It was, 'Oh we'll come back to that'. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. 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. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. 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. x. This was on the Friday. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine. 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. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. Any delay in receiving more information about the abnormality and its implications will be distressing for women and this should be acknowledged. 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. That's fine. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. And they took me to another room and they explained that the baby had what they thought was ventriculomegaly or something. Mm-hm. Getting through the 20 week scan - My BabyManual So it was quite common, this is what happens. 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). 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. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. I have horrible thoughts. I felt crushed, I wanted him to at least acknowledge what had been found already. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to 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. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. The same anticipation. But now that's changed. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. 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 on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". However painful and traumatic the labour was, it was better than what would happen at the end of it. Never lacking a sense of the dramatic, it felt as if we shared the responsibility for the terrible, dirty act that we had committed. I guess the morphine made it easier. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. Picture every packed football staduim up and down the country - all healthy pregnancies and births. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February. The weeks since that day have been very weird. Some stories I hear are amazing! Having the scan does not hurt but the sonographer may need to apply slight pressure to get the best views of your baby. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. It was real. We had the baby cremated. Thick milky discharge at 14 weeks.tmi pic attached. We felt as if we were in limbo. I faced another internal scan where I began to feel helpless and alone. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. And it's like, I really wanted to see it and I didn't, and it was it was very mixed. 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. I had my little leaflet, printed off leaflet about choroid plexus cysts. But that was too easy. She advised I be referred to the EPU to be assessed. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. 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. Bad news at 20 week scan | Mumsnet On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. The doctor gave her consent, and I took the four little tablets. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. The hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. I was told they needed to do a blood test to get a bench mark of my hormone levels. When I told him what had happened, he refused to believe anything was wrong and said he'd sort it out when he came home. And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. Can you describe the difference between the scan at this later stage in a pregnancy? Most scans show that babies seem to be developing as expected, and none of the 11 conditions are found. 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. Like many things, the theory is very different from the reality. 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. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. For once in my life, I had been organised. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. 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. 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 . We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. Baby loss stories I just want to be normal again. We'd sort of put those discussions to the back of our mind, and then all of a sudden there are other abnormalities so yeah it was a bit a bit of a shocker [laughs]. They said the brain was okay -, We were in there for a matter of minutes, literally -, In and out. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. For instance a couple who knew their baby was 'on the small size' were told he was fine at the 18-20 week scan, but discovered at 32 weeks that he had microcephaly. And you know, we were laughing and joking. 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. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests. Entering the labour ward, I waited for someone to say, "Go home, you are 16 weeks too early." Another sick joke. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. 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'. 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 still feel guilty, I still cry at random times. She describes having to make a . . Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. And nothing prepares you at all. Smiling at myself and picturing me and Sam becoming parents. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Maybe. 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 then all of a sudden, I was still laughing and we were all very upbeat, and then suddenly, he suddenly said, but I was still, still laughing, and he said to me, 'Oh, there might be a problem, there might be a problem with the, I think this baby has hydrocephalus'. It was a bit worrying but on the plus side I got an extra couple of scans and an extra couple of pictures. There's nothing wrong, you know, we've had all the tests, everything's fine,' and being very upbeat about it all. 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. Last updated July 2017. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. I wrote a few things down last night when we were trying to go over things, just to remind myself. Just doing it. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. How common is it to get bad news at 20 week scan? | Mumsnet Went back a week later for the scan and, you were with me for this one, weren't you? 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. I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. So instead, I was advised to go home and let nature take its course. Purpose of screening. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). The chances that anything bad will be discovered are v v small. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. I couldn't bring myself to push. Instinctively, did it feel right? My belly was growing and I was feeling great. Specialist scans You do not have to have the scan. And then, so I went to my next scan, which was the 20-week abnormality scan, and we took our first child with us, I think he was 17 months old at the time. . There was complete silence during the scan. 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. (See 'Resources'). To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Find more information and details of support groups on NHS.UK. I was wondering if anyone has been is this situation and can give me a glimmer of hope. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. I returned to be told they wanted to scan me again, another internal to see exactly what was happening. And, faced with feeling sorry for myself or feeling sorry for my child, I know which I'd choose. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). And I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being selfish. As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. When he came back, he agreed on a termination. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. 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? So at 20 weeks I went for my scan with my husband, with my daughter, to get our photographs. 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. . And I could see, before she even said anything I could see that there was something wrong with the heart. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. But I still didn't want to be the one who stopped this baby's chance to live. I was saving my child from pain and suffering. 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. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. And she sort of got up and walked out of the room and called someone in. So and you could see the exomphalus, this little pouch, which was obviously just the intestines where they are. Can't seem to find info on the Internet. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. Three midwives came and went. 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. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, NHS fetal anomaly screening programme (FASP), Screening tests for you and your baby (STFYAYB), nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, more information and details of support groups. And, sometimes, I wish I had invited my whole family into the hospital room to see him. I think what everyone is saying is that most likely outcome is that there are no problems at all. We would terminate the pregnancy. What happens at the second midwife appointment? It's part of our family. 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. We had the same conversation, but obviously were not making any sense to her at all. Sam squeezed my hand and told me it was ok. But other than that everything was fine. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . I endured 12 hours of medication and in the early hours February 7, 56 days after my first scan (at nearly 18 weeks), I miscarried our babies. You have accepted additional cookies. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. And shortly after that, that scan we'd finished and the consultant leant back and said, 'I'm afraid we have some problems here'. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . It felt as if we had gone power crazy. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. So carried on with the plans, and, you know, planning for the, another baby to come along and then we went for a 20- week scan which is obviously the big one and very exciting, seeing all the arms and legs and once again everything was going fine, 'Look here's the baby, here's the length of baby'.
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