chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet

But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. It was horrible. So on the Monday we went in to see the senior sonographer, I think she was a consultant at the hospital. 20-week ultrasound (anomaly scan) - BabyCenter Australia The blood test confirmed it was twins. You do not have to have the scan. My heart goes out to you OP. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. 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. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. As I waited for the doctor back on the EPU unit. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. . Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. You may need to have a full bladder when you come for the appointment. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. I just feel very unlucky. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. I had an appointment with my consultant 2 days later, and again he said, you know, 'Very common - shouldn't worry about it too much, you know, if, the problem is if they find anything else wrong'. He wanted to talk about it, but I didn't. When I think about how long it took them to deliberate ultimately, maybe not, but it just felt like a bit of a fast food situation, didn't it? The sonographer told me to take the notes, and the scan photos with me so they could review them also. We'll make an appointment with the senior sonographer, the consultant at the local hospital, and she'll do your scan and she'll be able to tell you more things'. You've had a scan, you've had the blood tests, you've been good. No one else but my partner saw how similar he was to our son. 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. And I can, the words that the scanning member of staff used, "Everything's fine", will stay with me forever. An hour passed and I started to panic. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. I managed to tell my mum, who said she would come with us to the hospital. 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. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. We were convinced everything would be OK. Perhaps because we are alone in this, it has brought my partner and me very close. 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 it turned out the baby's heart wasn't forming properly, the chambers weren't forming properly. It was over. When he came back, he agreed on a termination. Again the legs were quite twisted, they said that the baby's sternum was very short - things weren't in proportion you know - the head was quite large, the neck was very thick, there wasn't really like a neck as such it was just things were kind of - there were lots of things that obviously the consultant could see that we weren't aware of. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. I didn't have a clue. I've still had no cramps or bleeding so fingers crossed everything is ok I just couldn't believe I fell down the stairs, I can't remember the last time I ever did that! And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. And that was extraordinary to see the detail that that could offer. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. I had my little leaflet, printed off leaflet about choroid plexus cysts. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. I was wondering if anyone has been is this situation and can give me a glimmer of hope. I think I was about 20 weeks cos they, the hospital I think did the 12 and the 20, that was their standard thing and, yeah, so I got the 20 weeks one. Any delay in receiving more information about the abnormality and its implications will be distressing for women and this should be acknowledged. I tried to show him the notes and the photos. Although the anomaly scan is often called a 20-week scan, you may have it any time between 18 and 22 weeks, although it's usually done between 18 and 20 weeks. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. It took 20 minutes to push him out. I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. Mm-hm. Tommys is a registered charity in England and Wales (1060508) and Scotland (SC039280). What happens at the second midwife appointment? It wasn't measuring at all the right measurements for the age - there was a heart defect, the limbs were sort of distorted, the arms were, you know - you could see that the arms were very sort of contracted, the hands were contracted. Thanks girls, it's amazing how protected our babies are in there isn't it?! I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. And I knew there was no way out. Still, the consultant thought things would be OK. I noticed the box of tissues on the table. If you are offered further tests, you will be given more information about them so that you can decide whether or not you want to have them. And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. I've realised that being a nice person is a luxury some can't afford. 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. 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. But it was very evident. But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. Actually you could tell from the brain development as he scanned up through the chambers of the brain, that one quarter of the brain, one chamber was not evident. But worse was to come. But he was not sure. My partner spent the weekend trying to convince me that things were OK. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and over again. And my husband, we never got to sit next to each other in the consulting room, my husband was across the room from me, and I was sat next to the consultant, and we were laughing and joking with him about, you know, the home delivery, and everything was going to be, 'Are you still on for the home delivery?' Entering the labour ward, I waited for someone to say, "Go home, you are 16 weeks too early." I was then told yet again bad news. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. 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. Public Health England (PHE) created this information on behalf of the NHS. So even if anomolies are found, they don't always mean a problem.. x. I had issues at the 20 weeks scan with both of mine. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. I've been incredibly lucky to have such amazing support from Sam, my mum, and close friends and family. I came back probably about 17 weeks pregnant and had the anomaly scan at 20 weeks and like most people expected everything to be fine and to come away with a lovely picture but unfortunately that isn't what happened. Yeah, yeah. So I was a bit ignorant of the kind of things, you know, what the scans were really doing - maybe it was, a bit na've I think. Instead, I had to raise a glass of water to my mouth, take a swig and swallow the tablet. Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic. She endured many agonising rounds of scans and tests, and unfortunately met with some unhelpful attitudes from some healthcare professionals. By 7pm, I still hadn't delivered the baby. He sounded like a wild animal in pain, deep pain. It's a bit at the back of the brain and - no I can't remember what it is - it's called, it's something that's called Dandy-Walker mal, 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). I was told they needed to do a blood test to get a bench mark of my hormone levels. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. Bad news at 20 week scan, please help. | Mumsnet Specialist scans are performed in specialist fetal units and if clinicians feel that there might be problems scanning will be done up to 32 weeks. Or, at the very least, heart problems. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. I was then told yet again bad news. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. We thought it would all be over very quickly but, in fact, it was another 11 hours before the baby was delivered. 2022. It was real. The clinic advised a follow up scan the week after, to check on progress and to see what to do next. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. And nothing prepares you at all. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. And they, sort of two of them were looking at the scan machine and then they sort of switched everything off and said, 'Oh, I think we have, might have a problem'. Our week-by-week PREGNANCY emails are a must for parents-to-be. 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. And I remember, the first thing I remember when something might be wrong, was I saw, I finally, we finally saw an image of the skull on the screen, and there appeared to be a sort of black hole shape in the middle. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. Our position in our families has shifted. I did. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. So we gave up and said we'd arrange the funeral ourselves. 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. While some parents understood the clinician's restraint - even when they had to wait an hour or more for a definite diagnosis - others disliked being kept in suspense and wanted to be told what the clinician was thinking. The nursery I had selected for our two-year-old son; my maternity leave; the bunk beds; the summer holiday suitable for a newborn baby. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). 'Soft markers'. If you choose not to have the scan you can still have all other parts of your routine antenatal care. The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. So it was, there was very, very little movement from the baby because I remembered first time round by that stage, you know, that the baby was quite big and it moved around a lot at a later scan. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. . Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. And I can just remember flashing a look at you as if to say, 'Have I made a mistake here somewhere? Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. The doctor didn't come. As though I went power mad for a week, killing my innocent unborn child, and now I am tainted for ever. The thing about that which I felt was difficult is that we could tell when being scanned that there was something very seriously wrong. Because we knew that that wasn't normal, that wasn't what we'd experienced before, it wasn't just the, 'There's the arm, there's the leg, oh look the baby's moving'. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. 15/02/2014 08:02. Just that really! And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. And I wish that I'd been told at that point, that somebody had actually turned round to me and said, 'Look, I'm sorry, but I think there's something very wrong. As you felt that, you know, it was probably going to show lots of problems and it just wasn't what we wanted, but at the same time we needed to sort of see it and, we needed to prove it I suppose. He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. All my instincts were to protect my belly, yet here I was allowing someone to stick a huge needle into it. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. Sometimes it is difficult to get good views of a baby. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. 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. No one else attended and we didn't have a service. . And she said that, you know, as the, if the baby did develop further there would probably be other problems with internal organs that weren't really that visible at that stage. Everywhere you look, there are happy, fat, smug pregnant women. 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. As I left the room to compose myself. The midwife was on the verge of tears and I felt responsible. My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . It was positive, and I felt elated. This article was amended on 24 November 2015 to anonymise the writer. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. I wasn't unduly worried at all. So had to come back in a week's time for a scan, which again is quite a common thing I found out. And so, yeah we got to, carried on with the pregnancy, kept seeing the consultant, kept sitting in the waiting room outside, because there was a terribly long waiting time sometimes, depending on what time you had the appointment.