December babies 2021! Thread 3

[Horehound]

Following in from 1 and 2. :)

@Shazza86

Hey everyone, hope you're all well. Still dipping in and out of here. I'm 9 weeks and 5 days today and hopefully still going well. Just had a quick question for you all. Online it says we are entitled to free NHS prescriptions and dental treatment when pregnant. Has anyone else been told that they are only entitled to this from 12 weeks of pregnancy? I've spoken to a few friends and none have been told that but thats what I midwife told me today when I messaged her to ask her for the forms I need.

I had my booking in appointment this week and she sent me my exemption certificate sent to me straight away !

I feel so lucky then that my trust is letting my partner in. I thought it would be the same everywhere now.

@tuxedocat they aren't able to take the blood test when you go for the scan? Is that what your mifwide said last week?

@chloed121 yeah everyone I've spoken to got theirs at their booking in appointment. At least I've got it now.

@Shazza86 I’m not sure - on the maternity services FB it just says they won’t be able to give everyone an opportunity to do the first trimester combined screening due to reduced capability. I’m not sure if they’re unable to do bloods or it’s the results at the lab, they don’t say, they only say it’s down to the day. They’ll offer another test which is the quadruple but that’s nearer to 20 weeks which if I’m honest I’m not keen on.

@tuxedocat mifwide?! 🙈
Wow I'm so surprised about that. If you're wanting the test you will want to know now rather than waiting that long. Could you see how much it is to go privately if they don't offer it?

@Shazza86 I knew what you meant 😂

The website says:

The FTCS is offered to women from 11+2 to 14+1 weeks (alongside the 12-week/dating scan) as part of the national screening programme to assess the chance of babies having Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome or Patau’s syndrome.

If you choose to take up the offer of this test a referral will be sent to the antenatal screening team who will look to book you in for an appointment within this timescale.

However, if they cannot arrange an appointment within this timeframe, the Quadruple Test will be offered as an alternative to assess the chance of babies having Down’s syndrome. This can be offered alongside the anomaly (20-week) scan, which screens for Edwards’ or Patau’s syndrome when the FTCS has not been performed.

So I guess it’s just luck of the draw, but I won’t be able to submit my choices for screening until 10weeks.
I think I’ll have to see how it goes, but I think we’ll be prepared to have a private harmony test done, which I think is an eye watering £400-500 but if it’s a needs must I suppose that’s the way it goes 😫

Gosh that's so expensive isn't it. Fingers crossed you just get a day where they can do it 🤞

I think the guidelines have changed for the whole of the country and partners are now allowed at scans so the letters may not have been updated as it only changed a few weeks ago.
I am having harmony on Monday. It’s £400 for a scan before test, harmony test and then nuchal scan at 12 weeks. I’m 35 so figured it was worth paying and bonus getting to know what sex baby is pg!

What's the harmony test for?
I'm getting the screening for all the syndromes as part of the normal NHS offering.

What is the Harmony test?

The Harmony test analyzes cell free DNA in maternal blood and gives a strong indication of whether the baby is at high or low chance of having trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) or trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome).

The test identifies 99%, but not all, of the babies with trisomy 21, 98% of babies with trisomy 18 and 90% of babies with trisomy 13.
If you decide to have the test you will be asked to sign a consent form by one of our doctors or an appropriately trained member of our staff. We will then draw a small amount of blood from a vein in your arm. This may cause some discomfort but the sample is usually taken very quickly. Sometimes there can be some bruising after a blood sample is taken.

When do I expect to get the results?

The results from the test will generally be available within two weeks and we will notify you as soon as we receive them by phone and email / letter.
In about 5% of cases the test does not give a result. This is due to technical problems with the analysis of the sample and does not suggest that there is a problem with the baby. If you want you can have the test repeated (at no cost) and there is a 50% chance that the test will give a result.

What would the results show?

If the Harmony test shows that there is a high chance that the baby has trisomy 21 or 18 or 13 it does not mean that the baby definitely has one of these conditions. If you want to be certain if the baby has one of these conditions you should have CVS or amnio.
If the Harmony test shows that there is a low chance (less than 1 in 10,000) that the baby has trisomy 21 or 18 or 13 it is unlikely that the baby has one of these conditions.

Do I need to have any other tests?

The Harmony test does not provide information on other rare chromosomal abnormalities. If the scan at 11-13 weeks shows a high nuchal translucency (more than 3.5 mm) or major defects, such as exomphalos, holoprosencephaly, heart abnormalities or megacysis, the chance for some rare chromosomal conditions may be high. In such cases you may choose to have CVS or amnio.
The Harmony test does not provide information on physical defects, such as heart or brain abnormalities and spina bifida, or fetal growth. It is therefore advisable that you still have ultrasound scans at 11-13 weeks and at 20-22 weeks to examine the fetal anatomy and at 30-32 weeks to examine the fetal growth.

Sorry was easier to just copy and paste it. I didn’t think the NHS offered it but could be wrong.

@Horehound harmony is a blood test done for the screening choices. I’m not sure how it differs from the NHS one in a physical sense but the bare bones are the same. NHS can refer you to a harmony/NIPT test if your results come back high.

As above sometimes the NHS can come back high risk anyway (if over X age for example) and I mentioned my trust might not be able to offer me the combined screening on the NHS.

My partner is allowed at the scan! Maybe they just updated the rules on the 1st of May or something?

Also my midwife said 'oh don't worry, the NHS will start covering the NIPT in the next few years, it will be great'. And I was just like ... lol... but that doesn't help me right NOW does it! I decided to wait for the NHS screening though, as I am low risk.

NHS will be offering NIPT from June I've been told by my midwife! But you have to meet certain criteria to get it. It might depend on the trust too.

Hi all just a quick question, my first midwife app is next week I will be 8 weeks plus depending on the day, mine is a 45 min telephone appointment I don’t actually get to see her, did anyone else only get offered a phone app instead of going to the doctors?
Thanks xx

@Pineapple87 yes mine was over phone then just went into the hospital for bloods.

@Pineapple87 mine is over the phone today, had bloods done yesterday and then I have to drop urine sample off after appt and will collect my notes. Seems a little bizarre because last time I just went the one and they did everything at the 1 appointment. I think it's over the phone due to Covid but they are still seeing me twice instead of once as I have to go back to drop sample off and get notes! X

@Pineapple87 yes mine was a phone appointment! She kept me talking for 1.5 hours though haha. And had questions for DH too, so handy to have him around if possible!

Awww thank you all I appreciate you getting back to me, that’s ok then last time I did all this was 14 years ago, they did say phone app followed by a hospital app for bloods etc then scan between 11-14 kinda hoping it’s around the 12 week mark tho, but I understand COVID restrictions. This is my partners first child so I’m hoping he can come to the scan if not we will have a private one a few days before. I had my first lot of morning sickness yesterday which was rank, I was really poorly with my DD had it for 6 months and lost 2 stone, I had to take tablets in the end. xx

I have my midwife appointment in 1hr20 at the doctors surgery.

Already my doctor hasn't requested second blood test to check my toxoplasmosis antibodies yet as the lab are doing more analysis cross referencing the infection v antibodies. From my reading, a second blood test is required to see if antibodies are increasing, if they are that is not good as means the infection is recent. I'm praying infection is pre pregnancy and then baby is safe as means I got immunity before conceiving and can relax!!

I don't know if the midwife can take 2 bloods, so one is for whatever they normally test for and one specifically for toxoplasmosis?

I have my scan tomorrow afternoon and I'm really really worrying about keeping a pint of fluid done for an hour without peeing myself. Even pre pregnancy this would be difficult, especially as I have anxiety I usually go to the toilet about 5 times in the 10 minutes before I leave the house for appointments!

Well my morning sickness got even worse last night. Speaking to the dr again today. Tablets aren’t doing a thing.
They did say they have a couple of stronger option if it continued.
Feeling very down and hating I can’t do anything for DD. Basically if I move at all I get sick.

Sorry to hear about your sickness @Em39ma
I feel ok today, at present. But I now have a 2 hour cleaning job so that could change, I’m walking around the house with my mask on atm it helps and I can’t bare any smells, partner cooked salmon last night and it’s all I can smell 🤢 the masks definitely come in handy! X

@Em39ma so sorry to hear that. Are you still being sick lots of 'just' relentless nausea?

Was just extreme nausea, then about 10 last night every return I had eaten or drank. Really wasn’t fun.

7 weeks today. Actually have ... morning sickness. Classic. Wake up with it and lasts till about lunchtime (sometimes returns a bit later as well, but the mornings are really savage).