no twenty week scan :(

[Makingdo]

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My daughter's special needs would not have shown up on any test or scan, either.

I agree, MrsM, scans are good tools in that there are some abnormalities which can be treated before or soon after birth and these can be picked up so healthcare staff are aware of what's going on.

I had later scans in the Lothians due to having hypertension and anaemia.

Tapster - some London hospitals do nuchal as standard. I think the number of those that do is increasing.

The other side of the coin - why should the NHS spend (loads of) money on scanning lots of perfectly healthy women with low-risk pgs?

I would have preferred to get a 20 week scan too (in Glasgow so only got 12 week booking scan) but I do realise that when resources are so tight this may not be the best thing to spend money on. And as others have pointed out, there are lots of things which do not show up on scans anyway.

It is such a shame, of course, when women who would have benefited from a scan do not get one - but I would hate to be the one to decide where to allocate maternity budgets.

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Yes I agree makingdo. Postcode lottery thing is a massive issue, not just in maternity services. I don't know what the answer to that one is.

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And if I lived 10 minutes down the road one way I'd be in Renfrewshire = 2 scans

or if I was 20 mins down the road the other way, I'd be in Ayrshire = 2 scans

But as it so happens, I'm in Glasgow. It's totally arbitrary.

Glasgow has some of the worst health outcomes in Europe. Life expectancy for men in the East End of Glasgow is 55 years old. That's lower than in Iraq. So I guess that is why they have different priorities from say Dorset, which if I'm remembering correctly has the longest life expectancy in the UK.

So yes it is unfair that we don;t all get a 20 week scan. But the postcode lottery in healthcare exists because there are geographical differences in health. And sadly a strong correlation with poverty.

Yep agree MrsCurly - but that doesn't explain why, if you live in Paisley, you get 2 scans (also terrible for life expectancy/instances of various diseases etc)

i am having antenatal care care in Paisley and get a) a nuchal scan b) a 20 week scan.

in Lothians, you have to go private for both of these.

ach well my theory is shot through then!