Hi everyone

I got my letter this morning from the hospital for my NT/dating scan appointment.

It doesn't tell me exactly what they do for the NT scan, and i'm a bit confused why they need my permission to do it...is it dangerous? Sorry to post, this probably seems really silly, but i'm not sure why some one would refuse it?

Is there any danger than i'm unaware of? Im happy to do it but i don't want to walk in there "blind" !

Thanks

Forgot to say...i dont want to google it in case i scare myself ! I dread googling anything preg-related as the bad stuff always appears first!!!

Hi hun, no its not dangerous its just like a normal scan, its just some people decide not to have it done.

Its to calculate your risk for abnormalities, they take the nuchal measurement from back of babys neck and look for any other markers, sometimes you have a blood test too, and they combine the results to give you your risk factor. xx

the nuchal scan is to check whether the baby has downs syndrome or not, i think its a bit dangerous which is why they need your permission? i dont think i had it done with my daughter and i wont be getting it done with this one either

x

im sure i was told it was dangerous, isnt that the one where they inject you? or am i thinking of something else entirely?

just trying to remember why i didnt have it done?

x

No hun, its just a scan and then they give you a high risk or low risk, its just a screening test it doesn't give you definate yes or no. If you get high risk you can then decide whether to have a diagnostic test such as amnio or CVS which is the needle what your thinking of I think which gives you a definate answer but carries a risk of miscarriage.

You may not have had it done because they don't offer it everywhere. I know I didn't have it done with my 1st xx

oh yeh that was it, the nuchal is a scan but if you are high risk then you get that injection so i thought well im not going to get the injection so there is no point finding out as i wouldve only worried if i had been high risk

x

Thanks
That helps, i'll just let them do it.
Shame i have to wait until after christmas though

It's not dangerous - just some people don't want to know what the risk of Down Syndrome is as they may have to make difficult choices to have more invasive tests if it shows signs or maybe even not continue with the pregnancy.....some people just choose not to know

It's a personal decision xxxx try and enjoy your scan xxxx

The nuchal measuring is not dangerous at all. You will go for the scan, and when they have the instrument on your belly, the baby will appear on the screen. They take a photo of the baby side-on, and measure the fluid at the back of the neck just from the photo. The baby is not touched at all.

You will get a result based on both blood tests you will have had, and the measurement. The result you get will tell you approximately what chances the baby has of being downs. For example they will say 1/200 or something like that, which means your baby has 1 chance in 200 of having downs. They cannot tell you definitely whether the child has it, but it just tells you the chance.

If you have a high chance of downs, they may offer CVS, which is when a needle is inserted through your belly, and into the womb. I haven't read much on it, but I think they take a specimen of amniotic fluid (I'm not sure). There is a risk associated with the CVS, which is why they only offer it if you have a high risk. It gives you a more definite answer.

The reason they ask you whether you want the nuchal measurement is simply in case you would rather not know. Some couples would never terminate, so they may not want to know. Some couples want to have a heads up so they can warm to the idea and familiarise themselves with the condition before the baby is born. Some couples want to terminate a downs baby.

We wanted to know our baby's risk, so we asked to have it done. My result was 1/200,000, which is very low. They actually offered the CVS, but said there was little to no point in me risking it, because the result of our nuchal was so low.

Having said that, there is always a chance your baby will have downs, no matter what the nuchal measurement result is.