So had to come back in a week's time for a scan, which again is quite a common thing I found out. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. hi ladies. I can feel my child kick, it responds when he shouts at football - I mean literally, this baby used to dance around whenever he'd like scream at a goal - and there cannot be anything wrong with this child because it's part of us already. Can you describe the difference between the scan at this later stage in a pregnancy? And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. He told me that they may want to do blood tests, but that 'he didn't see the point'. 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. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. And attribute some blame to them. 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. 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. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. This might be uncomfortable. 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. Can't seem to find info on the Internet. There was complete silence during the scan. And I said, I was still laughing, and I thought he was joking with me, and he said now I sort of could tell from his face that by that point he wasn't really joking anymore. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. 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. It was positive, and I felt elated. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. 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? When he came back, he agreed on a termination. And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. 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'. The doctor didn't come. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. How common is it to find anomolies at the 20 week scan? - Netmums I was saving my child from pain and suffering. As I waited for the doctor back on the EPU unit. 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. But for those few days they were torture. Just wonder whether anyone had ever been told? He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. So I trusted him. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. It's quite common, perhaps 1 in 10 they find these, and within a few weeks they disappear. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. Like many things, the theory is very different from the reality. It was far too much power; neither of us wanted it. 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. My partner was away working and was waiting to hear whether he was having a son or daughter. Perhaps because we are alone in this, it has brought my partner and me very close. So on the Monday we went in to see the senior sonographer, I think she was a consultant at the hospital. The sonographer told me to take the notes, and the scan photos with me so they could review them also. The scan looks for 11 different conditions in your baby and cannot find everything that might be wrong. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. 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). Just doing it. 20-week ultrasound (anomaly scan) - BabyCenter Australia So that was it. The hardest thing I have ever done | Health | The Guardian He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. It sounds crazy, but I just knew. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. 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 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? I managed to tell my mum, who said she would come with us to the hospital. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing. 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. So we went home, me to rest in an attempt to prevent miscarriage, my partner to reassure us both. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. Maybe. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. Yeah - in, stomach, out. We had the same conversation, but obviously were not making any sense to her at all. The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. These were said to be soft markers fo a range of trisomies, 2 of which were incompatible with life. I wrote a few things down last night when we were trying to go over things, just to remind myself. 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. But other than that everything was fine. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. We're going to go and see them. I feel empty and incomplete. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to me. Rather sharply, my partner tried to explain. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. I didn't have a clue. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. That he was small. 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. Thanks girls, it's amazing how protected our babies are in there isn't it?! And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. I broke down and started hitting my disgusting body that had done this. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. 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 . Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? 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. You could see her face, and the major aspect that was, that was the indication of what was wrong was the thickening at the back of the neck in this instance, which, when you're looking at a fetus is, you know, sort of half a centimetre thicker or not is completely immaterial to me, and would look like a completely normal neck, but from the point of view of the consultant was severely abnormal. Intellectually, I knew this was not the case. This short video explains screening for 11 physical conditions in pregnancy. Saturday came. . You do not have to have the scan. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. 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. Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. And as, and as soon as I saw the pictures of the scan, having had two normal pregnancies, even I could see that there was a marked contrast between this pregnancy and the pictures that I'd had previously. 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. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' 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? There were also two spots on his heart, which were "soft markers" for Down's syndrome. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. 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). See you in -. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. Thinking back, I don't know how we left without him. So it was quite common, this is what happens. The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. We were denying him his life. 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. He suggested he perform an amniocentesis immediately, to rule out any chromosomal problems. 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. I felt more informed, and I felt that that was what I needed in my head to see you know, that I've got to accept now that this, all these things are real on the screen and this was really my baby that's suffering all these things [sighs], but I was sad as well. I thought I was going to burst into tears. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. 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. Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. 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 took my vitamins, stuck to the healthy diet and put on a brave face. And shortly after that, that scan we'd finished and the consultant leant back and said, 'I'm afraid we have some problems here'. I just want to be normal again. Baby loss stories It can be such a shock so do whatever you need to feel better. 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. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. The hardest thing I have ever done. 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. 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. We felt as if we were in limbo. And again, you know, you read all the books and it tells you 'this is the diagnostics', but after a while you don't hear that inside your head any more No, no, no, I'm fine - because everything's perfect. We must have had one before that as well, we must have had one before that, but it came back quite normal. 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 travelled to work that day feeling amazing. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. The weeks since that day have been very weird. But you know I knew we had, we had to make a decision that was right for the baby as well. . Most hospitals do not allow children to attend scans as childcare is not usually available. The first result, which tells you if the baby has Down's syndrome, is ready in three days, but the other chromosomal problems cannot be eliminated for up to three weeks. There's nothing wrong, you know, we've had all the tests, everything's fine,' and being very upbeat about it all. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. 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). How was that scan different from the dating scan? 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. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. 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. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. 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. And that was Monday afternoon. The people who did know what was going on seemed far too sure that we were doing the right thing, that there was really no choice to be made. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. 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. But I was struggling mentally with the anguish, grief and endless hospital visits. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. I give pregnant women dirty looks. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. I was then told yet again bad news. My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . At first the closeness came through a sense of guilt. You have accepted additional cookies. I still feel guilty, I still cry at random times. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. You get extra care and monitoring as appropriate and baby is proactively treated. The sonographer will be able to tell you the results of the scan at the time. 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. The baby was kicking so hard that I began to believe him. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. 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. But the consultant had found more spots on the heart and the measurements were the same. At the time the same thing had, exactly the same thing had happened to my friend a month before, and her scan was absolutely fine. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. I was becoming numb to the whole process. Another sick joke. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. And thank God I did. And also what the prognosis would mean for our two year old: now a very happy child, he would have a completely different childhood with such an ill sibling. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. 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. And she sort of got up and walked out of the room and called someone in. That was an extremely difficult day. So we had to go in and out a couple of times, and we were just waiting around for ages and ages. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. I had a horrible feeling of relief. So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been.

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