What happens when, 12 week scan?

[BatildaB]

I have my (nearly) 12 week scan this week. I saw the midwife last week for the first time and they took some blood then. I’m nervous about finding out if everything is ok and not sure what information I get when. Will they tell me at the scan itself what the NT measurement is? And will they take my blood again for screening, or is that already underway? When will they give me the risk and let me know if I should continue to NIPT?

Also I’ve been suffering with very bad morning sickness, but it has eased quite a lot in the past couple of days - is that a good sign as it means my hcg levels were rising but are now plateauing (whereas if Down syndrome is present it continues to rise), or does it not really tell you anything?

Maybe it varies per NHS trust but when I had mine recently they didn’t tell me the NIPT measurement (I did see it on screen). They said they would phone me within a few days if high risk, and if low risk, I got a letter in a week or two. Never heard that about morning sickness and Down’s syndrome, it’s very common for nausea to decrease at 12 weeks because the placenta has taken over and HCG drops.

the blood your MW took would have been for usual checks, I expect they’ll take another sample at the hospital for the screening.

A big part will depend on your age.

Pregnancy 1 I was 33 so my nuchal measurements plus age made me low risk. So no bloods needed at all.

Pregnancy 2 I was 35 so my risk increased and they did a NIPT blood test.

The blood tests aren’t done as standard - it’ll depend on your trust and risk factors.

Also, completely normal for symptoms to ease around 12 weeks mark, as that’s when the placenta takes over. I had terrible sickness until 12 weeks.

I’m 39 which is why I’m a bit worried - I think just based off age it’s fairly likely I will need the further testing so want to not panic too much if/when they say that. @LesmisPhantom did they do the calculation and take your blood at the scan or was it a follow up thing some time later?

It differs by hospital, but my blood tests were all done by my midwife at home. That was sent off before the scan and the results from that were combined with the nuchal measurement during my scan and the sonographer told me my results then.

They told me right away and took bloods right after. But it will depend on trust as each do things differently.

They did also explain my measurements were normal, but my age is what increased my risk so it was due to my age.

Can you afford to do it privately? We did the NIPT privately both times so wasn’t worried about the NHS scan.

@LesmisPhantom thanks, that’s helpful. Good to know they explained where the risk was coming from, I would be more worried if it was due to something visible on the scan than an automatic age based thing. I think we probably won’t do a private one - could just about afford it but it’s all going to be very tight for a while when the baby comes (if all is well), so trying to save as much as we can. And I have read some things advising against private NIPT because pf false positives on rarer disorders.

@BatildaB they didn't tell me NT measurement at the appointment altho as others have said I could see it onscreen. The sonographer did tell me that everything looked good from his perspective. Then I had bloods taken right after the scan. Those were sent off and I was called about six days later to say that I had come back just inside their "higher risk" boundary for Downs (1 in 136 where the boundary is 1 in 150). I went in the next day to have NIPT. I am 38 and a bit overweight so I think that potentially affected things. When I went in for the NIPT the fetal medicine nurse offered to talk through the blood results with me - she said they didn't look too far off to her and she thought that it would largely be my age affecting things. It was a bit of a stressful wait but I got the results six days later and all fine. They also scheduled me an extra scan at 16 weeks just for reassurance (they scheduled this on the day I got the NIPT so it was regardless of the results), which again was fine.

@malimoon thanks for the detailed breakdown, that’s exactly what I wanted to know! So far I am really impressed with NHS care in pregnancy, there seems to be more time taken explaining things and understanding the emotional side of it than in some other contexts.

@BatildaB the fetal medicine nurses were really lovely, I was a bit upset when I went for the NIPT (as you would be!) and the nurse answered all my questions and gave me a direct number to call if I thought of anything else while I was waiting for results. They also explained all my options beforehand i.e. do nothing, do the nipt, go straight for invasive testing, and made it clear it was my choice. And then when they rang me with the results they again made sure that I was happy and that I understood everything. Also just to say you might well be fine as I have heard other people our age get lower risk results but if you do end up in the same position, overall I think the experience was as well managed as it could be!