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.

You have to pay if you are in Bradford, but then their maternity services are pretty poor in general....

i got nuchal and 20 week with dd1 and 2 in glasgow. the hospital at the time of dd1 wasn't routinely offering nuchals and bloods but i asked the senior consultant about it and he said that nuchal measurements were always taken as a matter of course and anything particularly worrying would be flagged up to senior docs and patients.

i didn't take the bloods either time, i don't understand why anyone does if the measurement isn't borderline. after all, it's not a one in 3,000 chance really, your baby inside you either has Down's Syndrome or not, you really need to work out how much that would freak you out if so i think.

so i took a 'good' nuchal measurement as a 'good' sign both times and waited for the 16 week test to come back with a figure. if it was a problematic number i reckoned the place to start was the 18 week detailed scan in any case, cos i'd never have risked the baby with a cvs or amnio without at least a detailed first. so by avoiding the bloods i just avoided some weeks of stress that would have been good for neither of us.

Yes- free nuchal scans have been standard practice here for at least 10 years to my knowledge (my twins are 10). I'm in SE London now and had a free nuchal offered as routine during this pregnancy and was in W London when I had my twins.

My oldest is only 20 months but for her and her little sister we had free nuchal scans - I didn't even think to question it - and were offered but declined the triple blood test. All free in Bucks. Actually, I felt like they were trying to force the bloods on us a bit.

SW London free nuchal scan (and this is now combined with blood tests for an integrated result the bloods aspect came in the month after I had my nuchal scan with DD in 2007, but the nuchal scan has been offered as standard for a while) and 20-week scan for all pregnant women regardless of age.

Same as PortAndLemon... didn't have bloods with ds, but now routinely offered alongside nuchal scan.

oops, also SW London (St Georges Trust, Tooting)

Why is if offered on the NHS in some places and not others?
Is this another postcode lottery?
Could those of us that have to pay private, go to a providing NHS hospital for a nuchal?

they are all doing the nuchal measurement at the dating scan, from what i understand, even if they're not doing the bloods and don't 'offer' a nuchal. you'd be informed if something looked awry. at least that's what my doc told me.

I didn't - Heatherwood/Frimley Park (Berkshire/Surrey). I was only 19 & 21 aswell. They just did it.

I mean I didn't pay

im in the SE
dd was born 2006 so i had 12 week nuchal scan in 2005
by the time i was pg with ds in 2007 i was offered the nuchal scan combined with bloods (triple test?) i declined the blood bit as i would not have been terminating

I had loads of blood tests... not quite sure what they were though. Am sure they would have told me if it was the triple test, mine must have just been iron/HIV type ones