question from first tri....NT Scan

ams_moves · October 2011

Hi Ladies~

I'm still contemplating doing the NT scan and bloodwork and was wondering if any of you had any experience in doing this and what you thought about the process. My doctor's office does the scan and bloodwork and puts the results together to come up with a risk level....then if its a high risk then they would do a higher level ultrasound...Thoughts/opinions?

A.

mben1119 · October 2011

I didn't bother.

shouldbworkin · October 2011

that's how my office does it too. I had it done last week and got the (normal) results today. I'm AMA, so I wanted to do the NT scan now in case it indicated a need for further testing vs. just going for the more invasive testing to begin with. I didn't have it done with my older kids, though. I was <35 at the time. I just had the quad screen done for them.

montanchelsy · October 2011

I did it, mainly because I wanted an ultrasound and if I did not have the screening I would have had to wait until 20 weeks.

It was covered under my insurance, and is non invasive so I figured why not?

Kristinmo · October 2011

I did it. My risk for Down Syndrome based on age along was 1 in 500 (or so). After the scans, the risk was 1:200. Since that is above my age level, they are sending me to a peri's office for additional scans.

westerngirl91 · October 2011

The NT scan was covered by insurance, but the Quad Screening was not. If it's covered by insurance, I say why not

sbost0118 · October 2011

montanchelsy:

I did it, mainly because I wanted an ultrasound and if I did not have the screening I would have had to wait until 20 weeks.

It was covered under my insurance, and is non invasive so I figured why not?

This was my situation as well. I won't get my results until after my next blood draw, but I'm low risk. I did get a gender guess which was fun.

BrookeAWestling · October 2011

I did, and everything came back great (results were below the cut-off, so they gave me 1/100,000 for the different disorders (Down's TS 18, etc...), but it was actually less than that). I was low risk, so I just did it for peace of mind.

BUT, at the 20 week u/s, they picked up some serious heart defects that are likely linked to a chromosomal disorder, which did not show up on the N/T Scan or corresponding blood tests in any way.

So, based on my experience (and reading a lot of other women's stories), I'd do it for the extra u/s to see your baby, but there are a LOT of false positives, so don't get too worried if your comes back indicating a problem....and there are also false negatives. Definitely not a perfect test by any means. If you're worried about lo for any reason, go for something more accurate like an amnio.

CTbride79 · October 2011

I did it, since it was non-invasive, and gave us an extra u/s since we don't have another one until almost 19 weeks. It was really amazing to see how developed the baby was compared to the early ultrasounds!

Maizey317 · October 2011

Sounds kind of wrong, but I also mainly had the NT scan done b/c I wanted another Ultrasound. We had our first one done at 6 weeks b/c i had some bleeding, so I kind of wanted to make sure everything was still all okay! Our results came back normal, so that was a plus! It was definitely awesome to see the how more developed our baby was from the initial one.

aattebury · October 2011

I didn't have the NT Scan but I had the quad screen at 15 weeks. If you decide to do this just prepared yourself incase you get news you didn't want. It's hard not to worry but that's what these test will do to you. My blood test came back with an elevated risk for a NTD, had to wait a week for a level 2 u/s. Turns out everything was fine and we found out we're having twins. But hearing "elevated risk" and having to wait for actual results could be torture for some.

cinderella4282 · October 2011

The NT scan was never offered to me . . . but DH and I did choose to pass on the quad screen test . . . the follow up for an elevated risk at quad screen was a Level II ultrasound.

DH and I decided that we wanted to the anatomy scan at 20 weeks, which IS a Level II ultrasound, so we figured if anything popped up there we would seek further testing. Just got the results today, and all looked good on the ultrasound so I think we are done with testing!

Like others have said, all the tests will just provide markers to look at and the chance for further investigation. The ultrasound can rule out structural abnormalities, but the only to know for sure on genetic disorders are an amnio or a CVS. These tests do have about a 1:250 chance of causing miscarriage, which is why they do the screening tests to begin with.

kiarstin · October 2011

I got it. I think it is important for the health of my child to know any and all conditions that may arise. If my child had be diagnosed with a risk of downs I would want to know so my doctor could be prepared for the many health issues that can arise. PLus like everyone else said its another ultrasound which is really fun! First time I saw a blob this time a lil baby very cool to see.

justmeardle · October 2011

I HIGHLY recommend getting it done. I found out from the bloodwork done for the test that I have low papp-a (I do not have an increased risk for downs or t-18). It means there is an increased risk that the placenta has not formed correctly & increases risk of preterm labor (as well as other things). Because of this, I will be monitored a lot more as my pregnancy progresses. If I had decided to not get the NT scan, I wouldn't have found out about the low papp-a.

skibunny59 · October 2011

I didn't do the NT scan. I didn't feel it was worth it.

bootsnbananas · October 2011

montanchelsy:
I did it, mainly because I wanted an ultrasound and if I did not have the screening I would have had to wait until 20 weeks.
It was covered under my insurance, and is non invasive so I figured why not?

This, plus it is my second baby this year and I just keep getting older so I figured it couldn't hurt to see our risk ratio.

cubsgirl13 · October 2011

Mine was covered by insurance, and it was a great way to get to see the baby an extra time! I got my best ultrasound pics from that. So glad I got it done!

AliW220 · October 2011

I guess it all comes down to what you'd do with the results of the scan. If you find out you are very high risk for your baby having a chromosomal abnormality, would there be actions on your part from it, whether it be termination or mental preparation for a loss or special needs child?

My SO and I had decided that if there was a high risk determined by the NT & blood work that we would do an amnio, and find out for sure if there were problems. If the problems were fatal, we had agreed on termination. If it was Down's, we'd continue with the pg, and read every book on it as humanly possible. Since we knew that we would be taking action if there was something abnormal, it only made sense that we would do the scan. A big pull for us to do it is that we are the type of people who like to be as well informed on something as possible, especially with the scan being non-invasive.

ams_moves · October 2011

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and opinions. I'm leaning toward doing it for a few reasons...I'd like to be prepared and we also have a nephew with some heart issues and it may be helpful at birth to know if we do as well...Thanks again and I wish you all lots of luck! I can't wait to make it over to 2nd tri...only a few more weeks!

A.

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