I think what everyone is saying is that most likely outcome is that there are no problems at all. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan Slightly marked from our peers. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. I didn't sleep that night I don't think. 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! But that was too easy. The consultant at the time wasn't really that interested in that imagery. As soon as we arrived, we were shown to this little room. And that was extraordinary to see the detail that that could offer. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. However painful and traumatic the labour was, it was better than what would happen at the end of it. Not marginalised into being a victim. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? They would then re-test me in two days time. 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. Can you describe the difference between the scan at this later stage in a pregnancy? I guess the morphine made it easier. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. He told me that they may want to do blood tests, but that 'he didn't see the point'. It was, 'Oh we'll come back to that'. 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. My partner's face was lit up, seeing the baby for the first time. The first midwife seemed to understand what we were trying to say, and said she would ask the doctor to come and talk to us. That they could have spotted something, or not? 13/12/2020 20:45. There were also two spots on his heart, which were "soft markers" for Down's syndrome. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. And they took me to another room and they explained that the baby had what they thought was ventriculomegaly or something. 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. I am a darker, harder version of myself. That was an extremely difficult day. But other than that everything was fine. It's quite common, perhaps 1 in 10 they find these, and within a few weeks they disappear. Picture every packed football staduim up and down the country - all healthy pregnancies and births. 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. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. 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. Can't seem to find info on the Internet. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. After half an hour of lying on the bed, I was starting to get nervous, but was excited to find out that the baby would be a boy and that I could see his little heart beating strongly. (See. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. For example, the babys brain, kidneys, internal organs or bones may not have developed properly. I was becoming numb to the whole process. The milk came and stayed for what seemed like for ever. 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. I have horrible thoughts. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. But no. I travelled to work that day feeling amazing. 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. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? 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. 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. The same sense of expectation. A few people recalled how frightened and alarmed they became when they sensed that the atmosphere in the scanning room changed in an instant from 'jokey' to serious when the baby's problems were detected. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing. This article was amended on 24 November 2015 to anonymise the writer. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. I was then told yet again bad news. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. Entering the labour ward, I waited for someone to say, "Go home, you are 16 weeks too early." It seemed inconceivable that we would not be having a baby in May. I just want to be normal again. 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. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. 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'. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. What would we like to do with the body? In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. If you choose not to have the scan you can still have all other parts of your routine antenatal care. 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. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . 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. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. Seated in the antenatal clinic with lots of expectant mothers with baby bumps. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. The gel makes sure there is good contact between the probe and your skin. 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. 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. If necessary, you will be referred to a specialist, possibly in another hospital. It took 20 minutes to push him out. 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. This might be uncomfortable. 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. Another sick joke. 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. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. She wanted to have a look at the skull, which was the main thing, but she couldn't see it from where the baby was. 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. It was positive, and I felt elated. And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. 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. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). 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. 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. Perhaps because we are alone in this, it has brought my partner and me very close. And in this instance the scan was very evident that there was something very seriously wrong. 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. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". 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. But I still didn't want to be the one who stopped this baby's chance to live. factor is very strong. Just that really! I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. 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. All my plans were beginning to fall down. 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. 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. But the closeness has remained after the drama has died down. But now that's changed. I sat and waited to be called for my scan. The same anxious wait for a little, pathetic cry. My partner really wanted me to, and by that time I had no sense of what was right or what I should do. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. 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. And at that point I don't think we, I don't think we realised that there might have to be a decision, because we'd talked about it with, with Down's and the other possible problems, but at this point it was, well okay what can be done to fix the problem - because yes the heart's not developing properly but there must be something we can do. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. 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. But worse was to come. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. Most scans show that babies seem to be developing as expected, and none of the 11 conditions are found. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. He wanted to talk about it, but I didn't. I felt the dread run through me. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the scan. Only this time, no cry came. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. This one cannot show you anything, that's what's inside your mind. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. Purpose of screening. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? It feels very lonely and isolating. I think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. 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'). And I assumed my partner would feel the same. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Or, at the very least, heart problems. . This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. This was a ray of hope for us. But here I was, minutes later, lying down, waiting. 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. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face.
