Nuchal translucency

nowakjamie6 · April 2016

Does insurance cover it if not how much extra is it? Is it worth it? Am I able to find out the gender?

splsmama2016 · April 2016

Some insurance does cover it, some doesn't.
Is finding out the risk of your child having Downs Syndrome or any genetic mutation worth it? Absolutely worth it in my mind.
You will not find out the sex at the NT. Way too early to be able to properly identify genitalia.

Personally I would highly recommend you look up exactly what the NT is and what it tests for. Then, I would call your insurance company and ask if they cover it and what other tests they'll cover.
You will find out the sex of your baby either through an amniocentesis, blood work you choose to have done to identify sex, OR at your anatomy scan around 20 weeks.

rozANDbenSINCE2001 · April 2016

The NT scan is an ultrasound where they measure baby's neck and make sure there isn't any extra fluid. My hospital also had a blood test that went along, which tested for Down's syndrome and two trisomy disorders. My insurance did not cover it and was told it would be $200-500 dollars out of pocket. My blood test was not the cell-free DNA test which could tell you sex, but that is also not generally covered by insurance unless you are considered high-risk or AMA. That test is performed by different companies ranging from $200-up to $2500 (that's the highest I've seen but it could be more). I will say that my ultrasound tech asked me if I wanted to hear her guess as to what my baby's sex would be and said she was 75% sure, but I think that was a fluke because 12 weeks is very early to determine sex.

DunkinDecaf · April 2016

Call your doctor. They will likely be able to tell you which tests are covered by your insurance. If they can't tell you, call your insurance company and they will be able to.
You cannot find out the sex at an NT scan. Too early.

goldie987 · April 2016

For me, the NT scan was 100% worth it. I tend to be a paranoid person and have a family history of neural tube defects so having the peace of mind that my baby didn't have a major neural tube issue like anencephaly or markers for a few trisomies was amazing. I contacted my insurance company a few weeks beforehand and asked about coverage, whether it will be covered for you depends on your individual plan.

The tech offered to take a look to see if he could tell the sex of the baby so we said go for it. Unsurprisingly, he was unable to tell because it was just way to early, the genitals simply aren't formed. We waited it out until 20 weeks to find out at the anatomy scan.

delujm0 · April 2016

The NT scan (generally coupled with the quad screen blood test) will give you information on your chances of a few genetic disorders. IT WILL NOT DIAGNOSE THOSE DISORDERS, but if your chances comes back as higher than average based on your age/risk level, your doctor may suggest amniocentesis or CSV to get a positive/negative result.

The major disorders it checks for are Down Syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18 (I think those are the correct numbers). If your baby has DS, it would be helpful to know that in advance so that you can research therapy options, and the various health concerns, in case something like surgery becomes necessary immediately after birth (if I was told my baby had DS, for example, I'd want to make sure that the hospital I delivered at had a first rate pediatric surgery unit). Trisomy 13 and 18 are far more severe, and the baby would be unlikely to be born alive, or if it was born alive, it would not live more than a few days. In that case, a lot of women (not all, but a lot) would consider terminating the pregnancy. Even if you don't think you'd terminate in that scenario, you'd probably want to know about it - if it was me, I'd want to be prepared for an eventual still birth or late stage miscarriage. I imagine that would be a lot less traumatic than having it happen without knowing why in advance.

Most insurance will cover the basic NT scan and quad screen, but you can call yours to make sure. The more expensive blood tests that are able to screen for these disorders as well as tell you the baby's sex are generally not covered by insurance unless you are high risk. That being said, I'd suggest asking your insurance if they'd cover that, and if not, asking the doctor what it would cost out of pocket if you're interested. Those results are a lot more accurate than the NT scan (and they are diagnostic rather than just a screener). If I am over 35 when I have my next kid (which I very likely will be) and my insurance will cover it, I'll definitely get it. I want as much information as possible.

goldie987 · April 2016

delujm0 said:

The NT scan (generally coupled with the quad screen blood test) will give you information on your chances of a few genetic disorders. IT WILL NOT DIAGNOSE THOSE DISORDERS, but if your chances comes back as higher than average based on your age/risk level, your doctor may suggest amniocentesis or CSV to get a positive/negative result.

The major disorders it checks for are Down Syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18 (I think those are the correct numbers). If your baby has DS, it would be helpful to know that in advance so that you can research therapy options, and the various health concerns, in case something like surgery becomes necessary immediately after birth (if I was told my baby had DS, for example, I'd want to make sure that the hospital I delivered at had a first rate pediatric surgery unit). Trisomy 13 and 18 are far more severe, and the baby would be unlikely to be born alive, or if it was born alive, it would not live more than a few days. In that case, a lot of women (not all, but a lot) would consider terminating the pregnancy. Even if you don't think you'd terminate in that scenario, you'd probably want to know about it - if it was me, I'd want to be prepared for an eventual still birth or late stage miscarriage. I imagine that would be a lot less traumatic than having it happen without knowing why in advance.

Most insurance will cover the basic NT scan and quad screen, but you can call yours to make sure. The more expensive blood tests that are able to screen for these disorders as well as tell you the baby's sex are generally not covered by insurance unless you are high risk. That being said, I'd suggest asking your insurance if they'd cover that, and if not, asking the doctor what it would cost out of pocket if you're interested. Those results are a lot more accurate than the NT scan (and they are diagnostic rather than just a screener). If I am over 35 when I have my next kid (which I very likely will be) and my insurance will cover it, I'll definitely get it. I want as much information as possible.

Last I heard they are NOT diagnostic, they tell you if it is likely for the child to have a problem with pretty good certainty but they still recommend an amnio to confirm as an amnio is diagnostic and the cell free fetal DNA tests are not.

klg712 · October 2016

As a mom to a baby with Down syndrome I get this question a lot. People ask if I knew she had DS beforehand due to prenatal testing, or ask me if they should get it themselves. I can't tell you what is best for your family. But for us, I am so glad we declined testing. We knew we wouldn't make a decision to terminate regardless of the outcome plus the high unreliability of the screenings would have been a recipe for one stressed mama. I am a worrier so I would have been concerned the entire pregnancy. Instead, I remained worry-free which was healthier for both me and the baby. I enjoyed pregnancy and my birth without impending concerns. And the moment I saw my baby, we immediately bonded, the diagnosis was an afterthought and anytime I'm worried I find my snuggly healthy baby to calm my fears. I am very grateful we didn't get testing done. She is absolutely perfect. But to each her own.

Nuchal translucency

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