She asked me how far gone I thought we were, and if I could have been mistaken. Very occasionally this second scan cannot be completed, for example because: In this case you will not be offered another screening scan but you will offered an all over physical examination for your baby after birth. Just doing it. Maybe. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. It was over. . You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine. I sat and waited to be called for my scan. So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. 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. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. [Husband] couldn't make it. We had the same conversation, but obviously were not making any sense to her at all. During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. So we went home really and I sort of had to think about it all night. What would we like to do with the body? I wanted to let nature take its course. All women are offered a dating scan, and an 18- 20 week fetal anomaly ultrasound scan, in line with NICE and UK National Screening Committee recommendations. I didn't have a clue. That's fine. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. That was the first time I had heard him cry. I was willing the results to be normal. 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?' She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. And this baby sort of floated, and occasionally there was a slight movement, but it was very you could almost see that he was really poorly just from looking at the screen. And that was Monday afternoon. Yeah, yeah. I'd had the scan in the scanning room, I can't remember what they call it now, it's silly, it's gone from my head. The sonographer told me to take the notes, and the scan photos with me so they could review them also. These opinions do not represent the opinions of Tommys and are not advice from Tommy's. Do you have any thoughts about that? And I could see, before she even said anything I could see that there was something wrong with the heart. 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'. And that was scanning up from the above the head, then you were coming up through the child's head, so you were seeing the chambers in the brain, sort of it was evident in all four chambers of the brain, then suddenly one chamber was empty. All the time, the baby was kicking and I felt like a murderer waiting to strike her victim. 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. And, for a few hours, I'm convinced I've made a terrible mistake.
Not marginalised into being a victim. So on the Monday we went in to see the senior sonographer, I think she was a consultant at the hospital. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. He had to come to the decision by himself. Those two weeks were agonising for us both. Can you remember that minute. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. I felt crushed, I wanted him to at least acknowledge what had been found already. I was becoming numb to the whole process. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I was experiencing some light bleeding for the past few days. However, a few hours later there was another shift change. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? I popped out from work, telling my boss I'd be back in half an hour. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. But for those few days they were torture. Saturday came. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. Sometimes a post mortem was needed to confirm the 20-week diagnosis to see if the baby had inherited a genetic problem (such as Fowler syndrome - see '. We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. And it was Christmas Eve and at the time I didn't think, the sonographer did spend a little bit of time scanning us and queried my dates several times and then explained that she couldn't quite see the baby's heart properly and would we come back in a couple of days? . I tried to show him the notes and the photos. 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. I felt the dread run through me. And there [sighs] was a very dark patch over one, where the eye socket was, and they didn't know it, in the Edward's babies sometimes the eyes don't develop properly, or it might have been bleeding, they weren't very sure. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. Some things can be seen more clearly than others. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. He looked excited. 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. And then I can't remember an awful lot more about that scan apart from that feeling of searching of how to react in an unknown situation - your brain's kind of trying to work out what to say, what to do, but I had no idea what to say or what to do and I think my first thought was, does that mean our first daughter's okay? They sort of drew some diagrams, and they said, 'But we need to refer you to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis'. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. The hardest thing I have ever done. As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? factor is very strong. Well send you a link to a feedback form. The weeks since that day have been very weird. By this point I had stopped bleeding, this caused problems. Has anyone been told the sex incorrectly at their 20 week scan? So I no longer trusted my instincts. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. We'd just spent some time away on a, on a summer holiday and come back expecting to have this scan and be told, 'All fine. But it was very evident. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. I am a darker, harder version of myself. 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'. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February. 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. And the doctor - because it was a doctor rather then just the, a sonographer or whatever the correct term is - was scanning my wife, and she hovered over the heart of the baby and said, 'Oh there's the heart, we'll come back to that'. The following is a quote from their report: If the scan reveals either a suspected or confirmed abnormality, the woman should be informed by the sonographer at the time of the scan. And nothing prepares you at all. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. Then, three days later, I would go to the labour ward - the ward I had been expecting to visit in two and a half months. But worse was to come. The "why me?" He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. On the third day, we got a phone call. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. There was cause for concern. The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. I was young, I didn't need one. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. The baby was kicking so hard that I began to believe him. I thought I was going to burst into tears. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. So we went home, me to rest in an attempt to prevent miscarriage, my partner to reassure us both. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. It was just sort of deadpan faces, very serious looks, someone else coming to check. And thank God I did. So had to come back in a week's time for a scan, which again is quite a common thing I found out. She describes having to make a momentous decision very quickly, and the ferment of relief, guilt and grief that followed, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Specialist scans
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'. I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. The anomaly scan, also called the 20 week scan or mid-pregnancy scan, is used to detect pregnancy irregularities significant in diagnosis of any of the following conditions: In most instances no serious issue will be found during the scan and many parents-to be will come away knowing that all is progressing nicely and, perhaps, having found out . 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. Two days, after on Christmas Eve, (my 12 week date) I had more blood tests. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. 10/03/2021 16:13, @Cormoransjacket I was sat on the sofa working, my son was at nursery and my partner was in the bath. By the time I left the hospital, I was in shock. That was an extremely difficult day. That he was small. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . So we left it there, and we didn't actually think that there was anything really to worry about after that scan. 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). The gel makes sure there is good contact between the probe and your skin. And it was just a bit of a shock because it's not really what you want to hear - you don't really expect that. But you know I knew we had, we had to make a decision that was right for the baby as well. Which is what I'd seen. 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. We had the baby cremated. The milk came and stayed for what seemed like for ever. A black and white picture of your baby will then be seen on the ultrasound screen. He felt strong and fit and healthy. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. You may like someone to come with you to the scan appointment. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. I let out an animal scream and [wife] kind of leapt onto me on the bed. So I suppose from that aspect, mind you having not been told that or sitting there, I wouldn't have thought necessarily that was odd. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. You know there's always that bit on the bottom of the thing, 'These are diagnostics, do not bring other children,' - blah, blah, blah.. it's not, you know, it's not a family outing kind of thing, but it feels like it. 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 saw the consultant, who was reassuring, saying that he would rescan me and was sure everything would be fine. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. I was then told yet again bad news. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. And, faced with feeling sorry for myself or feeling sorry for my child, I know which I'd choose. 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. Purpose of screening. So at least then we went to that next stage prepared for the worst really. 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. I did. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. So we'd gone through the Down's syndrome or worse scare, we'd had conversations about what we would do, if it was confirmed that it was Down's syndrome or another syndrome, another sort of chromosome abnormality. 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. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. My heart goes out to you OP. And of course some other measurements she needed to take like the width of the skull, which she couldn't take because the fetus was in the wrong position. As though I went power mad for a week, killing my innocent unborn child, and now I am tainted for ever. And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. Mm-hm. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. 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. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. But you could see there was something wrong? No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. b>Bad news at 20 week scan. Scans cannot find all conditions. It's, I mean you can't tell from these scans what you're looking at really, but I remember thinking, 'it just doesn't look quite right' or something, but I didn't give it much thought. My wife turned the screen away from her. Sam squeezed my hand and told me it was ok. It's part of our family. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. Never being able to look after himself. 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. My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . The doctor didn't come. Had 34wk scan last week and all is well - of all the babies found to have a two vessel cord, was told less than 6% experience any growth issues etc. And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Could you tell? Being generous and kind generally happens only when you're happy. It felt as if we had gone power crazy. I think what everyone is saying is that most likely outcome is that there are no problems at all. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. . And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. Possibly with hindsight we could have been more worried about it, but was probably a good thing we weren't, because we weren't worried about anything basically. I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. And you could see, where you should have a picture of 4 chambers, you could really see 2. See you in -. Sometimes doctors will wait to give the baby more time to develop and carry out repeat scans - this had confused several parents we talked to who had gone for repeat scans not knowing that the baby might have a problem. Instinctively, did it feel right? My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. But other than that everything was fine. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. So we hid in our house. The baby was very, very small. It is essential that all practitioners performing fetal anomaly ultrasound screening should be trained to communicate abnormal findings to women, as such information is likely to have significant emotional impact. So we gave up and said we'd arrange the funeral ourselves. the amniocentesis) and the pregnancy had already ended, or because the scan was not routinely offered in their region 5 or more years ago. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. It was just a few little things like the kidneys were hard to find, and the stomach was hard to find, but that might be because it wasn't filled with fluid. We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. If this happens, you will be offered one further scan by 23 weeks of pregnancy. 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. He looked fine. 'Soft markers'. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. The only thing you're thinking now is the birth, and what if something goes wrong in the birth? Just wonder whether anyone had ever been told? At this point it wasn't looking great. 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. We just couldn't use the words. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. For example, the babys brain, kidneys, internal organs or bones may not have developed properly. And it's like, I really wanted to see it and I didn't, and it was it was very mixed. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home No discussion, no quiet contemplation. And at that, I let out a scream I think. 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. Thinking back, I don't know how we left without him. We had so much power, we could decide that this little thing should die. The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. However, at the time neither of us could articulate that. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. Never lacking a sense of the dramatic, it felt as if we shared the responsibility for the terrible, dirty act that we had committed. You may need to have a full bladder when you come for the appointment. chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet. The same rush of excitement. Later, I did see and hold our baby. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. The first words I said were: "If there's anything wrong then it's my fault", I had been working 70, nearly 80 hours the previous weeks and pushed myself hard. 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). But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. This article was amended on 24 November 2015 to anonymise the writer. I think I don't everything just seems a real blur because it was, it was such a strange experience. And I, my husband and I both ran our own business at the time so we were desperate to get back and do some work, and things were going really well, so.. But I still didn't want to be the one who stopped this baby's chance to live. 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). No one else attended and we didn't have a service. Life expectancy of 30 or 40. We were convinced everything would be OK. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. But now that's changed. How was that scan different from the dating scan? Picture every packed football staduim up and down the country - all healthy pregnancies and births. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. Spina bifida can usually be seen clearly on a scan and of those babies who have this condition, around 9 out of 10 (90%) will be detected. I think there might be a problem'. 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. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. 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. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. The same unique expression he had when he saw our two year old born. 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'. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy.
Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. We must have had one before that as well, we must have had one before that, but it came back quite normal. I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. I get terribly irritated by my close friends and family. 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. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier diagnostic tests (e.g. I pray it's just her heart but I can't see anything else is wrong as I have been scanned by a consultant since I was 14 weeks and every time he has said everything looks okay and she is growing consistently. And everybody knows and everything is right. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. Some stories I hear are amazing! Despite this new discovery, the sonographer was still concerned. I returned to be told they wanted to scan me again, another internal to see exactly what was happening.