NIPT vs anomaly scan

[abbaroony]

I’ve tried Google but struggling to find a conclusive answer - does a NIPT test for the same things that they look for in the 20 week scan?

I don’t want to tell people that we’re pregnant until after the anomaly scan (in case of bad news), but I’m wondering if we had a NIPT test earlier than 20 weeks it would mean we could tell people sooner, or are they looking for different things?

Hi,

The NIPT tests for everything the combined screening does, apart from one thing - PAPP-A

Oh, just read your post properly.

No, because the anomaly scan measures your baby to check they are growing properly (skull, mid-section, limbs) and looks at major organs. Different from the genetic disorders the NIPT/screening is for.

I had the NIPT privately due to previous MC's. I didn't tell anyone about the pregnancy until the results ( for chromosome disorders) came back as very low risk. I was 11 weeks when I had the NIPT and got the results back 5 days later - the day of my 12 week NHS scan.

The 20 week scan takes baby's measurements and looks for issues with development/growth etc

Obviously it's totally your decision when you tell people, but the chances of bad news at the 20 week scan is extremely rare. In the awful case of missed miscarriage or an abnormality picked up that you would require you to make a difficult decision, you would likely need to tell people for support/time off work etc.
If your 12 week scan was all good then there is a huge likelihood that everything is fine. And if it's not, people knowing will be the last of your worries and may actually be beneficial. I know what you mean though. After 3 mcs I didn't want to tell anyone for so long just in case.
The nipt can be reassuring but as pp said, lots of physical checks at the 20 week scan 👍

Thank you all, that’s really helpful.

I think I’ve just been scared by someone I know of who decided to terminate a pregnancy after finding various problems at the 20 week scan. Although I understand the chances of this happening are probably incredibly low, it just made me feel like maybe I should wait.

I did wonder how I’d manage to hide a pregnancy until 20 weeks, even with all of the cover-up opportunities covid brings!

So FWIW I had the NIPT and it came back as low risk. At 12 weeks I told all close friends and family but won't be telling work colleagues or my wider circle of friends until after the 20 week anomaly scan. The anomaly scan is more to check for physical abnormalities which by then will be seen a lot more clearly than at 12 weeks, whereas NIPT is for genetic disorders.

I dont exactly know WHY I'm not telling other acquaintances until after 20 weeks but I think I'm just a very cautious person by nature and need to know everything is fine first. I haven't found it difficult to hide at all but I do WFH and haven't seen anyone I know in person except DH for months!

This is what we did. We didn’t tell close friends or family until after nipt came back. The extended circle was told after 20 weeks

Just do what's right for you! As others have said, it's much easier to hide a pregnancy in lockdown! I told my boss (I'm a teacher) and he insisted I work from home so the cat was our of the bag from 8 weeks which I really struggled with. And family kept asking why my car was always at home... Shouldn't I be at school 🙈
I actually didn't have to officially tell anyone except close family. I let the gossip wheel do the rest 😂

I think this has been answered clearly but just in case... these are looking for very different things.

NIPT is a screening test that is looking for indicators of genetic issues. The one the NHS does at 12 weeks is similar but only looks for Down's, Edwards and Pateau's. NIPT is more accurate than the NHS test for these conditions and also looks at other possible genetic disorders (although less accurate for those). It doesn't do anything to check for growth or how organs are functioning and it won't tell you if baby actually has a genetic disorder only whether it is likely or not.

20 week scan is looking at growth and whether organs are functioning as they should. It is rare to find something very wrong at the 20 week scan like your friend did. More common (still very rare) is finding things that might need support either during pregnancy or after baby is born. My friend found out her baby had a cleft lip at the 20 week scan. This wasn't life-threatening at all and her baby is healthy and loved.

When to tell friends and family is such a personal choice. In reality the chance of a successful pregnancy doesn't change that much after 12 weeks. But, if you're nervous like I was it is still natural to want to wait. We didn't tell most people until after 20 week scan after previous losses. I didn't tell work colleagues until 24 weeks (because I would've had mat leave whatever happened at that point). We did tell my Mum and my boss before that - rationale being that if something goes wrong we would need support.

That’s really helpful, thank you all so much.

Balancing the nervousness of something going wrong against the excitement of wanting to share with people is tough isn’t it!