How many of you got FREE nuchal scans and where (roughly) are you?

[princessmel]

I am just about to book mine. At the same clinic I had it done for dd in 2005.

But my sil told me she had her nuchal done at her 12 week booking scan. On the NHS.
She is in Bedford.

I will call my antenatel ward on monday to find out if our area is doing it on the NHS now.

Just wondered how many of you didn't have to pay.

So am I - a simple measurement doesn't seem to be that time consuming or challenging .

I think by paying we got multiple biomarkers thoroughly confirming the initial measurement (eg presence/absence of nasal bone). But it does see silly when for the sake of a short training course all radiographers could do this for women. No special machinery is required, nor does it take a great deal of time.

Well it can be time-consuming though: I had to go in and out three times and jump around in the meantime until the sonographer could get the right angle to measure it. I must have spent at least an hour in her room in total.

I was offered the test here in West London (Queen Charlotte's) and it seems available for everyone and not just over 35s. But my next appointment is 9 whole weeks later, the 21 week anomaly scan and antenatal clinic, nothing in between, which I find a bit odd. I thought there'd be a midwife appointment at 16 weeks, especially since I thought I was meant to be high risk at 37 and BMI over 30.

I suppose that could be an issue (although you could have been told to come back tomorrow). I don't know how difficult it is to see generally, having looked carefully it can be seen on one of my scan pictures.

In London, I had the blood and nuchal free, and I'm 33.

I think age might be factor here - perhaps it's only free for women over a certain age in some places?

I think age will be the factor where I live.

Hmm just phoned and was told that they are NOT free here.

Unless you are over 40, but she wasn't even too sure about that. Or 'for any particular reason' her words.

She said she thinks they will be free for all after september.

Oh well.

I'd better book my private one then. Not that we can afford it, but I like to know as much as I can. Wish I could sail through the pregnancy , but am just that sort of person.

SW London. Free nuchal scan and 20 week anomoly scan at Kingston Hopsital with DD2 in 2005 and in 2009 with DD3(to be),same again but this time at Queen Mary's in Roehampton, although will deliver at Kingston again.

DD1 was born in New York so had to pay through the nose for everything then re-claim on health insurance. Such a faff.

Good luck! xx

We get them here on the NHS, right down in deepest darkest Devon!!

Mine have all been free- two at Frimley Park in Surrey in 1994 and 1996, and the recent one at the RD&E in Exeter. I am shocked that such a useful test has still not been rolled out to everyone all over the country. It needs a bit of training of ultrasonographers, granted, but it slots easily into the 12 week check all the bits are there scan and can't surely cost much more to administer...plus there's been plenty of time to train every sonographer in the UK since it was invented.

Bath and Somerset offer you one scan, at 20 weeks. No dating scans and certainly no nuchal scans. You can have it done privately, if you pay £200, and wouldn't you know it, it's done in an NHS hospital.

I think it's appalling. It's all right for people who don't mind spending the money, but not everyone CAN spend £200 even if they desperately wanted to.

SE London here too - free nuchal and 20 week scan at Kings

newcastle has nuchal at 12 week scan. No blood triple test if you have the nuchal.

I got an amnio as I'm over 36 (i requested it).

Nuchal is very operator dependant. generally only 80% accurate. For accuracy to an acceptable level, it should be combined with the triple blood test.

It's free in Southampton, but they only started doing it in April 2006. You can decline the nuchal and still have the 12 week dating scan. It used to just be the 20 week anomaly, in fact in the ultrasound waiting room the posters / info still say that this is the only scan routinely offered to pregnant women in Southampton!

We get them here in Poole. I had a nuchal scan in 2005 with dd4 and they now combine it with blood tests (had one with dd5 last August). In fact dd1 is now 13 and I was offered a 12 week scan and a 20 week anomaly scan back then.

Dorchester

The nice thing in Bournemouth is that you can decline the nuchal and triple test but still have a 12 week scan, this is new. With dd2 I ended up not having a scan at 12 weeks at all because I didn't want to go down the nuchal route - knowing that it wouldn't make any difference to me if dd was disabled. Good job God was listening as ended up having dd2 with cerebral palsy . Damn good job she didn't end up with someone who would have terminated her given half the chance.

babylon- you can't spot CP on any prenatal scan afaik, so I don't understand your comment at all. I personally would want to know if there was any problem with a baby that would necessitate birth in hospital X rather than hospital Z, or might require a lot of adjustment. Not everyone who has the tests terminates in the event of a problem- in fact quite the reverse apparently as the number of babies born with Down's is rising despite the rise in availability of tests.

I realise that you can't screen for CP however I think that the angle on most of these threads seems to be the assumption that you want to have a nuchal because you wouldn't want to raise a child with SN. It is worth pointing out that some of us are not adverse to having a child with SN, be it DS or something else which isn't screenable. I do think that it would be ironic if those who are so desperate for a perfect baby, found reassurance through the nuchal scan but then ended up with a child with SN anyway. All the focus is on DS but the vast majority of SN cannot be screened in the womb. And thank goodness for that otherwise children like my dd would have been terminated.

erm...I really fail to see where the OP mentions termination at all, nor any of the subsequent posters.

you're probably right Duchesse, sorry. Just having a cranky pregnant day and feeling defensive at the moment.

S'OK, Babylon! . I did wonder if you were having a bad day!

Hi,

In Stafford (I know it has a bad rep because of news at the moment but the diagnostics and maternity division is really quite good!) they have a good system they give you a dating scan then take bloods if you come up at a less than 1/1000 chance of downs syndrome they call you back for a Nuchal then phone the results through to their lab and update you there and then with details of your risk - High Medium Low etc. We also get a 20 week anomaly scan.

I have had 4 scans so far - a dating a nuchal (1 week after dating) one at 21 weeks - where baby was sitting awkwardly to get a proper look at heart and one at 23 weeks to confirm the heart was fine. I also have a growth scan booked for week 34 which seems to be routine for them as well.

Had to go private Rotherham/Sheffield area. Only the blood triple serum test is offered on the NHS locally.

SIL is in Gateshead and Nuchal Translucency Scan is done on the NHS there.

I successfully claimed the cost of mine back from Westfield if that helps anyone - it's sort of classed as a consultation.

Hi - paid privately for a nuchal mid 2006 as NHS hosp did not provide then, for 2nd pregnancy had a free NHS one in mid Buckinghamshire hospital in Jan 09.