Nuchal fold looks thick 9 weeks

[soph91]

Hi everyone

I was 8 weeks 6 days yesterday I was driving to a meeting for work and when I got out of the car I felt I gush of blood (it was pink and watery ) I then continued to bleed. I took myself off to the nearest hospital who took bloods and my levels came back at just under 100,000 which they were happy with...they couldn't scan me until Monday (and the hospital was 2 hours away) so I booked a private scan for last night , I have had a previous miscarriage so its fair to say I was a nervous wreck.

My boyfriend drove to me and we went for the scan prepared for the worst however baby was there measuring right with its little heart beating away , the scan showed a small subchronic hematoma which the lady doing the scan didn't seem worried by at all.

She then went on to say the nuchal fold on the babies neck looks thick for its age , but that they can't official measure it until 11 plus weeks. So that I need to call my midwife and ask for a scan at 11 weeks. So now I am still worrying about the bleeding which seems to have stopped but I'm also panicking about the nuchal fold and what this could mean?

Has anyone had a thick nuchal fold at around 8/9 weeks and everything has been okay ? I am going to call my midwife this morning.

Thanks and sorry for the long post
Sophie

The nuchal fold measurement is a predictor of Downs, and is measured as part of the combined testing which looks at certain hormone levels plus the nuchal thickness.

You could have a harmony test from 10 weeks, which would give you a definitive answer
They can take the blood any day from 10 weeks, and you get the results back within a week
But it’s around £300...

The other option would be to wait til 11 weeks for a scan, and the combined bloods. The results also take around a week and give you a ‘one in xxx’ sort of result.
If you come back as high risk, which I think they class as more than 1 in 500, they’ll offer you an amino

At the 11 weeks scan, they should also be able to see if the nasal bone is visable, because it not being visable on scan is also another indication of Downs

Sorry you’re going through this. I also had a SCH in my pregnancy and it’s streasful

It is quite common for it to be a bit thicker at that stage, which is why they don't look at nuchal translucency this early. Also, they can't even measure it accurately at this stage. The technician shouldn't have mentioned it because you'd be having a scan at 12 weeks anyway. All you've been left with is anxiety, which you don't need.

Poor you.

I've had two pregnancies where the babies had chromosomal abnormalities, one of which didn't even have a thick NT even at the 12 week scan. It was at 20 weeks that the problems were visible. So, just wait and see and trust that the chances are this will resolve itself and the NT will be normal.

Best of luck!

Yes, if you can afford the harmony test, I'd go for that.
My last child was born before the harmony test was widely available. Given my history of have two 'abnormal' pregnancies, I'd have gone down the harmony route for peace of mind.

If you are thinking about the Harmony test, I would suggest booking it for just after the 12 week scan as IF your baby has high nuchal translucency then (and as have PP have said it hopefully will have resolved by then) our hospital would have offered Harmony to us on the NHS.

In the end, we decided straight to go for CVS microarray anyway so Harmony would have been unnecessary as both test placental DNA and CVS is available to test for much more chromosome conditions (but it is invasive and has risks so Harmony would be a better option if everything looks fine at your 12 week scan and you decided to have it privately for peace of mind)

Best of luck OP

I think midwife was wrong to mention it now when it could be totally normal in a few weeks!

Terrible TERRIBLE professional attitude from the technician. I’d report that person straight away! You were not having a Harmony scan, it was not her position to comment on something that you have no idea if she has the qualifications to suggest.

Please don’t worry. Medical professionals know not to test Nuchal Translucency until after 11wks because it’s not accurate before then. Foetus develops at an incredible rate in the first trimester, and things may look incredibly different in a couple of weeks.

And NT is one of the predictors of risk. It’s NOT a complete diagnosis. It’s compared against a couple of other tests to evaluate how likely a chromosomal disorder is, and sometimes NT can be thick and other markers completely normal and you are in fact low risk... hth

Thank you so much for all your responses I really appreciate it. Yes in a way I wish she hasn't told me as they don't normally measure it now, but at least I can try and deal with it now. I will definitely look into the Harmony test and see if I can book for that . My boyfriend has been reading up on it and is quite positive and thinks it will all be fine it's just because it was too early I on the other hand just need to know x

Yes I think I might wait until my NHS can and they look at the harmony test I'm going to call my midwife and see if she bring it forward as my NHS can isn't scheduled until I'll be almost 14 weeks x

OP, get that scan closer to 12 and 13. A 14 week scan again can give very inaccurate NT readings. The window is 12-13 weeks and 6 days (that's pushing it, really).

I predict that you will NOT need an amnio or a cvs and that your little baby will be healthy and happy. But if you can ask for that 14 week booked scan to be moved up to week 12-13, DO! Use the thick NT reading you have NOW as an excuse to move you up closer- if the 'thick NT' reading is good for anything, it's good for them to prioritise you. I am so confident all will be fine. But better to get you scanned during that crucial 12-13 week window than wait until 14 weeks, when the NT readings are not as accurate. 14 weeks is really pushing the boat out.

So call your midwife. Tell her what the techinician said. You now have a soft 'risk' which gives you a reason to expedite your 12 week scan.

Good luck! I think you'll be grand!

Thank you !I couldn't get hold of my midwife so called the office who said they couldn't bring my test forward , she said I can call the appt line to check for cancellations weekly if I want. They won't scan me before because of my bleeding unless it happens again as I have had a private scan. Driving me a bit mad. So I think I am going to opt for the Harmony scan at 10 weeks. X

I'm surprised she didn't tell you the head seems massive for that age too, and the legs well they looked a bit stumpy.

Don't worry about it, there's a reason they don't take measurements at that age, because they all look a bit funny really, sort of like an alien.

It's really unprofessional of them as I'm sure even well-being checks don't get carried out until further along.

Wishing you all the best OP

I'd keep calling and do all you can to get the scan at 12-13 because even though I think it's likely to all be absolutely fine, if nothing else if you are anything like me you'll worry that maybe it only looked ok because the scan was late! (When actually it will probably show everything being ok at 12-13 weeks anyway)

Thanks so much ! I've text my midwife explaining I need a scan earlier with the the fold and the SCH. Hopefully she responds the care doesn't seem to be great in my area which is frustrating!

I couldn’t get an accurate result with Harmony - it kept coming back as inconclusive because there was not enough baby dna (tried at 10, 12 & 14 weeks!). They then suggested the SAFE test which is supposedly much more likely not to come back inconclusive. It worked for me. Might be worried asking about that test too.

Thanks I will ask about the SAFE test , I know I shouldn't worry because I wasn't even 9 weeks when she measured but obviously I am !