was the second..

Money will always come and go so if you have the scan for your peace of mind then it is money well spent. However, my doctor interestingly pointed out to me that when you have the nuchal scan you have to be prepared to know what to do with the results. I found my scan to be reassuring, it was 'normal' and to see an early picture of my boy was just so lovely.

I would talk briefly to your doctor about how to interpret the results of a nuchal scan and then make your decision, you will then be making an informed decision.

Good luck. ps: it seems to me that women are having babies later these days so I would say that you are a perfect spring chicken....

Caz10- when I was pg with ds the area we lived in didnt offer 12week scans, I went private for it. I was 28 years old. TBH though I didnt have the nuchal fold and bloods done as I said it wouldnt have made a difference to us whether the pg went ahead or not. I had the scan as a reasurrance to make sure something was there to make it more real if you like.

the choice is your hun.xx

I am 36 and although we had a nuchal fold test on 14 wk scan, we paid for a private foetal cardiac scan at 16 wks - think our nuchal fold scan was 1 / 470 but I am neurotic. Apparently babies with downs often have heart probs, hence the cardiac scan which showed normal. In my situation I wanted to know as much as possible - we have a friend with a baby who has heart problems and it is really difficult / traumatic for them, there is a lot to consider such as Mum not being able to go back to work, physio therapy, special care etc.
IMO if you can afford to do it, do it for your own reassurance and peace of mind. You will always be able to make more money (with any luck!) but you will not have these weeks again - and your stress / worry will be felt by your baby too.

I think that unless you would have an amnio these tests are a waste of time.
I worried for months before having healthy ds3 (I'm 42), and I regret having the bloodtests.

sorry, bit abrupt wasn't I?
Didn't have a nuchal scan as I was too far on, and if I were to do it again I wouldn't have the bloodtests either. It wasn't until I got the "high-risk" result that I realised I didn't want an amnio. Don't think I thought it through enough before I had the blood tests.

Is DS a particular worry for you... I know you say there is no family history but do you have worries about having a child with DS? Or would you just really like the re-assurance of seeing your baby again, moving around.

If you are really sure you wouldn't do anything with the results if they were borderline / bad (i.e no amnio, cvs or ultimately termination) then if it is bad news it would only serve to prepare you. As has been said, the 20wk scan should be able to give you a good idea of how things are.

Could you pay for a triple blood test instead (if not provided on NHS?). With my first pregnancy (DS!) I got my dates wrong so missed out the the nuchal window at my 12wk scan (I was actually 15wks) so I was offered a triple blood test and that satisfied me at the time.

Hi Caz10 I was 32 when conceived DD now 18 weeks. I had a private nuchal scan and full bloods The peace of mind it gave me was worth every penny.

My NHS scan was also really fast with the Nuchal we had loads of time to look at the amazing images and also got loads of photos. I know that isn't the reason to have one but it was fabulous to see our small person in such detail at that stage rather than the 2minutes at the NHS hospital.

Go for it I will def have one with No2.

I was 30 when ds was concieved but was considered low risk by hospital tests.

However when (if) i get pg again I would definately pay fpr a nuchal scan as will be about 34-35. I'm not sure how this would influence any decision but think it helps to have as much information as you can get.

So yes I would probably say yes

Chooster: Y'know, Sometimes news is just that - news / info - not 'bad' news.
re DS, that is. A child is a child is a child .

(not saying against nyone who wnats a scan because they would want to consider termination for certain conditions - just that we can't assume that news will be good or bad for any one person smile])

I think you have to consider what you wodul do if it ame back with higher statistical probability than your age factor alone. They aren't 100% accurate and whilst getting any stat back showing cghance less than your age can be comfortign there is still always the chance your baby will be the one. Had you been gvien it on the NHS you probably wouldn't have thought twice unless it came back on the higher side but as you are consciously going down this route you should perhaps think through the potential consequences more carefully, just how far down the testign road could you go or could you live with uncertainty for the rest of your pg if not ?

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. I will get the 16 week blood test done on the NHS, but everything I've read (too much, of course!) seems to say that the nuchal plus bloods is far more accurate. I will also get a 20 week scan on the NHS and the midwfe said they would look at the chambers of the heart amongst other things at that one.

I have to be honest and say that I am more and more being influenced by the thought of just seeing that the LO is ok on the scan screen, "OK" being defined as moving around and heart beating! (without having to wait another 2 months). I thought I would relax after my 1st scan but it was so rushed that I am still having trouble believing that everything is ok.

I have worked with children with DS and it is not particularly a worry to be honest, I think there are many other syndromes and issues which would be much harder to deal with. If my 16 week bloods came back and said I was high risk, I wouldn't be doing anything other than getting myself mentally prepared.

I'm leaning towards paying £75 just to get a normal scan at the private place, which seems ridiculously indulgent, but if it gives peace of mind it may be worth it.

Thank you all again.

I paid for a nuchal with DS because my triple test came back high. This was the only reason, if I'd had a normal triple test then I probably wouldn't have paid for it. It is very reassuring though.

I would definitely pay for one and did twice. I highly recommend Fetl Medicine Centre in London. They are fab. A world of difference between them and the NHS if it is on offer in your areas which obviously it is not.

Caz will you be offered a 20 week scan if your triple test result is not high risk, I don't think you are at any of the Glasgow hospitals unless it is. IIRC you said you'd get a Nuchal at the Nuffield.
I had the Nuchal at Nuffield & it was really good & re-assuring but I'm 10 years older than you & would have considered amnio etc. I think if you're not going to take it any further it isn't a diagnostic test anyway so unless you had an amnio you wouldn't know for a fact that the baby had DS or other chromosomal abnormality.
You can actually have the triple test from 15 weeks onwards so that would be slightly earlier & the m/w should listen for a hb if you explain your fears & how quick/non-reassuring your scan was. I had felt some movement at 14 weeks but nothing for almost a week so I told m/w when I went for triple test (SB only) & she listened for hb which was booming away & made me feel a bit better.
I really wouldn't spend £75 which won't tell you anything or £200 which will only give you an indication. It is hard waiting but I think you're young enough to take the risl if wouldn't follow it through anyway.

Thanks again everyone. Jbck I am sw scotland, and if I understood the midwife correctly last time the 20 week scan is a definite. It is also done at the maternity unit at the hospital rather than the local clinic, and she said it was a much more advance machine etc. (Our maternity unit was brand new last year).

I am still feeling horrendously sick, getting fatter by the minute, so I guess I've got to take that as a sign that everything is ok!

I'm just such a worrier....

Thanks for all your advice.