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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

did ayone NOT go for nuchal scan and the baby was born fine?

40 replies

ranirani · 23/07/2008 22:25

I am 34 y.o and 10 weeks pregnant first time and MF says IF i want, I can go for nuchal scan. I am not sure if I do, because would want to terminate anyway. Anyone had experience for not going through those csans and having baby still fine?

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twinklytoes · 23/07/2008 22:28

we knew the outcomes wouldn't change with such screenings so chose not to have them.

TotalChaos · 23/07/2008 22:30

most women in this country don't have a nuchal scan, as most NHS areas don't offer it. So lots of women don't have the nuchal scan without any problems.

divastrop · 23/07/2008 22:30

they arent available where i am so i never had one with any of my 5 babies who were all fine.i also opted out of the screening blood tests they offer.

cafebistro · 23/07/2008 22:33

Im 32 and have ds 3 and dd 5 months. I didnt have nuchal scans with either and they are both fine. With ds i was living in uk at the time and had dating scan at 14 wks and anomaly scan at 20 wks. With dd i was living in ireland and was only given 20 wk anomaly scan ( terminations are not done in ireland) so even if something had of been picked up then i wouldnt have been offered a termination.

Original poster

ranirani · 23/07/2008 22:33

so you did not check for Down syndrom and everything is fine? I hear that women over 35 are more likely to have this problem, but apparently it is very rare. am i right?

OP posts:

spicemonster · 23/07/2008 22:35

I had no nuchals or blood screenings becuase I knew I wouldn't terminate. I was 42 when I had my DS.

Original poster

ranirani · 23/07/2008 22:38

I just read all these threads on mumsnet about all kinds of syndroms: edwards, this, that, and women getting tested for them.... makes me wonder, but then i would not terminate so ultimately do not see the point of screening myself , just getting worried really, seeing that it is qiute common......

OP posts:

eidsvold · 23/07/2008 22:41

I did not have two nuchal scans - dd1 and dd2 - dd1 was born with down syndrome and a congenital heart defect( hard marker was spotted at 20 weeks and we were basically told it would be very rare if she were born without down syndrome) dd2 is fine.

We chose not to have more invasive testing because we knew we would do nothing about it.

DD3 had a nuchal translucency screening test and my chance was lowered from 1 in 50 to 1 in 962. ( was 38 at the time.) We chose to have the nuchal scan for dd3 as dh had been diagnosed with a congenital, hereditary heart condition and we knew that nuchal translucency can indicate in some cases heart defects. We had the test knowing we would not do anything further with the information anyway. Strangely enough the genetic counsellor was all for organising an amnio as she felt I would want a more definitive answer than the 1 in 962. She was very shocked when I said no.

GrinningGorilla · 23/07/2008 22:43

I was offered blood tests and given nuchal scan details (non nhs). I neve had any of these for my 3 because I knew it would not change the outcome. thankfully my babies were fine.

eidsvold · 23/07/2008 22:43

well i was 34 when I had dd1, 36 when I had dd2 and 38 when I had dd3. The pregnancy that showed no issues with scans etc was no3! Dd2 showed soft markers for down syndrome at the 20 week scan and so our chance of having a child with down syndrome was raised.

LackaDAISYcal · 23/07/2008 22:48

Me. Didn't have any AN screening with DD as after two MCs it wouldn't have changed the outcome of the pregnacy for me and a high risk would have just made me worry unneccesarily.

We've also chosen not to with DC3 due in November, even though at 39 I'm considered quite high risk due to maternal age alone.

RambleOn · 23/07/2008 22:49

The threads on MN give a false impression of the incidence of any problems, as people who have problems tend to post about them here iyswim.

DD1 born when I was 37, no extra screening from normal, born fine.

Am currently 39 and pg with DC2, and am again not having extra testing.

chegirl · 23/07/2008 22:50

Hello. I am glad there are others that feel like me.

Just had 4th at age 40. I was automatically booked in for Nuchal scan without being asked. They got quite narked when I turned it down. Apparently 'we only do two a week so you were lucky to get one'. Ooo ta.

I chose not to because I dindnt feel i needed the added pressure. I do not think I would terminate so why bother?

Baby fine and no probs. I had the normal scans but no other test apart from the normal blood tests for HIV syphillis etc.

Im not judging those who want one and they should get one if they do. Just not for me.

kittenloren · 23/07/2008 22:53

Didn't have any testing with mine other than confirmation & anomoly scans, nuchals were not offered & opted-out of blood tests as knew I wouldn't terminate anyway.

Can you have a proper chat to your MW about it, or ring the antenatal day unit near you and speak to someone there? I know my friend felt a bit rushed into deciding, as though it was just another box to tick and had no idea she could opt out if she wanted to.

Original poster

ranirani · 23/07/2008 22:54

same here;won't terminate anyway. So got a little reassurance here

OP posts:

MsHighwater · 23/07/2008 22:57

My dd was conceived on 2nd IVF attempt (also 6 failed IUI). I was 37 so relatively high risk. After what I had gone through to conceive no way was I going to terminate. I also knew I would not want to have amniocentesis because of the miscarriage risk so there was no point having the screening. My dd, thankfully, was absolutely fine.

MegBusset · 23/07/2008 22:57

They don't offer nuchal scans in my area afaik. It's the triple test followed by amnio. I chose not to have any of them as I would not have terminated anyway. I know plenty of people who have chosen not to have the tests for similar reasons. The odds are strongly in your favour that your baby will be totally fine, and in any case the tests can't pick up every possible health issue.

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 23/07/2008 22:57

We had nuchal with ds1. He is very severely autistic (obviously cannot be picked up on a scan).

Ds2 had a nuchal etc, but he was more at risk of autism than DS, so the nuchal was mainly to rule out anencephaly. He's fine.

DS3- had moved to a new area with no nuchal. Didn't bother going private. Had the bloods again because they're quite good at picking up anenephaly. But again ds3 was at risk of autism more than anything else. He's fine too.

AllBuggiedOut · 23/07/2008 23:00

I don't think the only reason for having a nuchal scan is so that if you were shown to be at high risk you could terminate . I had nuchal scans with DS1 & 2 (not 3 as we'd moved area). Never did I think we would terminate a pregnancy, but a high risk might have made me learn about Down Syndrome before the babies arived so that I was more clued up. One might even consider going on to have an amnio to be 100% certain so that you know what to expect and can prepare.

2catsand1rabbit · 24/07/2008 14:05

A nuchal scan is not offered free in Oxfordshire so I didn't have it.

katierocket · 24/07/2008 14:10

I didn't have nuchal scans with either of mine and I also didn't have the routine triple test (is that what it's called?) the one where they take blood and tell you you have a 1 in XX chance of having a baby with DS etc.

I didn't see any point in them since whatever the result I wouldn't have had a termination, I would just have worried endlessly about the result throughout the entire pregnancy. IMO It's just a very personal choice.

witchandchips · 24/07/2008 14:15

A definate diagnosis is useful even if you do not plan to terminate as you may need to sort out your life style a bit. Harder for both partners to be at work, older siblings +relations may need to be prepared etc. Amnio is v. high risk though so next best things is to use these tests to get more information on the odds. At 40 I am high risk but the tests have reduced this a lot, if they had increased the risks I would have had to start thinking more about what looking after a child with Downs would involve.

Romy7 · 24/07/2008 14:17

i would do it if there was a next time.
didn't with dd1,ds1 or dd2. dd2 has cerebral palsy caused by birth hypoxia, and i would like to be 'prepared' for any identifiable sn as early as possible lol! obv it wouldn't have picked up dd2's issues as they were caused at birth, but if the baby had Downs etc i would like to get organised and know what to expect. dealing with a disability is hard enough when you know what's going on, when you are totally unprepared it's a shocker. That said - i would only do it now - i still wouldn't have done it for the other pg's - as i know i would be beside myself with worry for the whole next pg anyway, so i'd be tested for everything possible to discount as many fears as poss .

TooTiredToday · 24/07/2008 14:34

but the nuchal scan doesn't tell you yes/no to downs or anything else, just the likelihood, and then an amnio could be offered if the risk was quite high (to give a definite answer). I chose not to have it with 3rd preg as blood test for DC2 showed v high risk then amnio ruled it out. Loads of heartache for nothing as I hadn't thought it would be anyway.

Do you mean nuchal scan or a more general 12 week scan? I had the latter to check position of placenta but declined any other scans or blood tests. Baby fine (now stroppy toddler)

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 24/07/2008 14:38

Nuchal testing doesn't help to prevent syndromes, just gives you likelihoods, so why would women not having the test not have healthy babies? Getting tested has no effect on whether a baby has a syndrome or not. The vast majority of women acrioss the world don't have nuchal, or any, testing, and their babies are perfectly healthy.

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