20 week scan - yes or no?

[footstep]

I?m currently 19 weeks and overcome with indecision over whether or not to have an anomoly scan.

We refused screening for downs (only blood tests offered in my area) on the basis that we would not terminate and did not want to risk the stress of a high risk result when we wouldn?t have agreed to an amnio.

My instinct is to leave well enough alone. I discussed this with a midwife and she agree that there?s no evidence that having this scan improves outcomes. The only benefit is either (hopefully) reassurance or a chance to get used to any problems identified or the chance to terminate. Are these benefits worth the risk of the stress induced by a false positive?

Has anyone refused a scan and then regretted it? Or had the scan and regretted it? Or had a problem identified at the scan that they?re glad they knew about?

I?ve got a horrible feeling I?m just rambling here and not making myself clear ;(

Any/all advice/comment welcome.

Thanks

footstep

x

If you wouldn't terminate - and are quite sure of this - I think you should follow your instincts.

Can I also say I think you're being admirable in your attitude towards scans? Lots of people treat them as an opportunity just to see the baby, without considering the reasons why they're provided in the first place. You're not rambling at all. I did have scans in both my two pregnancies, but I took my partner, was prepared to hear the possible news of an anomaly, and was not prepared to rule out termination.

My scan was great, I got to see lots of detail and it made me go all teary.... on the serious side it flagged up a problem with my DS's kidneys which if it had gone untreated could have been life-threatening.... but I know that they also show potential problems which worry people and then nothing comes of it!

Good point, fastasleep, about things that can be tackled in utero.

...so I've changed my mind. A bit.

The most probable outcome is that everything will be fine, or anything that does show up will be untreatable anyway... and they do seem very termination happy, at least around here.... I'm half tempted to avoid mine!

i was thinking about the kidney, heart stuff too that would be good to flag up before birth/treat in utero, not so much possible DS. i had a scare that dd2 might have a life limiting syndrome which is often accompanied by crossed digits..so it was very comforting for us to see her "lovely fingers and toes" (the consultant did my scan )

(This time that is, as I'm pregnant again... I make no sense today!)

I made it very clear that we wanted to know risks only at the early scan (11 weeks) and we also had 20 wk scan. It was a very bonding experience. However- Termination was and never will be an option for us.

I understand the stress you wish to avoid and maybe you should follow that instinct. Personally, I wanted to be prepared and able to do research should we need to- equip our home and emotional selves etc- should there be any reason for additional care, equipment etc.

Depends on whether knowing will help you embrace your child whatever or whether not knowing till birth would be better.

Hope i've not waffled.

good luck

We had a kidney thing (dilated renal pelvis) flagged up also. It was monitored throughout pgcy and DS has had several scans since his birth: fortunately, it looks as if it has resolved itself, but he was on precautionary antibiotics for first 2 mths. So though hearing about the problem at a routine scan was very alarming, I'm relieved it was picked up.

Theo had dilated renal pelvis...which turned out to be bilateral hydronephrosis... which needed operating on.... maybe I will have that scan after all! Lol

I am 18 weeks pregnant, due to have a scan at almost 22 weeks.
I refused the combined blood tests for Downs which is given to all women in my area rather than just high risk / over a certain age.
I refused this as I have just had to endure an agonising two week wait for results for Parvo-virus which can cause birth defects / miscarriage if exposed in pregnancy. The results were okay, but I know I couldn't face another blood test and long wait.
DH and I have talked about our attitude to scans / blood tests. We decided we'd have all scans offered to us, partly becuase I view it as a bonding experience. I'm aware it's a medical exam, but my 14 week scan was amazing, to see our little baby on the screen, especially as I'd had bleeding a week before.
DH and I made the decision that we would not terminate. We'll take whatever God gives us. Some people may ask me 'why go to the scan'. In my opinion, it's a way of being able to prepare ourselves for the future.
Whatever you choose, it must be right for you. Clear your head and go with your gut instinct.

I had scans at 20 and 23 weeks as had chicken pox at 18 weeks which can have serious consequences for baby. There is no way we would ever have considerd a termination but I wanted the scans anyway to give me the rest of the pregnancy to read up on any findings and prepare myself for potentially a special needs baby. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. I also didn't want a last minute "shock" on what is supposed to be one of the happiest days of you life and found that it is also good to prepare close relatives etc who otherwise would only think to ask what the name was!

We had a detailed scan at 20 weeks because we have a family history of cleft lip/palate and club foot. We didn't have any tests for DS, and asked that if there were any "soft markers" present for DS that we were not told. For us the only reason to have the detailed scan was for the same reason as Noggermum - in fact we used the same words "forewarned is forearmed"! All was clear though.

Obviously it's entirely up to you footstep, but it sounds as if you are singing from the same hymnsheet as me, and a few of us on here. My instinct would be to say, if all I am going for is to "see" my baby, then there is little point. If we hadn't had the family history of problems I wouldn't have considered a 20 week scan.

At my 20 week scan they found that I had a very large cyst on my ovary and when I ended up having a c-section because my dd was breach they could take it away at the same time so it was useful from that point of view for me.

thanks everybody!

the research i've done (and the conversation with the midwife) suggests that even where treatable problems are picked up, having them diagnosed before birth doesn't influence outcomes (i.e. that is, the chances of survival aren't improved overall).

Also - there are lots of problems that either can't be detected by a scan, or can only be indicated, with amnio needed for diagnosis. so a scan couldn't be completely reassuring. and might be very worrying indeed.

i think i'm convincing myself (with your help!) that my instinct is right (for us, of course) on this one.

still keen to hear any stories and/or opinions...

thanks again everybody

footstep

x

At our 22 week scan, they noticed dd was small so they were able to keep her monitored in case she stopped growing - which she did at 37 weeks so they were able to whip her out before anything terrible happened so this scan was definitely useful for this !

My DS2 had clubfoot (talipes) which was picked up on the 20 week scan. That's a good example of an eminently treatable congenital abnormality where forewarned is forearmed, because it gives you a chance to research it and thte different methods of treatment and be ready for it when the baby arrives.

BUT he also had a little cyst on his brain - can't for the life of me remember what it was called now. Trouble was that talipes and cyst are both "soft markers" for a chromosomal abnormality called Edwards Syndrome, which is pretty serious.

If the scan had picked up only one of them I don't think the sonographer would have worried over much, but as it was we were referred for more scans etc and the whole thing was really worrying and in the end I had invasive testing which showed no chromosomal abnormality. But now I looked at my adored DS2 and the thought that I put him at such risk of miscarriage makes my blood run cold.

Don't really know what moral to draw from all that. I did have a 20 week scan with DS3 but rationalised that to myself by saying that it was to check for talipes (which he didn't have).

Message withdrawn

choroid plexus cyst - it's just come back to me

Mosschops - because like in my case it can end up makiing a whole mountain out of a molehill.

We had the 20 week scan and would do so again. If anything is picked up at the scan it doesn't always mean that you have an option of termination, sometimes "problems" that are brought to your attention can be corrected before baby is born and also after. It also allows you time as well to be prepared for any issues that may arise once baby is born.
Personally I think that you also have the future of baby to consider but at the end of the day the decision can only be made by you the mum.

footstep - my dd1 was born with down syndrome and a heart defect. At the 20 wek scan they identified a heart defect ( albeit one different to the one dd1 had) and we were referred to London for fetal cardiac scans. We knew we would not do anything in terms of terminate etc but it was important to know the exact heart defect dd1 had so we could prepare for her birth and successful outcomes. We were told at the fetal cardaic scan that dd1 would 99.9% also have down syndrome. Dh and I refused an amnio and accepted that dd1 would have down syndrome.

BY knowing before hand that she had this heart defect choices could be made regarding her birth - the local hospital where I was able to have her was prepared and she was able to be treated immediately following birth rather than her being born and then discovering this defect - can lead to heart failure and all sorts of things. After we saw her briefly - they whisked her away to ICU. It also meant we were able to meet the head of ICU/SCBU and have a tour - be prepared for what can be a scary place.

Had we not had the scan - none of this would have been picked up and I am sure ( whilst we were shocked and upset etc) had we not known beforehand, I think we would have found it harder to deal with.

It also meant they were able to offer us further scans to keep and eye on her growth and development in utero. Admittedly they could not see the true extent of the heart defect until dd1 was born and they gave her an echo but they had a fairly good idea prior to her birth.

Dd2 - had a scan - picked up what is a very common soft marker for down syndrome - again we knew what we were dealing with - no need to terminate etc. But apparently this marker is very common in pregnancies but generally if found in isolation is not an indication of down syndrome. However the sonographer said it can cause a lot of distress for people when it turns out to be nothing iyswim.

So - after this long post - I guess it is up to you. I refused bloods, amnios etc - even after having a child with ds and a raised risk of another child with down syndrome - but I felt scans were important to see that everything was okay.

I'm amazed at how many people seem to go for this scan with the approach that they can find out the sex and see the picture of the baby - so you are right to question.
At my 20 week scan they suspected a heart defect and I had a further more detailed scan which showed everything was normal.
Personally I would want to know about cleft lip/defects/ any health issues beforehand just to be prepared mentally and not to have to cope with a shock just after giving birth.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

A very good friend of mine had a similar experience as Eidsvold but with a different outcome. At her 20 weeks scan her baby was seen to have a major blockage of some kind in his intestine. This could have been because of one of 3 conditions. If the baby had one of those conditions he would most certainly have had Down's Syndrome. My friend and her husband chose not to have Amnio because they were certain that there was no way they would terminate and if the baby had DS then it made no difference.
Because of the scan they had 20 weeks to prepare for the baby and the inevitable surgery that he would have to have immediately after birth. My friend did lots of research into the conditions her baby may have and into DS ...
The baby was born (not with DS) and when he was an hour old he had 4 hours surgery to correct the problem in his tummy.
Had they not had the scan he would have died soon after birth.
So ... that is why I had 20 week scans for my two babies ... not because I had any thoughts of termination but just wanted to be prepared like my friend was IF there were any problems.
HTH ...

I went for my scan because I wanted to have a waterbirth, and thought that seeing that everything was normal would relax me enough to make this possible. Also I did not want to be in a birthing centre if I really needed to be in a hospital.

I ended up having 4 scans because of a low lying placenta (which turned out to be nothing) and baby lying wrong way etc.

At the placenta scans I told them I only wanted them to check the placenta and I would be on my way, because I knew that the baby did not like it and wanted to make it as short as possible. Well they totally ignored me and started measuring everything again, and making inane comments about how much hair the baby had. I was pressed to the bed and couldn't get up and was really cross with myself for not being more forthright with them.

I wouldn't have a scan for another pregnancy. As I told the man doing the scan "in a powercut, which one of us will have the most idea how this baby is doing?"