2 NHS Scans - How often are abnormalities picked up in later scans?

[lndng]

Apologies for the sensitive nature of the post. I've been watching Life & Birth and One Born Every Minute and becoming so anxious about my pregnancy/baby. For example, one mum's placenta was covering her cervix which meant a vaginal birth wouldn't have been possible. Or a baby with a heart flutter that was picked up at a later scan.

I'm 30 weeks, low risk so had a scan at 12 weeks and another at 20. Are sonographers able to pick up most complications/any abnormalities at the 20 week scan?

I'm concerned about my baby's growth, MW measured my fundal height at 28 weeks & I know everyone carries differently but I can't help but compare my bump to others', it's tiny & I'm worried she doesn't have enough space in there. I've also been reading about IUGR, how is this usually diagnosed?

I really don't wish to cause offence to anyone who's had complications and aware that I'm lucky in being considered low risk. I do suffer a bit with anxiety and it's keeping me up

Bless you OP.

Im anxious too and so I don’t think your worries are over the top or out of control … but someone else may say otherwise 🙈😂

you are a new Mum and just want baby to be okay - you need to be kinder to yourself. In my last pregnancy, which was also my first, I would find something new to worry about everyday and this time I am a fraction more relaxed. I am a tiny bit worried that they may not have picked something up at both scans or that my bump is smaller (id say it’s smaller than it was last time) but my worry isn’t getting out of hand because I have to remember that the chances of everything being okay are on my side. And the same for you too.

My little son was born perfect. He’s a little autistic pickle who is snoring next to me right now … but he is still perfect 💙 and despite a failed induction and emergency c-section, he was born and was a dream. Try not to worry too much. Baby will be fine.

I also did the Positive Birthing Company course with my first and the owner of the company does advise against watching programs around birth stories. She said it gives a distorted view of what giving birth is like because they pick the most dramatic storylines to follow. I agree … doesn’t stop me watching Emma Willis though 😋😋

take care Op xx

Totally understandable to be anxious. The reason they do the anomaly scan at 20 weeks is because this is a "sweet spot" of baby being developed enough to detect the conditions they are checking for but small enough they can get a good look, as they're too squashed later on.

Re growth concerns, I measured small throughout my pregnancy and at 39 weeks could easily have passed for 4 months pregnant. Baby was 6lb 8oz and I couldn't believe how he and placenta and fluid etc had all fit in! They will refer you for extra scans if needed, but variation in bump is totally normal (and having had similar concerns to you, in the 3rd trimester I was actually glad of it as my mobility wasn't limited). It doesn't help that people LOVE to comment on how small/otherwise you are carrying does it!

Hope you're able to relax and enjoy your pregnancy.

Baby makes the space if they need it - trust me. I had two 8lb babies and when I was pregnant, you could barely see my bump. People didn't even realise I was pregnant for most of it!!

They usually do pick up everything at the 20 week scan so don't let it worry you :) of course you'll never know for sure until baby is here but the fact that no tests and sonograms have picked up anything abnormal is fantastic and should keep you feeling optimistic! Testing throughout to see if baby is healthy is taken seriously so it's not something they'd just casually miss. Hope the birth goes well ❤️

Completely normal to have worries @lndng - pregnancy for me brought out more anxiety than I’ve ever had in my life!

Try not to compare to others - especially bump size! Mine was quite neat and I had an 8lb 11oz baby 😂 My best friends was MASSIVE (she won’t mind me saying that 😂 - she could literally barely walk!) and her baby was 6lb 1oz 🙈

The sonographers are highly trained and have a huge list of things that they check at the 20 week anatomy scan. Of course, things can be missed or develop later on but I don’t believe that’s common. If the sonographers are unable to see properly for whatever reason or can’t confidently say what they can see on the scan, they ask you to come back. I had my 20 week scan repeated twice on different days because baby was in an awkward position and they couldn’t be 100% confident that they could see the heart accurately (all was fine thankfully!).

It’s also worth mentioning - I also got caught up in watching all these shows. PLEASE remember that it’s the “interesting” cases that make for “good” tv. It’s so rare on there to see a straight forward, low risk, uncomplicated pregnancy and labour/delivery because realistically it would be boring to watch.

I highly recommend The Positive Birth Company’s Digital Pack if you haven’t already looked at it. I wasn’t big into the idea of hypnobirthing as I don’t feel some of the parts are very useful for me (I’d fling my partner out if he started with positive affirmations tbh 🙈😂) but I found the rest so useful in keeping me calm and helping me focus

I've been watching Life & Birth and One Born Every Minute and becoming so anxious about my pregnancy/baby.

That's like watching plane crash investigations on a flight.

OBEM would be pretty boring if it was boring, uneventful birth one after another. They show the interesting ones.

I measured consistently small with my first and was sent in for an extra scan but as PP said once they're big it's hard for them to see anything on the ultrasound, it's like you're too close up!

The specific things you mentioned - where your placenta covers your cervix, this is called placenta previa. They would pick this up at your 12/20 week scans but they often resolve on their own so they monitor it, and if it doesn't resolve they would do a C section.

The flutter heart rate - if on the doppler your midwife spots anything unusual they will refer you. When I was induced they had concerns about my baby's heart rate so I was sat with a fetal heart rate monitor on for hours while they monitored her heart. The consultant would come every 20 mins or so and review. They eventually stopped the induction as they weren't happy (I was 42 weeks at this point).

I know it's so hard to trust what's going on in there - but they know what the risk factors are and my experience was that they were very cautious.

If you get any changes in movements - let them know.

Otherwise I'd really recommend the book "expecting better" and you can probably skip to the third trimester section! I have found it really reassuring to understand the stats behind everything! She discusses placenta previa too

They would have checked your placenta position at the 20 week scan. With my first that’s when I found out I had anterior and low lying (over the cervix). They booked me in for another scan at 32 weeks and by then it had moved up enough (quite a lot move as the bump/baby grows).

With my second they said the position again and that it was clear of my cervix (I didn’t even mention my first for him to say it.) they do check for the placenta as well as baby’s organs and anatomy.

I had placenta previa and vasa previa, picked up on the 20w scan. It’s very, very detailed. Baby was fine.