‘Possible’ finding at anatomy scan

[Maya88]

After being incredibly anxious for my anatomy scan today at almost 21 weeks, I was really ready to breathe a sigh of relief that everything was ok but we’ve come out of it incredibly confused and a little sad.

Everything looked great but they couldn’t get a good image of their face, they were face first into the placenta with their arms covering their face. Where we could see my (of course untrained eye) saw an almost 3D view of a very normal looking chin, mouth and nose, to the point I sort of mentally checked off ‘no cleft’ in my head, we even saw them do a little yawn. The sonogrpaher was happy.

My sonographer ended up being newly qualified so had to get her work signed off by another sonographer, who wanted a better view of the face, which we just couldn’t get. Then she said in certain angles the baby had ‘thicker’ lips on one side than the other, but also repeatedly said ‘we cannot see any gap’. However they’ve referred me to MFM for an indepth scan and my notes read:

‘unable to achieve standard view of nose/lips, ?small left sided cleft?’

I’m so incredibly nervous and confused. I don’t know how one sonographer can ‘sign us off’ but one be concerned enough to send us to MFM, but also keep saying there was ‘no gap’ in their lips. And how absolutely fine their face looked to me when they were moving/yawning.

Hi, OP. This is my fear this coming Monday. Babies can be so stubborn, though, as you can't always get the best view of what needs to be seen and checked. It sounds like they're being cautious and double-checking, not necessarily because there is a problem. Especially as the sonographer is a trainee and being shadowed by a more senior sonographer. They are being reserved and hedging their bets.

If your baby does have a cleft palate, they can have surgery to repair it very early on. Newborn's bones are still so soft and malleable, which makes repairing a cleft palate so easy.

Hugs to you, it must be frightening xx

I'm not medically trained but had a fair few scans. It is likely that the second sonographer couldn't sign off as they couldn't completely confirm what the first one had seen. They are at risk of being sued otherwise. It is a a worrying and unsettling experience for you but from what you've posted it sounds more likely to be a quadruple checking exercise rather than one of serious doubt.
Scans can be variably inaccurate with sizings, especially when your baby is facing the placenta.

My experience was different in that towards the end of my pregnancy they seemed concerned about my babies growth for a couple weeks but kept telling me it wasn't really anything to worry about, then told me they wanted to get the consultant to discuss early delivery with me.. but that was literally all they told me despite measurements and scans going well.
It created that same they say it's okay so why are they taking X action?
In my case my baby was born healthy and no growth issues. I hope it's the same for you and just being overly cautious checking.

They will have sent you to MFM for a triple check. My baby is the exact same, tucking away into the placenta. The 20 week scan took FOREVER it felt! Not complaining but the worry you have when they do take so long is scary!

It doesnt mean baby has a cleft lip. Its just a precaution, but even if baby did this is fixable surgically!
It could have been that the placenta/cord may have been covering babys lip a little bit which makes it looks like a cleft lip.

Dont be scared, dont be worried, everything is being done for the health of you and baby. Take it and roll with it, they may find that baby was just been naughty and not sitting properly for the scan.

My 20 week scan print out was terrifying!🤣 she said baby wasnt playing ball, which it sounds like yours wasnt either and instead of a normal side profile that people get i got a full frontal and it is absolutely terrifying😅

Take the time to calm your nerves before going to the next scan, im sure baby will be ok! X

OP, I recently had my 20 week scan and sonographer saw one thing. I was referred to FM and they saw something a little bit different, then a different doctor scanned me and came with a totally different conclusion (best one though and she seemed confident). Three scans over three days, with three practitioners, slightly different findings each time.
So it can happen.
Sending you hugs 💓

Thank you, yes it’s such a worry. It almost feels cruel we got the all good sign initially to it then come crashing down. But I’m trying to remain optimistic. I have my rescan on Monday, here’s hoping Monday brings good news for both of us x

Thank you this is a good perspective, I’m really trying to zone into the positives but I feel I’m forgetting them as my adrenaline was sky high. I’ve had my MFM appointment through now so hopefully we get positive news x

Thank you this makes a lot of sense, something I’m lacking right now. We got our scan through today so we don’t have long to wait and just hoping and praying it’s good news.

Thank you that’s really interesting and I’m glad you got a good outcome in the end. I’m hoping my referral is just out of an abundance of caution and everything is actually all good but we’ll just have to cross our fingers and wait and see.