very anxious after anatomy scan.

eightynine

Had my anatomy scan today. Verified it is a girl, everything seemed normal at first. Tech was cheerful and friendly the whole time, didn't really seem concerned at any point, but I have a gut feeling something's not quite right.

At some point I asked if everything looked normal-- and she said she is not allowed to tell me. I know this is the case, technically speaking. The thing is though, the last two sonograms I've had, I asked the same question and got very clear "everything looks good!" responses. So naturally, this response worried me.

The reason I don't think I'm being totally paranoid is because she seemed to look excessively at the heart-- several times, kept going back to it. 

Because I was worried I checked out her screen at the end, and in 4/5 measurements baby was measuring small, in the 45%-ish percentile. Don't know if this is anything to be concerned about; I'm more worried about the heart.

So I asked if the doctor would call if there was a problem with the results and she said "if it's urgent, probably, but anything else they would just review with you at your next appointment."

I am a person who is extremely prone to anxiety, so waiting 2 weeks is out of the question for me. I'll have to call tomorrow and ask a nurse to get back to me as soon as a doctor has looked at it. I actually just wish I asked if there was a dr/radiologist who could come talk to me now... although this might've made me seem crazy, at least I wouldn't have to deal with the extreme anxiety of wondering what's up. I know that if something was seriously wrong a doctor would normally come in mid-ultrasound, but I also go to a clinic which many not have the same resources as some nicer offices.

Guess I just wanted to vent.

ssimon621

I think you are fine.  In most cases when something is serious they would immediately schedule you for another ultrasound.  With my first pregnancy they couldn't get a good look at her kidney's because of her position so they just noted it to check at my next appointment.
My BFF had a few red flags at her appointment and they immediately scheduled her for a more extensive ultrasound within a week or so.  In the end everything was fine.

If it is something serious you will hear from them very soon.  If it's a small notation that baby is measuring slightly small or any other small issue it can be reviewed at a later date and possibly just keep an eye on it.  I know it's super hard, but try your best not to stress.

izzetoot

My doc took a super long time looking at the heart too and was stone faced  quiet the whole time.  I kept waiting for him to dump some terrible news on us, but he just smiled eventually and said "everything looks great!" So I would try to not worry too much about the focus on the heart at least, because I think there are a lot of measurements from different angles that they take and it just takes a long time. 

eightynine

thanks so much for your replies! I'm basically inconsolable (I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but anxiety can be paralyzing) so everything helps. 

camichael84

First to ease some worries, 45th percentile is just below average. 50th is smack dab in the middle (50 percent being smaller, 50 percent being bigger) and therefore average size. My daughter always measured a week behind on head and belly and a week ahead on femur and humerus. She's healthy, just built like me-- smaller head, short torso, long arms and legs. Secondly, that all sounds normal to me. They need a lot of heart measurements, and they need clear pictures. Keep in mind, baby is moving and often blocking shots. We didn't get any heart shots of my daughter the first attempt. And lastly, her response to your question about hearing back is totally standard. I wouldn't worry right now. The best thing you can do is keep calm for you, and for the baby you are growing!

618mom22boys

In my opinion 45% is great!!  All my kids were below the 10% and 2 of them ultimately ended up with IUGR. 

anneb644

@lissvarna I agree with PP that 45% sounds great.  Also, remember that these measurements aren't awfully accurate. So much so, that they don't change the due date if the baby measures +/- 2 or 3 weeks because they simply attribute it to measurement error! 

The heart is a complex organ. As far as I know, they always take a lot of shots and that takes a while. For those of us who have some pre-indications for heart-related issues, they even schedule another 1-hour long appointment just to look at the heart! So, I don't think you need to infer that anything is wrong with your LO's heart just because the technician took a longer look.

Last time, I also had a technician that just said "I'm not allowed to say anything" which isn't the most comforting thing to hear but everything turned out fine. Where I go, the doctor reviews the pictures right on the spot and you get to meet the doc about 10 minutes after the u/s so it's less of a waiting game and I understand that waiting is tough. 

Good luck to you! 

SaraJuul

I'm sure nothing anyone says will make you feel completely OK. I'm neurotic with things like that as well, I think most people are when it comes to their kids.

At our first trimester screen all the genetic stuff came back normal, but at the US part of it the doctor came in and said there was an "abnormality". I freaked out. She said there looked to be fluid accumulating on the baby's right side abdomen. It wasn't in any of the "critical" areas like the heart or spine or brain, but it was abnormal and she didn't know what it was. She also said "I've never seen this before, I don't know what it means, what it could mean, or why it's there. Please come back in 2 weeks so we can take another look. It might be gone, it might still be there, but in 2 weeks baby will be bigger and we may be able to see more" For 2 weeks I was in a panic. At the next appointment it was gone and she said nothing to worry about. They said they would look one more time at the 20 week, but as far as they could tell no sign of it. The frustrating part for me was that scan was done at 11w 3 d, and the follow up was 13w 3 days...so if I had just had my screen 2 weeks later we never would have known about it and I never would have had to stress.

I am a little nervous for the anatomy scan, I have the what if it pops up again thought in my head. I try to keep reminding myself that I have 2 healthy children, I'm young and healthy, and all other tests have been fine this pregnancy.

If ever it's anything serious, they contact you immediately!

homebird

They suspected my sister's baby had a small heart defect. They didn't call her until two days later.

I know that probably doesn't make you feel better, but the techs really aren't allowed to tell you anything. They shouldn't even tell you that "everything's fine" because they're not qualified to say that. Of course, they probably are pretty good at knowing what they're looking at by now, but still.

In this case I think it's "no news is good news". Try not to worry!

BabyBoyH92016

My tech told us in the beginning that she had to focus on her measurements and that the doctor will go over the report. We also went back to the heart a few times because there are multiple shots of the heart they need to capture. I even had to change positions for the tech get all the shots. Try not to worry too much. Babies move around a lot and can be uncooperative, so I think techs sometimes have to spend longer times on certain parts or keep coming back to them so that they can get all the pictures they need. 

jolydan

***lurker****
theres a lot of development happening in the heart area around week 20 but keep in mind that it's about the size of a peanut (the heart) at that point so they have a lot of things they need to visualize and baby is rarely in a optimal position to do so! On my BMB lots of girls had to go back for a check up of the heart because of the baby's position during anatomy scan and everyone turned out fine. Like PP said the anatomy scan have way more measurement involved for the tech than all previous ultrasounds so it's why she was probably busy and more quiet. I've had scans every 4 weeks since the beggining of my pregnancy and the anatomy was the longest one. 

amaybragg

In my first pregnancy, the tech noticed a problem with our baby's kidneys at an 18 week anatomy scan. She left the room right away and came back with the radiologist. He said he couldn't see the kidneys at all and that there was hardly any amniotic fluid. He said he would let my Dr know that I should see a specialist. He said she would call me back in a few days. My Dr called me not even an hour later and said that she had an appointment for me at a specialist the very next day. It turned out the initial diagnosis was correct. Our son did not have any kidneys. I carried him to 37 weeks and he died 3 hours after birth. I am sure that if there was something very very serious they would contact you very quickly to let you know what the problem was. I hope that you are able to feel calm while you are waiting to hear from them. But I understand how difficult it is. I don't have my anatomy scan until 23 weeks this time, still 6 weeks away and I am sooo nervous! 

mrsl0429

Had mine this week, and my U/S tech did the same thing - fortunately, we already had an appt with OB right after the scan. OB told us that one measurement was a little over the cut off for Down's Syndrome symptoms, BUT it was so little over and there was only one, genetic testing already came back negative, might be baby's position, etc. so I could do more testing if I wanted. I opted not to, but will DEFINITELY be asking at my next U/S if it is still a concern.

My doctor told me they have a saying in the medical community - normal is normal is normal is normal. I agree with PP's - no news is good news. If it was a concern, they would tell you. 

I know it's really, really hard, but try not to dwell on it. If you've had no other complications, everything is probably fine. 

Chin up!

juliehollz13

*******LURKER/NOT MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE*****

A friend of mine was worried sick at 37 weeks because the Doctor told her the baby was small and measuring way behind. Well, out popped an 11lb baby.

KarlaMCurry

That could have just been her concentrating face. I just had an ultrasound at 20 weeks, baby measured 45%, and was told everything looks good - no remarks about being "too small." I've also had the flipside - one of my babies diagnosed with IUGR and another that seemed too small. They DID end up being smaller than average at birth, but totally healthy - just their growing patterns.