Two nuchal scans on the same baby give two very different results - has anyone else had this?

[artichokes]

Last week I had my NHS 12 week scan. Because I am under 30 they did not do the combined nuchal and blood test but they did measure the nuchal fold which came out as 1.8mm - a pretty good measurement.

Today I went for a scan at the Fetal Medicine Centre on Harley Street because it has a fab reputation, uses state of the art machines and checks for all sorts of defects that the NHS can't check for at 12 week. It also gave me the oppurtunity to have the combined bloods and nuchal to get a clear risk measurement for Downs. Today's nuchal scan came back at 3.1mm which I was told is above average and worrying.

The overall news was not bad when it comes to the Trisomies. Once combined with my blood result, the nasal bone measurement, the heart scan and some other factors my Downs risk is 1 in 5500. However, the sonographer warned that I should have a fetal echocardio scan because increased nuchal measurements can indicate heart defects.

What I do not understand is how one scan can give such a positive nuchal measurement and six days later it can be so different. Does this mean who of the measurements was inaccurate? Has anyone else had this?

that's very strange- I had this in reverse -3.4 in my local hospital and 2.9 at the fetal med centre.

How long did your local hospital take scanning you and did the fetal med centre take the measurement more than once?

I ask because my local hospital were really quick (15 mins) and the guy at the FMC took about 50 mins and took it several times to be sure. It can really vary depending on whether the baby is in the right position or not.

Hugs to you- its a horrible thing to go through

The local hospital scanned me very quickly and took the measurment twice.

FMC spent ages scanning me and were clearly using a much better machine that gave clearer images. Also it was a doctor doing the scan as opposed to a sonographer. However, for the first 4 nuchal measurements the baby was lying on something that caused the doctor to say she was not sure the measurement was accurate (those measurements looked to be about 2.8mm). Later the baby moved and she re-measured the nuchal twice and came up with 3.1mm.

Did you have further testing or did you leave it once the measurment was under 3mm? The doctor didn't push us towards a CVS because my Downs result was still very low. She seemed more concerned about possible heart defects which would not show up on a CVS.

Bump, in case others have advice/experiences

I decided against CVS and amnio and opted for the cardiac scan instead. We have this next week which TBH has taken ages coming!!

I wasn't convinced by my hospitals result and felt that the FMC was more accurate as they took it several times at a more leisurely pace.

Its a tough decision no matter what tho. Sometimes i wish i'd opted for the CVS as there is a doubt about this baby that would otherwise be eliminated by the test. I did feel reassured that all the other markers were clear and the bloods were normal which was our main reason for refusing invasive tests.

Hopefully someone else will come along soon with a similar situation.

What did they say about 3.1? my local hospital said that 3mm was the benchmark for normal but the FMC said to me that 2.8 was.

Hi

I had the same thing as Jackamolsmum; the first measurement was something like 3.3mm giving my baby a 1 in 7 chance of a chromosome abnormality. I went for a second appointment a few days later to try and decide whether to have a CVS. The measurement at the second scan was 1.7mm. Both scans were NHS and both involved re-measuring several times. The consultant said it was very unusual to have two such different measurements but that my risk was now much reduced. I therefore decided not to have an invasive test. I went for a detailed cardiac scan at 20 weeks, everything was fine and my 8 month son is now sleeping upstairs.

It is a horrible situation but I felt a lot better after the 20 week scan. I can't offer any advice but hope everything works out for you both.