At that point, I got very not upset but quite sort of strongly severe sort of with the people at the hospital saying, 'Look, you know, that's 24 hours, possibly a 48 hours' wait - that's not something that's tenable. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. 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. In the case of a suspected abnormality, women should be seen for a second opinion by an expert in fetal ultrasound, such as a fetal medicine specialist. It was the end of January, very end - about the 29th - I'd gone into, I'd gone into 5 months by then. I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. The hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. 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. 11 physical conditions (20-week scan) - GOV.UK 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. We talked all night and thanked God for crap television. The ultimate betrayal. And it was Christmas Eve and at the time I didn't think, the sonographer did spend a little bit of time scanning us and queried my dates several times and then explained that she couldn't quite see the baby's heart properly and would we come back in a couple of days? But you could see there was something wrong? To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. And it all seemed so near at hand, you know, 31, 30 weeks, you feel like you're nearly, you're on the home stretch. These were said to be soft markers fo a range of trisomies, 2 of which were incompatible with life. How common is it to find anomolies at the 20 week scan? - Netmums Enough for two weeks after he had been cremated. 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. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. So and you could see the exomphalus, this little pouch, which was obviously just the intestines where they are. I am a darker, harder version of myself. 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. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February. That they could have spotted something, or not? I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. So at 20 weeks I went for my scan with my husband, with my daughter, to get our photographs. And at the end of the day however much we talked about it - that it was going to be the two of us to make the decision and me to actually you know, go through it and decide that that was what was going to happen for him - and I just, I didn't want to do it. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). 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? If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, midwife or hospital immediately. All the time, the baby was kicking and I felt like a murderer waiting to strike her victim. Mm-hm. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. I give pregnant women dirty looks. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. 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. 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. You may need to have a full bladder when you come for the appointment. But it was very evident. Sometimes it is difficult to get good views of a baby. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? But worse was to come. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. 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. And it was then because we were at 20 weeks by this point, there was only fairly short window to actually, to get some more tests done, find out what the problems were, and then make any decisions that might have to be made. 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. What would we like to do with the body? 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). Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. Possibly with hindsight we could have been more worried about it, but was probably a good thing we weren't, because we weren't worried about anything basically. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home I want to enjoy my son again, without any reservations. 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! 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]. However, at the time neither of us could articulate that. My wife turned the screen away from her. 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. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. And I knew there was no way out. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. 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'. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. 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. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. Again, no notes can have been written down because the midwife asked the same question. Saturday came. The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. 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. . It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. This time, they discovered the baby has a two vessel cord (only one vessel from placenta to baby instead of two) and I've been monitored to make sure the baby grows properly and kidneys aren't damaged. 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. And the local hospital wanted to send us off to the regional hospital to actually confirm that, and were not really prepared to say at that time that there was something very seriously wrong. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. 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. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. You can change your cookie settings at any time. The chances that anything bad will be discovered are v v small. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. And in this instance the scan was very evident that there was something very seriously wrong. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. And you know, we were laughing and joking. I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. The hardest thing I have ever done | Health | The Guardian We're going to go and see them. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan 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'. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. 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. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. blood tests, CVS) were clear - and as one woman put it, 'after the triple test* (Down's syndrome screening) you stop thinking anything can go wrong'. 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. We saw the consultant, who was reassuring, saying that he would rescan me and was sure everything would be fine. And that was Monday afternoon. I couldn't really believe what they were saying. Living in this world must be unbearable for them. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. hi ladies. 26/09/2019 22:46. I know it is still early days. She didn't say at the time that it was a major problem or that it was something to watch out for. 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'. I was young, I didn't need one. The following is a quote from their report: If the scan reveals either a suspected or confirmed abnormality, the woman should be informed by the sonographer at the time of the scan. 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. And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. Baby loss support But other than that everything was fine. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." Specialist scans As two youngest siblings, we were both permanently stuck in the irresponsible, childish role. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. . I was told that while bad news at the 12 w scan is often of the life or death kind, bad news at the 20 week scan is often of the 'needs an operation in childhood' or 'needs to wear a brace for a year' kind. I felt the dread run through me. This article was amended on 24 November 2015 to anonymise the writer. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. The consultant at the time wasn't really that interested in that imagery. or sort of light chat that we'd, we'd experienced before with previous scans. 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'. We had so much power, we could decide that this little thing should die. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. That he was small. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. Cardiac surgery can do some amazing things. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. But he was not sure. Although the anomaly scan is often called a 20-week scan, you may have it any time between 18 and 22 weeks, although it's usually done between 18 and 20 weeks. I took my vitamins, stuck to the healthy diet and put on a brave face. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. 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'. Any delay in receiving more information about the abnormality and its implications will be distressing for women and this should be acknowledged. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. I was saving my child from pain and suffering. 15/02/2014 08:02. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. 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). I think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. I had a horrible feeling of relief. It was a bit worrying but on the plus side I got an extra couple of scans and an extra couple of pictures. My baby might have Down's syndrome. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. And so this one can't tell you anything, it's pictures, you're going, you're going to see your baby, you're going to get pictures. I was wondering if anyone has been is this situation and can give me a glimmer of hope. In order for the sonographer to get good images of your baby, the scan is carried out in a dimly lit room. I would be put to sleep, and when I woke up I wouldn't be pregnant any more. 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. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. But with time although we will never forget, I know we will be ok again. Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. Instead, I had to raise a glass of water to my mouth, take a swig and swallow the tablet. And, for a few hours, I'm convinced I've made a terrible mistake. As soon as we arrived, we were shown to this little room. Rather sharply, my partner tried to explain. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . Bad news at 20 week scan | Mumsnet 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. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. The doctor told me he was 98% sure this was a failing twin pregnancy. (See 'Resources'). And you could see, where you should have a picture of 4 chambers, you could really see 2. What happens at the second midwife appointment? BabyCenter. See more information about the 20-week ultrasound scan. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. So we hid in our house. 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'. 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. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts.