chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet

And so we had to go out a couple of times, [wife] had to walk around, and she had a drink of water, which is supposed to sort of change things inside, or help the baby turn around or something because the sonographer couldn't get the measurements she wanted. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. Again, we weren't understood. I couldn't bear to see the baby and asked the midwife to take him away immediately. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. For once in my life, I had been organised. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. As I left the room to compose myself. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. And attribute some blame to them. Bad news at 20 week scan | Mumsnet We left the hospital a couple of hours later. We didn't name him. He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. I didn't have a clue. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. Somehow, I walked from the sofa up to the bathroom and told my partner. He sounded like a wild animal in pain, deep pain. And as, and as soon as I saw the pictures of the scan, having had two normal pregnancies, even I could see that there was a marked contrast between this pregnancy and the pictures that I'd had previously. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. From losing my dad to his battle with cancer, to then having to face another battle with cancer and my mum; thankfully she pulled though. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have produced a report on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales (May 2010). In the case of a suspected abnormality, women should be seen for a second opinion by an expert in fetal ultrasound, such as a fetal medicine specialist. And nothing prepares you at all. I popped out from work, telling my boss I'd be back in half an hour. Previous scans in this pregnancy and with my first child had been fun - a chance to see the baby wriggling around and perhaps find out its sex. Some hospitals do offer earlier anomaly scans of the baby, but they will not show as much detail as scans performed between 18 and 20weeks. I think I don't everything just seems a real blur because it was, it was such a strange experience. Scans cannot find all conditions. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. Eventually she got the measurements she wanted. But at the 20 week scan, which was on a Wednesday, we saw the nurse at the local hospital, the sonographer, and she did a scan and she found that the femur length was quite short in the, in the fetus. Away you go'. I faced another internal scan where I began to feel helpless and alone. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here), tbh, they never give you good news at scans. So instead, I was advised to go home and let nature take its course. Can you describe the difference between the scan at this later stage in a pregnancy? We went, I went in to the scanning room and they're quite bland facially anyway, whether everything's fine or not they just look at the screen to start off with and do measurements but I very quickly realised that the woman's demeanour wasn't, even for a bland face, was concerning. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. If an abnormality is confirmed or suspected, referral is usually required, although some obvious major fetal abnormalities, such as anencephaly, may not require a second opinion (this should be decided by local guidelines). However, a few hours later there was another shift change. We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to me. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. I was then told yet again bad news. No one else but my partner saw how similar he was to our son. Life expectancy of 30 or 40. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? Others said they were shocked because all the early diagnostic tests (e.g. No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. Anyway we went in for the meeting with the consultant on this particular time, and we'd got to, I was 30 weeks pregnant by then. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? In some cases concerns in utero fix themselves sometimes needs treatment. The thing about that which I felt was difficult is that we could tell when being scanned that there was something very seriously wrong. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. She describes having to make a . 20-week ultrasound (anomaly scan) - BabyCenter Australia I was then told yet again bad news. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. I felt the dread run through me. Sam squeezed my hand and told me it was ok. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. An hour passed and I started to panic. And I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being selfish. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. If this happens, you will be offered one further scan by 23 weeks of pregnancy. I want to be happy again. I've been incredibly lucky to have such amazing support from Sam, my mum, and close friends and family. But he was wrong. Sam followed and I broke down. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. I just feel very unlucky. I guess the morphine made it easier. 20 week scans look for 11 different anomalies as a rule, however, indicators (markers) are not terribly reliable and in all the literature I found, the targets set for stonographers look like they only pick up around 50% or less of these variants. By the time I left the hospital, I was in shock. You do not have to have the scan. Purpose of screening. But here I was, minutes later, lying down, waiting. And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. But for those few days they were torture. Getting through the 20 week scan - My BabyManual Well, at the regional hospital it was a 3-D scan. It was sick. I felt I needed proof of what was wrong before I take such a huge decision and that I couldn't do it based on what someone had written on, on the paper. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February. Why me and not you, you bastard? We had amnio and then spent a week in absoute anguish waiting for the outcome which was no trisomies. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. We just couldn't use the words. 17/12/2020 17:13. You've had, you've had your Down's Syndrome check and that's okay. Back on the EPU unit, a doctor organised for me to be admitted into the ward, to take the medical management under supervision as the sac was now to big for me to safely miscarry on my own at home. I wanted to be a passive patient while the doctor did what he had to do. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. At the time the same thing had, exactly the same thing had happened to my friend a month before, and her scan was absolutely fine. And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. But worse was to come. And, sometimes, I wish I had invited my whole family into the hospital room to see him. Those two weeks were agonising for us both. BabyCenter. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Cardiac surgery can do some amazing things. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. Mm-hm. Sometimes women were told that the sonographer had found a 'marker' or sign of a chromosomal condition and had to wait for an amniocentesis to confirm the findings. Others, including those who had been given leaflets to read about the scan beforehand as well as some who were health professionals, said that they had been nave about the 20-week scan. Severe chromosomal conditions such as Edwards' syndrome are now often picked up in the first trimester antenatal screening but itwill usually be more obviousat the 18- 20 week scan, though usually a firm diagnosis will not be made until one or two specialists have weighed up all available evidence about the baby - which usually means that another expert needs to scan the baby again, or until the woman has had an amniocentesis. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? She didn't say at the time that it was a major problem or that it was something to watch out for. 1. There are no known risks to your baby or the mother from having an ultrasound scan but it is important that you consider carefully whether or not to have the 20-week scan. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. So we decided that, to have the scan and we went along I think early in the week for that, and spent quite a lot of time with the consultant after that. We must have had one before that as well, we must have had one before that, but it came back quite normal. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. Though the 18-20 week scan can detect when certain parts of the baby's body have grown abnormally, it may not be possible for clinicians to identify why it has happened or make a firm diagnosis based on the scan alone. I did think it was a bit strange that she wasn't talking, and then she sort of said, 'Oh, I think there's a problem. So it was just, we were coming up to the 20-week scan and I was just getting more relaxed, just actually starting to look at maybe baby catalogues or, you know, going down the baby aisle at the shops, which I'd always avoided. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. You could see her face, and the major aspect that was, that was the indication of what was wrong was the thickening at the back of the neck in this instance, which, when you're looking at a fetus is, you know, sort of half a centimetre thicker or not is completely immaterial to me, and would look like a completely normal neck, but from the point of view of the consultant was severely abnormal. unfortunately the 20 week anomaly scan can pick up serious issues, hearing heart beats at midwife appointment doesn't let us know what's going on inside the body in detail. So I sort of went home quite, fairly kind of happy and I, at, at this point I hadn't any idea things could go wrong anyway. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. I know it sounds odd that you want to hear that it's wrong, but you, you know it's wrong, and you, you want to be reassured either that it's okay or is there something seriously wrong. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. My wife had been very, very healthy, more healthy than the first pregnancy, and of course was shattered by the fact that the news, the news was appalling, very serious faces. I think at that time she had come to terms better with the fact that this baby was going to be terminated, and I don't think I was quite there. So and you could see the exomphalus, this little pouch, which was obviously just the intestines where they are. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. The same sense of expectation. . We, I was with my mum, and they scanned and found choroid plexus cysts on the brain, which is just a mark, it's a marker on the brain, it's a, what they call a 'soft marker'. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). Some hospitals do offer earlier anomaly scans of the baby, but they will not show as much detail as scans performed between 18 and 20weeks. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. He looked fine. But that was too easy. I was told that while bad news at the 12 w scan is often of the life or death kind, bad news at the 20 week scan is often of the 'needs an operation in childhood' or 'needs to wear a brace for a year' kind. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. Please note that the opinions expressed by users in Tommys Book of #misCOURAGE are solely those of the user, who is unlikely to have had medical training. So had to come back in a week's time for a scan, which again is quite a common thing I found out. I took my vitamins, stuck to the healthy diet and put on a brave face. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). I sat and waited to be called for my scan. Three midwives came and went. The hardest thing I have ever done. The consultant showed us the letter with our result on and, yes, there were the words "Down's syndrome". I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. I was told they needed to do a blood test to get a bench mark of my hormone levels. It was real. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. The baby was kicking so hard that I began to believe him. These were said to be soft markers fo a range of trisomies, 2 of which were incompatible with life. So we hid in our house. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? It is extremely rare for these pregnancies to reach term as they typically spontaneously miscarry early in pregnancy. By this point I had stopped bleeding, this caused problems. You're in and out and that was it. Then I picked myself up. You get extra care and monitoring as appropriate and baby is proactively treated. I tried to keep positive. I think it's the same - in fact I think it was probably the same room, same consultant - and [sighs] I suppose it felt upsetting because at the dating scan you're full of hope and this scan we knew wasn't going to be good, we knew it was maybe the last time we would see the baby moving around. I just want to be normal again. Many described how sonographers and doctors were very restrained and didn't speak at all until they had analysed all the baby's details. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. Intellectually, I knew this was not the case. We both thought we would like some good to come out of this horrible experience, so wanted to talk to somebody about the possibility of using the body for research purposes. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. And I'd been on the internet looking up all sorts of things and everything was so negative, it was very depressing, because I thought, 'Well, maybe they've made a mistake, or maybe it's something they can fix, I don't know'. And I felt like a murderer. Because, when you're angry with the world for dealing you such a shit time, you begin to hate the people who populate it. By 7pm, I still hadn't delivered the baby. And again, you know, you read all the books and it tells you 'this is the diagnostics', but after a while you don't hear that inside your head any more No, no, no, I'm fine - because everything's perfect. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. So we went back the day after Boxing Day, the 27th, and the consultant greeted us, which made my alarm bells go, and she started scanning us and I think her lines were, 'What concerns me about this baby is that they've got a diaphragmatic hernia, which has meant that part of the stomach of the baby was in its chest cavity.'. For many other women, the 18-20 week scan was the point at which they discovered the baby had serious problems. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. Two days, after on Christmas Eve, (my 12 week date) I had more blood tests. And before they gave me any of the results she asked a colleague to come and told me she wanted to check something, with a colleague, and by then I was getting very concerned because I'd never had that happen before. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. I have horrible thoughts. That he - I think I was 21 weeks and 3 days, and he was coming up at 19 weeks and 4 days, or something like that. We need to have your opinion'. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. I tried to show him the notes and the photos. She didn't want to see the baby. blood tests, CVS) were clear - and as one woman put it, 'after the triple test* (Down's syndrome screening) you stop thinking anything can go wrong'. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. I couldn't bring myself to push. This image shows a baby's face and hands at 20 weeks, and gives you an idea of what you'll be able to see at this scan. So I was, they couldn't actually finish the scan then, the baby was moving around too much, so they couldn't scan the heart and the stomach. Our position in our families has shifted. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine. And everybody knows and everything is right. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. I was willing the results to be normal.