What are the chances of bad news at the 20 week scan

[JeffV]

Hi all,

Thanks for reading

I have my 20 week scan next week and I'm terrified. We have had a long ttc journey with an ectopic pregnancy and an early miscarriage so I'm already very nervous.
I'm trying to get support for my anxiety but my mw hasn't really helped and my gp just referred me for some cbt but I've been told the waiting list is quiet long.

Does anyone know the chances of there being a problem at the 20 week scan? I cant seem to find any statistics on it.

There’s no stats as will depend on a few factors such as your age and medical history/medications etc. Assuming you’re young and no medical history with a normal 12 week screening test, overall chances of a problem at anomaly scan are minimal.

I’m in the same boat as you. I have my 20 week scan Friday, & I’m terrified.

12 week scan was fine, and haven’t had any cramping or bleeding, so nothing that would make me think something is wrong, but I can’t help feeling shit scared.

I had a mmc in July that needed surgical management at 10 weeks. It was my first pregnancy so that has really ruined this one for me, because I can’t envision a happy ending.

I’m trying not to think about it at all, & just remain ignorant, & I’ll deal with it Friday.

Thank you @Apandemicyousay I'm 31, 12 weeks scan has a NT with in range and blood test was low risk. Other than the anxiety, I suffer from headaches and migraines but not to the extend I'm on medication.

Thanks @Sansa87 I completely get what your saying. I feel like miscarriage has really stolen the innocent happiness my friends have enjoyed with their pregnancies. Im so nervous about my scan!

@JeffV it’s crazy isn’t it. I’ve had friends who get super excited about their 20 week “gender” scan.

All I can think is it’s the scan that can find SO many things wrong.

I think if you had a good 12 week scan and also low risk results from the testing you should feel pretty confident that everything will be fine at the 20 week scan x

Yes @Sansa87 I've had those exact conversations. I've been told to stop worrying as it the 'gender' scan

Unfortunately once you've suffered a miscarriage you have forevermore taken away the excitement of scans. They always become fearful events. That's just my own personal experience. I would be physically sick before scans. I only started to relax a bit during my pregnancy when I was expecting my third child. Best of luck OP

I was told that while bad news at the 12 w scan is often of the life or death kind, bad news at the 20 week scan is often of the ‘needs an operation in childhood’ or ‘needs to wear a brace for a year’ kind.
I got bad news at the 20 week scan and it was quite serious (baby was healthy but umbilical cord wasn’t so had 5% chance of surviving labour) but with very specialised care he was fine. Bad news isn’t always the end of the road.

When I was pregnant with my first I added up all the incidences of all the major problems they're looking for (the life and death/severe and lasting disability ones) and it came out as far less than 0.1% if I recall rightly. I wouldn't recommend you do the same though because then you know what can go wrong and I think it increased my anxiety.

Oh I'm feeling exactly the same. Im so worried it's unreal. I can't stop thinking about it. At least I'm not the only one lol I think everything will be fine though x

So glad I've read this, my 20 week scan is Thursday and I'm so nervous, we had a mmc in March and I've been so nervy this whole pregnancy I just want it done with!

tbh, they never give you good news at scans

The very best you'll get is, "We didn't find any problems THIS time. But if we take longer looking at you, work hard at it, we might well find a maybe could be problem. We'll take 10-20 weeks monitoring you with no definite answers only to tell you it was nothing after all, in the end."

Am not a fan of scans. You can tell.

I was so terrified for mine, I went through the entire list of things they look for and read up on each one. Nearly all were things that would have had indications or soft markers picked up at the 12 week scan, were chromosomal (we had had screening but NIPT or 12 week scan should have spotted a lot of them) or ran in families. If you are healthy, your family are and you had a trouble tree 12 week scan then it would be very very rare. Not impossible of course but the most likely is that you have a perfectly healthy baby there

@lljkk

tbh, they never give you good news at scans The very best you'll get is, "We didn't find any problems THIS time. But if we take longer looking at you, work hard at it, we might well find a maybe could be problem. We'll take 10-20 weeks monitoring you with no definite answers only to tell you it was nothing after all, in the end."

Am not a fan of scans. You can tell.

Sorry you had a bad time. Mine did give good news, generally, 'Everything looks good/OK.'

I've come here for the same reason. My scan is on the 22nd. I've had miscarriages in the past so never been this far along in pregnancy. I don't know if I'm feeling movement. I'm 38 and my first scan came back normal and my tests for genetic abnormalities was fine. Just wish it was over.

In my experience, scans weren't very chatty. So much measuring of bones and cord and such is being done that there isn't much commentary on what they are seeing and that is disconcerting. Although it doesn't mean anything is wrong if that makes sense?

@Mulderitssme I never felt any movement until later on in my pregnancy; certainly nothing by the 20 week scan point. You may, if lying down see some slight fluttering of your belly (which i only noticed after my scan) but I couldn't feel the movement.

I've got my 20 week scan mid January and I'm terrified of it too. I was already nervous before but then I had a fall down the bottom three steps of our stairs on Saturday and landed on my back. I rang 111 and they told me not to worry as I didn't get any cramps/bleeding but it still worries me a bit.

I just want to say, you should be prepared for the scan to be quite long and the sonographer to be silent for extended periods of time. That is completely normal and nothing to be concerned about at all. There are so many measurements and checks they have to do! It’s a much longer scan than at 12 weeks. The first thing they will do though, based on my experience, is find the baby’s heartbeat and tell you it’s there and all fine. Because that’s the biggie isn’t it? Congratulations on your babies.

Thank you all - I really appreciate your understanding. Lots of people just tell me to stop worrying but thats just impossible with everything thats happened in our TTC journey so far

@EmmaAM

I've got my 20 week scan mid January and I'm terrified of it too. I was already nervous before but then I had a fall down the bottom three steps of our stairs on Saturday and landed on my back. I rang 111 and they told me not to worry as I didn't get any cramps/bleeding but it still worries me a bit.

If it's any comfort I tripped and tumbled down a whole flight of concrete stairs when I was about 5 months pregnant. I kept thinking I was going to stop before I hit the landing but I didn't. Anyway, the baby was absolutely fine.

@EmmaAM

I've got my 20 week scan mid January and I'm terrified of it too. I was already nervous before but then I had a fall down the bottom three steps of our stairs on Saturday and landed on my back. I rang 111 and they told me not to worry as I didn't get any cramps/bleeding but it still worries me a bit.

I did this too! Tripped and fell down stairs. Baby was fine. They are surpassingly well protected in there.

Please do monitor for bleeding or cramps etc. But odds on you'll both be absolutely fine!

Despite my nerves all went well today, baby is measuring where it should be

Thanks girls, it's amazing how protected our babies are in there isn't it?! I've still had no cramps or bleeding so fingers crossed everything is ok 😊 I just couldn't believe I fell down the stairs, I can't remember the last time I ever did that!