This was on the Friday. I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. Could you tell? We had to discuss what we wanted to do with the little body after delivery. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' We were denying him his life. Our baby was beautiful. 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. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests, Ending the pregnancy for family & personal reasons, Deciding whether to see, hold and name the baby, Photographs and other mementoes of the baby, Saying goodbye to the baby - services & funerals, Coping with bereavement - women's experiences, Coping with bereavement - men's experiences, Men's ideas about their role in ending a pregnancy. 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. I was becoming numb to the whole process. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail. The only thing you're thinking now is the birth, and what if something goes wrong in the birth? And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. Cardiac surgery can do some amazing things. Later, I did see and hold our baby. How was that scan different from the dating scan? But worse was to come. hi ladies. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests. 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 'Resources'). It was just sort of deadpan faces, very serious looks, someone else coming to check. I couldn't bring myself to push. Living in this world must be unbearable for them. And I thought that if I were faced with the possibility of having an amnio, hours of discussion would follow - I would spend days mulling it over. Most hospitals do not allow children to attend scans as childcare is not usually available. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. I want to be nice again. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. He sounded like a wild animal in pain, deep pain. Try to relax and take it easy. You've had, you've had your Down's Syndrome check and that's okay. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . I didn't really know what that was. 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 she said, 'Come back on Monday. Intellectually, I knew this was not the case. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. So he went out for a walk. I was young, I didn't need one. 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. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' The same unique expression he had when he saw our two year old born. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? 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. But they didn't. At which point they turned round and said, 'Well, there is something very seriously wrong with the baby, we don't know exactly what, but you do need to have a more in-depth scan at your regional hospital to find out the detail'. For many other women, the 18-20 week scan was the point at which they discovered the baby had serious problems. That they could have spotted something, or not? So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been. I wanted to be a passive patient while the doctor did what he had to do. He was sure the consultant on Monday would see that the measurements were completely normal and that there was nothing to worry about. It was real. I think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. We had the same conversation, but obviously were not making any sense to her at all. 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. Smiling at myself and picturing me and Sam becoming parents. She asked me how far gone I thought we were, and if I could have been mistaken. I had to take a tablet there and then, under the supervision of a nurse, to end the pregnancy. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. The hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. You might be offered another test to find out for certain if your baby has one of the conditions. In some cases concerns in utero fix themselves sometimes needs treatment. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. 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. We were bound to each other because of the blood that was on both our hands. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. 2022. or sort of light chat that we'd, we'd experienced before with previous scans. In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. Specialist scans had a powerful effect on some parents because they could see the baby more clearly and in some cases people recognised which parts of the baby's body were not working properly. . That he was small. At this point it wasn't looking great. The results come in stages. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. 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. The doctor told me he was 98% sure this was a failing twin pregnancy. I did. It's quite common, perhaps 1 in 10 they find these, and within a few weeks they disappear. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans We just couldn't use the words. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. 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'. Some of the conditions that can be seen on the scan will mean the baby may need treatment or surgery after it is born, for example cleft lip. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. 15/02/2014 08:02. He looked fine. 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. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. But here I was, minutes later, lying down, waiting. Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. 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 having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. 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. I didn't want to go through anymore scans. And I went for, I went for a normal 12-week scan, at my local hospital and everything, they said everything was fine, there was no problem. 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. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. Finally, Monday came and we went back to the hospital. I was told this was common as my body and hormones still thought I was pregnant. But no. 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. 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. Thick milky discharge at 14 weeks.tmi pic attached. So it was quite common, this is what happens. Maybe our son would have overcome his problems, survived his illnesses, led a happy life. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? I just want to be normal again. We left for home feeling completely numb. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. I didn't think my instincts were worth much. So we decided to book an early 10 week private 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. BabyCenter. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. Likely to have serious medical problems all his life. No one else ever met the object of my grief. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. My heart goes out to you OP. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. It sounds crazy, but I just knew. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. There, I would give birth. I give pregnant women dirty looks. . The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. So and you could see the exomphalus, this little pouch, which was obviously just the intestines where they are. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. And I could see, before she even said anything I could see that there was something wrong with the heart. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. I broke down and started hitting my disgusting body that had done this. Instinctively, did it feel right? 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. 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. You get extra care and monitoring as appropriate and baby is proactively treated. All pregnant women should be given the booklet by their midwife or GP Screening tests for you and your baby by Public Health England, which gives detailed information about the types of scan offered and what they are looking for. 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). And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. And the next day we went back to the hospital and we had another scan with a specialist, and he confirmed it was a condition called holoprosencephaly, which I'd never heard of any of these words before, they were just such long words. 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. After she had taken all the measurements, the sonographer told us that she was concerned with the length of the baby's limbs in relation to the head. 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. And I knew there was no way out. Health professionals use the 18-20 week scan to examine the baby's size and position, and also to check if his/her brain, heart, lungs and other internal organs are developing as expected. For once in my life, I had been organised. A black and white picture of your baby will then be seen on the ultrasound screen. 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. And you know, we were laughing and joking. 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.. We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. There was complete silence during the scan. And my partner and I would have a completely different life from the one we'd imagined. By 7pm, I still hadn't delivered the baby. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. The same rush of excitement. For women who have been given distressing news about their baby during the scan, there should be a health professional available to provide immediate support. You can change your cookie settings at any time. And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Our week-by-week PREGNANCY emails are a must for parents-to-be. And, sometimes, I wish I had invited my whole family into the hospital room to see him. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face. I wanted to let nature take its course. I know it is still early days. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. I had to stop myself from yanking out the needle. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. The scan looks for 11 different conditions in your baby and cannot find everything that might be wrong. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. 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. On the third day, we got a phone call. I just feel very unlucky. So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. It seemed inconceivable that we would not be having a baby in May. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. 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 had to come back in a week's time for a scan, which again is quite a common thing I found out. All the time, the baby was kicking and I felt like a murderer waiting to strike her victim. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. And they took me into another room. Baby loss support Specialist scans He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. Never lacking a sense of the dramatic, it felt as if we shared the responsibility for the terrible, dirty act that we had committed. 12/12/2012 22:41. But it was very evident. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. It's been a heartbreaking nightmare. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. 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). The chances that anything bad will be discovered are v v small. This was a ray of hope for us. I managed to tell my mum, who said she would come with us to the hospital. This one cannot show you anything, that's what's inside your mind. Scans cannot find all conditions. We had the baby cremated. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. And, faced with feeling sorry for myself or feeling sorry for my child, I know which I'd choose. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. Which is what I'd seen. The midwife was on the verge of tears and I felt responsible. We must have had one before that as well, we must have had one before that, but it came back quite normal. Because, when you're angry with the world for dealing you such a shit time, you begin to hate the people who populate it. Last reviewed July 2017. All my instincts were to protect my belly, yet here I was allowing someone to stick a huge needle into it. The same anticipation. 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. Mm-hm. 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? Limitations of the 18-20 week scan They would then re-test me in two days time. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. And that was Monday afternoon. Went back a week later for the scan and, you were with me for this one, weren't you? That's fine. 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). And I, and, I felt the weight of deciding what to do about it. And in this instance the scan was very evident that there was something very seriously wrong. 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. Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. It was a bit worrying but on the plus side I got an extra couple of scans and an extra couple of pictures. I was becoming numb to the whole process. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. 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. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. But the closeness has remained after the drama has died down. 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. We need to have your opinion'. 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 was then told yet again bad news. Well, at the regional hospital it was a 3-D scan. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. 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. The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. 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. We didn't name him. 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'. They said the brain was okay -, We were in there for a matter of minutes, literally -, In and out. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. But you could see there was something wrong? And with each one we had to have the same conversations. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. Slightly marked from our peers. Most scans show that babies seem to be developing as expected, and none of the 11 conditions are found. It seemed a very arbitrary system, and so you quite often sat outside in the waiting room for a couple of hours before you actually got to see the consultant, which was, seemed you know, I kind of remember thinking before we went in to see him on the particular day when we found out there was a problem, 'Why are we sitting here? It is extremely rare for these pregnancies to reach term as they typically spontaneously miscarry early in pregnancy. 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. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. 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'. I want to enjoy my son again, without any reservations. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". Three midwives came and went. As though I went power mad for a week, killing my innocent unborn child, and now I am tainted for ever. She endured many agonising rounds of scans and tests, and unfortunately met with some unhelpful attitudes from some healthcare professionals. 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. We're still not at the end of our journey, but we're much further along. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. I give obsessively to charity, especially those linked to sick children. 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. How common is it for 2nd baby to come early..? Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). 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.
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