NT Scan ....need advice.

Beedeck · January 2011

I personally know 3 people who had the NT Scan come back positive for downs/chormosonal disorders, and turned out to have perfectly healthy babies. One of my friends was told her baby did not have a brain stem and she should think about aborting the pg.....her daughter is now 7 years old without anything wrong with her.

I said before I was pg that I would not get the test because it isn't accurate enough for me.

Now that I am pg, I wouldn't mind getting to see my LO again, otherwise I have to wait until 20 weeks. DH thinks I should do it, for the peace of mind. (again I'm not convinced it will give me peice of mind)

It seems a lot of you bumpies have chosed to get the NT scan, can you share with me why you decided to get it done, even knowing it isn't 100% accurate?

TIA

rguinn75 · January 2011

If it makes you feel any better... I am considered AMA and I chose not to get the scan for the exact reasons your talking about... I had a friend who was told her daughter would be a downs baby and is a fully functional normal teenager...We would not terminate no matter the outcome of the scan...

I think a lot of the women on this board want to be prepared for something if it shows on the scan... I myself do not want 7 months of worry over something I have no control over.

jdeats12 · January 2011

I didn't have too much of a choice since I am high risk. That being said, I still would have done the scan to know "what to expect." If the NT scan came back abnormal, DH and I decided that we would do the amnio and any other tests recommended to find out excatly what we (and our baby) would face. But...that's just our opinion. To each their own.

Hunter22 · January 2011

I did not get the scan with my son because as far as I was concerned we would take what god gave us and would not end the pregnancy. I did with the twins because we had a loss and I am at the point where I take any ultrasound I can get to see them and make sure they are okay (also with the knowledge that I am again doing nothing with the information they are giving me). So, if you want an us and go in with the thought that the information can likely be very unreliable, then do it.If the results are going to have you worry more, then maybe it isn't for you. Good luck!

Jennairess · January 2011

it was stongly suggested for me due to my age...im having it for peace of mind

alliapistor · January 2011

I'm 35 so AMA. We had difficulty getting pregnant and had 1 miscarriage. We are considering a CVS or amnio, but don't want to do those risky tests if they're not necessary. So we're using the NT screen to determine whether we want to go ahead with the CVS. If the NT screen shows increased likelihood of any abnormality, we'll do a CVS and make decisions from there. If risk is average or better than average, then no CVS. The CVS and amnio give you definitive results for down syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18.

September2007 · January 2011

Our OB recommended it, so we went with her recommendation. I have a very good friend who just had twins who was told her odds were high for down's, and her blood markers came back high. She had the amnio, and all is fine with both of her daughters.

We did it so we could be prepared... Not that it would change our outcome in any way (unless something life threatening to me or the twins was shown.) We opted for the integrated screening, over just the NT because the NT isn't as accurate without the blood markers. Even with the integrated screening, the percentage is only 90%.

We know it's not 100% accurate, but there isn't much in life that is... It's a chance you take, and would you rather know or not know?

Good Luck in your decision!

Beedeck · January 2011

Thanks ladies! I really appreciate your input.

fancefpp · January 2011

I did it because i'd rather have a little warning than no warning at all. If something comes back saying the baby might have down's, we aren't going to do anything about it, but it's still good to have it on our radar. I also wanted to see the baby again!! i couldn't wait until 20 weeks!

cozylittlecave · January 2011

We weren't going to do it the first time around, but last pregnancy ended as a SUPER rare & dangerous interstitial ectopic. While they have absolutely nothing to do with each other, after being in that tiny, tiny percentage with the interstitial, I felt more compelled to do the NT Scan (ours is tomorrow).

I spoke with my OB about it, because we do not plan on the results changing our actions at all. She felt strongly that the NT Scan shouldn't be avoided because you're not going to ever abort the baby. If something IS at a higher risk, or even confirmed, she feels that knowing soonest & being able to prepare, have a plan or treatment in place, etc is the best way to care for your child. So we look at it that way. If there is something wrong (or even a risk of it), we'd like the extra time to deal with it, get informed, and do anything possible to be prepared. (Seeing the LO again doesn't hurt either... lol)

Beedeck · January 2011

Your input has been great! I am going to discuss this with DH tonight. It seems reasonable to get the test, knowing it isn't 100%. Then if something comes back I can always get the guaranteed tests, for my piece of mind. ...I really want to see my LO!

BetsyDavis · January 2011

NT does not tell you if your baby has it or not it tells you if your baby is more at risk.

I choose to do it because we did it with DD and it is nice to see baby again. Plus I'd like to know now if we are at risk so we can start looking into our options and possibly start preparing our family emotionally and financially for the worst.

kelkel2933 · January 2011

We chose not to do the NT scan. Regardless of the outcome, we would not terminate the pregnancy. I know myself. If it suggested a higher likelihood of Downs I would be stressed out the rest of the pregnancy. We also already have it in our contract that we would not terminate the pregnancy or do an amnio. (These were mutual decisions that we made with my SIL). I really think it depends on the couple and whether or not you would be willing to do the amnio based on the results.

Sara*n*Ryan · January 2011

We chose not to do the NT scan. We would keep the baby no matter what the outcome and we knew that we would not do an amnio no matter what. All of that combined made us decide not to do the scan.

We did have an ultrasound at 12 weeks, and I have to say the tech was a little pushy with us to change it to the NT scan that day. The Dr. said the u/s showed nothing of concern, that was good enough for me.

buckeyeki · January 2011

The NT scan does not give you a positive or negative outcome. It gives you a likelihood. With DD, I had a 1 in 4000 chance of her having Downs or Tris before the scan (just based on my age pool), and my risk dropped to 1 in 16,000 after the scan and bloodwork. It felt really good to know that. On the otherhand, I have a family member who had a 1 in 40 chance their LO had Tris and a friend who had a 1 in 16 chance of Downs. They both did more extensive testing (for different reasons) and found their LOs were healthy before they were born. Both were still happy they did it even though they did face a bit of uncessisary worry.

I wouldn't terminate based on the results but I would like to be prepared if I needed to be.

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