Do you regret not having a NT scan

Kpan123 · June 2013

Hello from the 1st trimester board. I hope you dont mind me asking here, but I am still debating w husband if we want to go thru with the NT scan or not. We are just conconcerned about it causing unnecessary worry (we are worriers and my H has anxiety about all things medical). I am not high risk, under 35, and this is our 1st baby. If you chose not to have the scan, have you regretted it at any point now? Thanks so much!

jane.says · June 2013

I didn't have it with any of my pregnancies and do not regret it. It's not a diagnostic test, it's a screening so we felt that it wasn't worth it to us. It doesn't provide a yes or no answer, just gives a probability.

I will say that if something looked suspicious at my anatomy scan, or if at any time my OB felt I had a soft marker for anything, I would have additional testing done. We just felt the NT wasn't necessary for us.

CindyRelluh · June 2013

We chose not to with both pregnancies, because of the high false positive rate. I was 24 when I got pregnant with dd, not high risk, and healthy. My doc basically told me it will cause more worry than necessary, especially because nothing runs in my family except arthritis, and that test produces false positives constantly.

The up side is that it can show something, but then you'd have to get an even more invasive procedure to tell you what it is, if anything.

PrimRoseMama · June 2013

No.

LilMama35 · June 2013

I chose not to do it because I am not high risk or anything either. My doctor didn't really recommend it one way or the other and mentioned they'd be checking for the same cues pretty much by the Quad Screening (blood test) a few weeks later anyways. I don't regret not having it done.

thegoodpotato · June 2013

Nope. Although I'm sneaking up on 35 now, I chose not to have any scanning done. I wouldn't be able to abort a baby that had Downs or anything, so I figured why worry? We would find out at birth, and I'm sure a newborn acts like a newborn no matter what (eats, sleeps, cries... Lather, rinse, repeat).

skio · June 2013

I have a friend who found out at 24w that her son has DS. She had declined the NT scan and wishes she had done it so she could've found out sooner. Obviously her case is very rare.

I honestly don't see reason not to do it. Knowledge is a good thing. Knowing if your child will be special needs as early as that is an amazingly positive medical advance, IMO. And it's easy to disprove any high risk that the screening shows with non invasive testing. And I would never, ever terminate due to a non life threatening disability; that argument is ridiculous to me. It's not just about terminating, it's about knowing the most you can know about your baby and being prepared.

Just my opinion, but totally up to you as the parents.

Eleventy11 · June 2013

thegoodpotato:
Nope. Although I'm sneaking up on 35 now, I chose not to have any scanning done. I wouldn't be able to abort a baby that had Downs or anything, so I figured why worry? nbsp;We would find out at birth, and I'm sure a newborn acts like a newborn no matter what eats, sleeps, cries... Lather, rinse, repeat. nbsp;:nbsp;

This. My doctor basically said though the test can give you a probability, its not 100 percent. If you aren't going to abort based on the results, its not really that important.

Aknight1986 · June 2013

thegoodpotato:
Nope. Although I'm sneaking up on 35 now, I chose not to have any scanning done. I wouldn't be able to abort a baby that had Downs or anything, so I figured why worry? We would find out at birth, and I'm sure a newborn acts like a newborn no matter what (eats, sleeps, cries... Lather, rinse, repeat).

A child with downs can have other, more serious, medical issues (often congenital heart defects) that may need to be treated at birth. I got all the testing I could in case we needed to have specialists on hand or had to deliver at a hospital with a better NICU.

OP, if you are worried about false positives then you should see about the Maternti21 test. It's 99% effective and will test for a wide range of genetic disorders.

Kpan123 · June 2013

Thank you all so much for your responses!

@Aknight- thank you for your feedback. I was trying to get a straight answer from my doctor in regards to this and special needs at delivery. Wouldnt these issues (heart defect, etc) be evident at the 20 week anatomy scan as well so you would know before delivery? Or are certain heart defects only detectable at the NT scan?

That is kind of my sticking point and I have not yet gotten a straight answer from anyone, so if anyone knows, I would love to know!

Aknight1986 · June 2013

Some heart defects wouldn't be detectable through either test but a child born with downs has a 50/50 chance of having one so they would monitor it more closely. If you have the downs diagnoses before birth then everyone on your team will know what to look for immediately rather than scrambling which is why I always say that, whether you would terminate or not, it's best to know as much as possible.

jane.says · June 2013

Kpan123:
Thank you all so much for your responses!

@Aknight- thank you for your feedback. I was trying to get a straight answer from my doctor in regards to this and special needs at delivery. Wouldnt these issues (heart defect, etc) be evident at the 20 week anatomy scan as well so you would know before delivery? Or are certain heart defects only detectable at the NT scan?

That is kind of my sticking point and I have not yet gotten a straight answer from anyone, so if anyone knows, I would love to know!

Those other abnormalities would be detected at your anatomy scan as well. Here is a good description of the NT Scan:

https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/prenatal-testing/nuchal-translucency.aspx

Kpan123 · June 2013

@Aknight- thank you. Wouldnt though they we able to see if there was a high risk for downs with the 16 week blood work and 20 week anatomy scan or is downs only detectable at 12-13 weeks?

vintageutopia · June 2013

skio:
Knowledge is a good thing. Knowing if your child will be special needs as early as that is an amazingly positive medical advance, IMO. And it's easy to disprove any high risk that the screening shows with non invasive testing. And I would never, ever terminate due to a non life threatening disability; that argument is ridiculous to me. It's not just about terminating, it's about knowing the most you can know about your baby and being prepared. Just my opinion, but totally up to you as the parents.

This. If the technology is there and poses no risk to you or your baby, why not use it and THEN decide how you want to proceed.

Aknight1986 · June 2013

Yes, they would be able to see the risk for downs in the bloodwork and may see markers in your 20 week scan. They would then find out for sure through a CVS (before 15 weeks) or amnio (after 15 weeks).

Kpan123 · June 2013

Can the Maternti21 test be used instead of amino after 15 weeks?

Monkeybutt80 · June 2013

This is such a personal choice. My husband and I were not high risk but we decided to do all the non invasive testings done. Luckily everything came back good, so we didn't have to go through anything further but we were also prepared to do additional testing if the noninvasive testing came back showing high risk.

We wanted to know as much as we can and I am glad we did.

jane.says · June 2013

Kpan123:
Can the Maternti21 test be used instead of amino after 15 weeks?

Yes, but Materniti21, although very reliable, is still just a screening (not diagnostic). Amnio and CVS are the only diagnostic options available.

MommyKristin88 · June 2013

I did not have it for either of my children, and I don't regret it. Those tests seem to create so much unnecessary worry and panic for parents-to-be. I see a lot on this site how the test gave a high chance of the baby have Downs or another "issue", but when the baby is born everything is fine. The parents spent all that time worrying for no reason. If my child has Downs or any other genetic issues, I'll find out after birth. No reason stressing out about it today.

kcox123 · June 2013

I did not have the NT scan done on my first 3. No regrets.

However, for some reason I got it this time (I think I was concerned since I will be 33 when this one is born and I was barely 30 for the last). I am glad I did. The u/s tech found an echogenic focus on the baby's heart at my 20 week anatomy scan. It is likely nothing since it is only a soft marker and was the only one found.. But I would have been FREAKED if I had not had the NT scan. Between the bright spot on the heart being the only indicator AND my very low risk NT results..I am not too worried about baby.

If you are young and have no other risk factors.... There is really no great reason to do it if you would keep baby anyway... unless you just must have time to emotionally/mentally prepare for a scary diagnosis. And/but there are a LOT of false alarms based on NT screenings so that is certainly a risk too....

Ritter1125 · June 2013

No regrets here.

ECATX · June 2013

We didn't do it and don't have any regrets. Our reasoning was that we didn't want to do the more invasive testing (amnio, cvs), so we didn't see the point in having a screening that would lead to more tests if anything showed up. When we had our anatomy scan, the dr. and the ultrasound tech went over things a little more thoroughly because we didn't have it and paid extra attention to areas that would have been checked previously if we had the NT scan. I will say that going into the 20 week anatomy scan ultrasound was a little bit scarier because of passing on previous testing, but we still didn't regret it. Good luck!

sparkymcgeee · June 2013

I did with my daughter. At the AS she showed markers for down syndrome and so we had to do several tests anyway. If I had gotten the NT it would have eased my mind about those markers. She didn't have DS and the later tests showed that but there was a good week of worry and mental preparation of the possibility.

Abbe2b3 · June 2013

The difference between a 20wk scan and a nt scan is usually equipment and the level of technichian performing the scan. We have chosen to do the nt for both of my pregnancies. Our 20 wk scan was done at the Ob's office took all of 5 min. My nt's were performed at the MFM's office, better machine, and took about an hour.

MrsBlindLove · June 2013

We didn't get it done and have no regrets. We thought long and hard about it before we made the decision. Some of our reasons were:

there are lots of false positives
we wouldn't have done the amino if something was found because we weren't comfortable with the risks
we felt if something was found at 20 weeks we had plenty of time to prepare ourselves
I have been having a really hard time enjoying pregnancy and wanted a few more weeks of blissful ignorance in case there was something.

MrsBlindLove · June 2013

Abbe2b3:
The difference between a 20wk scan and a nt scan is usually equipment and the level of technichian performing the scan. We have chosen to do the nt for both of my pregnancies. Our 20 wk scan was done at the Ob's office took all of 5 min. My nt's were performed at the MFM's office, better machine, and took about an hour.

This might depend on where you are. My 20 week ultrasound was over an hour and quite detailed. We didn't get the NT scan so maybe they were more detailed because that, I don't think so though as friends have had similar experience even with the NT scan.

ECATX · June 2013

Abbe2b3:
The difference between a 20wk scan and a nt scan is usually equipment and the level of technichian performing the scan. We have chosen to do the nt for both of my pregnancies. Our 20 wk scan was done at the Ob's office took all of 5 min. My nt's were performed at the MFM's office, better machine, and took about an hour.

It's interesting how much variation there can be - my 20 week scan was performed at a MFM's office, and was done by both a technician and a MFM. I'm 39, though, so maybe that's part of it?

BlueJewelM · June 2013

Did not have one with DS or this baby. I do not regret it.

Yes my insurance covered it, I just chose not to do it. If I have a 3rd child I will be closer to 35 and probably will opt to have one some because of my age.

That.Just.Happened · June 2013

Kpan123:
@Aknight- thank you. Wouldnt though they we able to see if there was a high risk for downs with the 16 week blood work and 20 week anatomy scan or is downs only detectable at 12-13 weeks?

There are certain markers/measurements that are much more detectable at 11-13 weeks than at 20 weeks. Your results will be much more accurate. There is a reason why they cannot do the NT after 13.5 weeks, the 20w scan cannot detect much of what the NT can due to the stage of baby's development.

We have a family history of DS, so we did every bit of testing available for both pregnancies, other than an actual CVS/amnio. I would have done one of those if any of the other testing had come back at all elevated. This time around I was able to do the Harmony test (similar to the Mat21 test) which was fantastic, you can do that at any point in your pregnancy after 10ish weeks and it is MUCH more accurate than either the NT or anatomy scan. It is a totally non-invasive blood test and over 99% accurate. If you don't want to do the NT due to the risk of a false-positive, I would suggest doing one of those, your risks are very minimal and it is really good information to have.

babyLOLO13 · June 2013

I did not do the NT scan and a part of me did regret it, part of me did not. On my 18 week a/s they did detect cysts on babies brain, soft marker for Tricosmy 18 so I did follow up test with a verifi blood draw which 8 days later eliminated the worry. I am high anxiety driven person so the "what if" from
Week 7 u/s to week 18 u/s was really emotionally difficult. A 12 week u/s would have been nice for piece of mind and for possible preparation.

A37licia · June 2013

Have never done it in three pregnancies, and don't regret it. We never had a reason to pursue it.

KittyMeowdashian · June 2013

My theory was, I rather know than not; only in regards to being prepared if God forbid anything was wrong with baby. Being prepared and educated makes a world of difference to me. But that's just my opinion. I'd love my baby no matter what, so in that regard, it wouldn't matter. Plus, nothing is 100 percent, even those tests. I'm sure whatever decision you make, will be the right one! Best of luck!

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