New Insurance: NT Scan?

lob · September 2012

Poll: Did you get the NT scan, etc? Why or why not?

Our insurance didn't cover it last time so we skipped it. It is covered under our new insurance.

PS. J&K. I got your PM and I'm planning on writing a long response soon!!

[Poll]

Duckieer · September 2012

SS: I had no idea if it was covered and couldn't get insurance to cooperate so I could find out, so we skipped it.

+Jasha+ · September 2012

My thoughts on the NT scan are this. It's not a diagnostic tool, but instead tells you the odds of your baby having Downs, Trisomy, and at least one other one I think, plus an u/s at that point can tell you a host of other important things about the baby. If the odds are in baby's favor for not having those issues, then no further testing needs to be done. But if odds aren't in your baby's favor then you can have other tests performed which can tell you decisively whether or not your baby has any of these issues.
For me it was an easy decision to have the scan done (with both babies, because we were fortunate to have insurance that covers it).
As for the argument that "We wouldn't terminate the pregnancy if the baby has these issues" my thoughts are this: If you know that your child has issues during your pregnancy and prior to birth wouldn't you do things differently in your pregnancy and at delivery? I've seen one bumpie who lost her baby at birth because the baby was born with Downs, but the hospital wasn't prepared at the birth and wasn't able to take proper measures to save the baby. The bumpie said that "if we had known she had Downs she would have survived". There was another bumpie whose baby had ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome). They found the bands at her a/s and because of the timing of the a/s and the cutoff in her state for abortions they had VERY little time to make an impossible decision.
For me personally I want/need to know if something is wrong so that I can prepare for what is to come.
The NT scan isn't about determining whether or not to abort, but instead finding out as much information about your baby as possible as early as possible.

::Steps off soapbox::

lob · September 2012

+Jasha+:
My thoughts on the NT scan are this. It's not a diagnostic tool, but instead tells you the odds of your baby having Downs, Trisomy, and at least one other one I think, plus an u/s at that point can tell you a host of other important things about the baby. If the odds are in baby's favor for not having those issues, then no further testing needs to be done. But if odds aren't in your baby's favor then you can have other tests performed which can tell you decisively whether or not your baby has any of these issues.
For me it was an easy decision to have the scan done (with both babies, because we were fortunate to have insurance that covers it).
As for the argument that "We wouldn't terminate the pregnancy if the baby has these issues" my thoughts are this: If you know that your child has issues during your pregnancy and prior to birth wouldn't you do things differently in your pregnancy and at delivery? I've seen one bumpie who lost her baby at birth because the baby was born with Downs, but the hospital wasn't prepared at the birth and wasn't able to take proper measures to save the baby. The bumpie said that "if we had known she had Downs she would have survived". There was another bumpie whose baby had ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome). They found the bands at her a/s and because of the timing of the a/s and the cutoff in her state for abortions they had VERY little time to make an impossible decision.
For me personally I want/need to know if something is wrong so that I can prepare for what is to come.
The NT scan isn't about determining whether or not to abort, but instead finding out as much information about your baby as possible as early as possible.
::Steps off soapbox::

Thanks! A lot of good information to consider!

S-Tuna · September 2012

It was covered. We did it. Results were "normal". DS was born with other "life altering" conditions (for lack of better words). We found that out at a level 2 ultrasound at 21 weeks. We were given the chance of an amniocentesis to see if he would survive on the outside. We declined. We knew that I would carry the baby to term regardless of the outcome. Everything the test could tell us would be information that we could get after the pregnancy. I asked the doctor if the results of the NT scan showed any indication of DS's conditions. She said no. I know an amnio is a different test than the NT, but given that the results can cause similar "reactions" I decided to chime in here with my two cents. Once we found out that something was wrong with DS, we decided to live in hope that he would survive on his birthday rather than live dreading that day because we knew he was going to die. Knowing what we did, the doctors prepared for multiple outcomes. I'm glad we knew ahead of time because it helped me prepare emotionally as well. If I were you, I would get the test, but I wouldn't let your worries rest within the results.

Phil413 · September 2012

I don't know if ours was covered because I never pursued it. I had several other friends who were pregnant at the time and those who just had babies. All of them who went for the NT said that they were told their babies were likely to have Down's Syndrome. None of them did. We have enough to worry about as mothers and I didn't want somebody telling me this for me to worry over nothing. I figured that if any problems were there we would find out at the anatomical u/s. We were having the baby no matter what. It just wasn't something we wanted to do.

StefandTodd · September 2012

If it's covered, I would recommend it. Non invasive, quick, easy, and accurate as a tool to determine IF additional testing is a good idea. The whole "false positive" argument makes no sense as the test doesn't tell you, "your baby has ___"...it gives you odds. And the vast majority of the time, those odds are reassuring. The times they're not, further testing is either diagnostic or reassuring.

Jelliebean1982 · September 2012

We have a high deductible plan. It wasn't fully covered. We had to pay $800 to get it done but we do have an HSA and so it wasn't a big deal for us to pay for it. With all the bleeding issues I was having I was so thankful to have already had it scheduled.

I've had it done with both kids and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

eesome · September 2012

We had the option to get it done and it was covered, but I said no with both my pregnancies. Why? Because I would keep my children no matter what, and feel that whatever life hands you was meant to be...good or bad.

JaysonandKristin · September 2012

No. Didn't get it done. Yes, it was covered.

We had a baby with a life-threatening birth defect. Delivering him at another hospital would have been beneficial for my blood pressure because DH left me and followed the baby to the Children's Hosp 2 hours away. If I'd have known, I could've delivered at the Children's Hosp and never been separated from him.

That being said, neither the NT, nor the A/S caught his birth defect. The A/S is typically when they *MIGHT* find it.

My point? NT gives you an idea whether or not your child has any markers for chromosomal birth defects. Environmental and spontaneous birth defects happen every.goddam.day. You can't test for everything; if you plan on keeping your baby despite the results of any testing, what's the point?

Whatever you decide is great, Lob. Obviously, we're not here to tell you what to do or judge you for what you do decide to do. IMO, this a pretty big non-issue. This is just my perspective being on the crappy side of a surprise birth defect.

And, I saw your little note to me. Thanks so much for taking the time to write me back. That's pretty damn awesome of you.

maronesa · September 2012

I had the NT and the A/S and did they didn't find DD birth defect until a few days after her birth. Just like JaysonandKristin, I could pretty much say ditto to her entire post. Luckily I was in the same hospital as DD (because she was a preemie/NICU). I would have preferred that they saw the defect before her birth so it could have been monitored immediately. She was too little to treat it right away, they had to wait until she was closer to 3 pounds at almost a month old.

JaysonandKristin · September 2012

maronesa:
I had the NT and the A/S and did they didn't find DD birth defect until a few days after her birth. Just like JaysonandKristin, I could pretty much say ditto to her entire post. Luckily I was in the same hospital as DD (because she was a preemie/NICU). I would have preferred that they saw the defect before her birth so it could have been monitored immediately. She was too little to treat it right away, they had to wait until she was closer to 3 pounds at almost a month old.

Honey, I didn't know you had an EA/TEF baby, too!!

DS1 had type C. Not detected until after birth. Wow!!

Roselis · October 2012

I said S.S. It was covered and we went to get it. However, when we went in, instead of being 11 weeks like we thought I was 15 weeks, too far for the NT Scan. Oops.

MrsCase1 · October 2012

I was SS because for the first few months of my pregnancy I had no insurance.

Initially I was not going to have the NT scan because even if they saw something, I would've conitnued on with my pregnancy. WHen I told that to my doctor she replied, "We don't do the scan to determine if the pregnancy should be terminated, we do the scan so that on the birth day, we are able to provide the highest level of care to your infant should there be an issue." After hearing that I decided to pay out of pocket. Wasn't too expensive here, I think like $200.

melissa0726 · October 2012

Mrs Case:
I was SS because for the first few months of my pregnancy I had no insurance.
Initially I was not going to have the NT scan because even if they saw something, I would've conitnued on with my pregnancy. WHen I told that to my doctor she replied, "We don't do the scan to determine if the pregnancy should be terminated, we do the scan so that on the birth day, we are able to provide the highest level of care to your infant should there be an issue." After hearing that I decided to pay out of pocket. Wasn't too expensive here, I think like $200.

This is why DH and I had the scan. I do believe we paid for it out of pocket, it was considered an elective test by our insurance. It was important to us that we had as much information as possible about my pregnancy, as long as the tests were non-invasive and no risk to me or the baby.

maronesa · October 2012

JaysonandKristin:
maronesa:
I had the NT and the A/S and did they didn't find DD birth defect until a few days after her birth. Just like JaysonandKristin, I could pretty much say ditto to her entire post. Luckily I was in the same hospital as DD (because she was a preemie/NICU). I would have preferred that they saw the defect before her birth so it could have been monitored immediately. She was too little to treat it right away, they had to wait until she was closer to 3 pounds at almost a month old.
Honey, I didn't know you had an EA/TEF baby, too!!
DS1 had type C. Not detected until after birth. Wow!!

Yes

She is a Type D (the rarest kind) and just had her 3rd dilatation-- all three since Aug. 2--(and 9th surgery overall) 2 weeks ago. They didn't know about hers for 5 days, confirmed on day 6, g-tube surgery on day 7, repair on day 25.

How is your DS doing? Has he had dilatations? How is his eating? Were/Are you scared out of your mind when he eats? I could go on and on...

JaysonandKristin · October 2012

maronesa:
JaysonandKristin:
maronesa:
I had the NT and the A/S and did they didn't find DD birth defect until a few days after her birth. Just like JaysonandKristin, I could pretty much say ditto to her entire post. Luckily I was in the same hospital as DD (because she was a preemie/NICU). I would have preferred that they saw the defect before her birth so it could have been monitored immediately. She was too little to treat it right away, they had to wait until she was closer to 3 pounds at almost a month old.
Honey, I didn't know you had an EA/TEF baby, too!!
DS1 had type C. Not detected until after birth. Wow!!

Yes
She is a Type D (the rarest kind) and just had her 3rd dilatation-- all three since Aug. 2--(and 9th surgery overall) 2 weeks ago. They didn't know about hers for 5 days, confirmed on day 6, g-tube surgery on day 7, repair on day 25.

How is your DS doing? Has he had dilatations? How is his eating? Were/Are you scared out of your mind when he eats? I could go on and on...

Wow!! That's incredible. DS1 was born at 42w3d so we did NOT have preemie issues to deal with ON TOP of the complications with EA/TEF. They found it immediately. He was born via c/s, and they tried to suction him but couldn't pass the tube. They suspected it immediately and it was confirmed within an hour via x-ray. He was transfered to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford that evening. He had surgery on Day 3 of life. It was uncomplicated, and he's doing really well.

He is amazing. He's a pretty typical little (almost) 3 year old. He hasn't had any dilations although he does get food stuck about once per week. He's able to throw it back up or pass it down with some water. In November of last year, he got a whole blueberry stuck and he had to go under sedation for removal -- they also checked things out while they were in there. They biopsied for reflux and looked for hiatal hernia and measured the anastomosis.

They confirmed he as reflux (we are on omeprazole). He has a hiatal hernia, which coupled with EA/TEF almost always means a Nissen Fundoplication. We declined as his quality of life doesn't suffer because of his anatomic differences. His anastomosis measured at 11mm. They typically like toddlers at 12mm-15mm. But, like I said he does REALLY, REALLY well. We didn't feel like just because the textbook says he needs a dilation or a Nissen that we should automatically proceed. Like I said, he doesn't get stuck frequently and he has never had aspiration issues.

I am not afraid anymore. When he first started solids and he hadn't had diagnostics done in awhile we were flying blind in terms of how big his anastomosis was. So, when he'd have ANY eating issues we always automatically assumed it was related to his birth defect. And, don't get me started with his stomach flu -- we rushed to the ER because I was certain he needed a dilation because he was throwing everything up.

Come see us here: EA/TEF Family Support Connection

and here: US: Bridging the GAP of EA/TEF

There are so many of us. And, for as much as you could go on and on, please feel free to. You can PM me or email me at eatefnorcal@hotmail.com

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