For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. And at that, I let out a scream I think. 'Soft markers'. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . The consultant had said it wouldn't be like a normal delivery. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. I was willing the results to be normal. Somehow, I walked from the sofa up to the bathroom and told my partner. He told me that they may want to do blood tests, but that 'he didn't see the point'. And I'd been on the internet looking up all sorts of things and everything was so negative, it was very depressing, because I thought, 'Well, maybe they've made a mistake, or maybe it's something they can fix, I don't know'. I've been incredibly lucky to have such amazing support from Sam, my mum, and close friends and family. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. I was told that while bad news at the 12 w scan is often of the life or death kind, bad news at the 20 week scan is often of the 'needs an operation in childhood' or 'needs to wear a brace for a year' kind. My partner really wanted me to, and by that time I had no sense of what was right or what I should do. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. Any delay in receiving more information about the abnormality and its implications will be distressing for women and this should be acknowledged. I couldn't bring myself to push. I want to be nice again. This might be uncomfortable. I had a horrible feeling of relief. It can be such a shock so do whatever you need to feel better. We had the baby cremated. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. So we gave up and said we'd arrange the funeral ourselves. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. We went, I went in to the scanning room and they're quite bland facially anyway, whether everything's fine or not they just look at the screen to start off with and do measurements but I very quickly realised that the woman's demeanour wasn't, even for a bland face, was concerning. I was told this was common as my body and hormones still thought I was pregnant. The weeks since that day have been very weird. You have rejected additional cookies. He looked fine. And at the end of the day however much we talked about it - that it was going to be the two of us to make the decision and me to actually you know, go through it and decide that that was what was going to happen for him - and I just, I didn't want to do it. My wife turned the screen away from her. It seemed inconceivable that we would not be having a baby in May. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. Sometimes women were told that the sonographer had found a 'marker' or sign of a chromosomal condition and had to wait for an amniocentesis to confirm the findings. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan
Anyway we went in for the meeting with the consultant on this particular time, and we'd got to, I was 30 weeks pregnant by then. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. And it all seemed so near at hand, you know, 31, 30 weeks, you feel like you're nearly, you're on the home stretch. But the closeness has remained after the drama has died down. I felt crushed, I wanted him to at least acknowledge what had been found already. And I knew there was no way out. Last reviewed July 2017. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. ABDOMINAL CIRCUMFERENCE MEASUREMENT AT 20 WEEK SCAN. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. So we went back the day after Boxing Day, the 27th, and the consultant greeted us, which made my alarm bells go, and she started scanning us and I think her lines were, 'What concerns me about this baby is that they've got a diaphragmatic hernia, which has meant that part of the stomach of the baby was in its chest cavity.'. And I assumed my partner would feel the same. By this time, we were tired. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. Because, when you're angry with the world for dealing you such a shit time, you begin to hate the people who populate it. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/screening-tests-for-you-and-your-baby/11-physical-conditions-20-week-scan. My belly was growing and I was feeling great. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. Can't seem to find info on the Internet. They sort of drew some diagrams, and they said, 'But we need to refer you to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis'. My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . By this point I had stopped bleeding, this caused problems. Thanks girls, it's amazing how protected our babies are in there isn't it?! Immediately I knew what decision we should take. Not marginalised into being a victim. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. Instead, we were shown to a room slightly away from the rest of the ward and the midwife stayed with us to talk through what was going to happen.
Most hospitals do not allow children to attend scans as childcare is not usually available. And of course some other measurements she needed to take like the width of the skull, which she couldn't take because the fetus was in the wrong position. I endured 12 hours of medication and in the early hours February 7, 56 days after my first scan (at nearly 18 weeks), I miscarried our babies. I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. Others, including those who had been given leaflets to read about the scan beforehand as well as some who were health professionals, said that they had been nave about the 20-week scan. And you know, we were laughing and joking. How common is it for 2nd baby to come early..? When I told him what had happened, he refused to believe anything was wrong and said he'd sort it out when he came home. And before they gave me any of the results she asked a colleague to come and told me she wanted to check something, with a colleague, and by then I was getting very concerned because I'd never had that happen before. In most cases the scan will show that your baby appears to be developing as expected but sometimes a condition is found or suspected. And, faced with feeling sorry for myself or feeling sorry for my child, I know which I'd choose. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. I didn't think my instincts were worth much. Baby loss support She advised I be referred to the EPU to be assessed. So we had to go in and out a couple of times, and we were just waiting around for ages and ages. And it turned out the baby's heart wasn't forming properly, the chambers weren't forming properly. So obviously quite relaxed. I think I don't everything just seems a real blur because it was, it was such a strange experience. Again, we weren't understood. The results come in stages. Two days, after on Christmas Eve, (my 12 week date) I had more blood tests. Our baby was beautiful. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. There was cause for concern. So at 20 weeks I went for my scan with my husband, with my daughter, to get our photographs. Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. I have horrible thoughts. He had to come to the decision by himself. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. If necessary, you will be referred to a specialist, possibly in another hospital. This time, they discovered the baby has a two vessel cord (only one vessel from placenta to baby instead of two) and I've been monitored to make sure the baby grows properly and kidneys aren't damaged. I pray it's just her heart but I can't see anything else is wrong as I have been scanned by a consultant since I was 14 weeks and every time he has said everything looks okay and she is growing consistently. Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? And everybody knows and everything is right. . My wife had been very, very healthy, more healthy than the first pregnancy, and of course was shattered by the fact that the news, the news was appalling, very serious faces. I tried to keep positive. As I left the room to compose myself. Next most likely is that baby doesn't co-operate and they can't see some parts of anatomy and call you back 2 weeks later just because they couldn't see (i had this but because twin pregnancy I was due to be scanned 2 weeks later anyway). It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Perhaps because we are alone in this, it has brought my partner and me very close. We need to have your opinion'. So we decided that, to have the scan and we went along I think early in the week for that, and spent quite a lot of time with the consultant after that. Then, three days later, I would go to the labour ward - the ward I had been expecting to visit in two and a half months. The anomaly scan, also called the 20 week scan or mid-pregnancy scan, is used to detect pregnancy irregularities significant in diagnosis of any of the following conditions: In most instances no serious issue will be found during the scan and many parents-to be will come away knowing that all is progressing nicely and, perhaps, having found out . Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. So that just left the talipes. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. It was all going wrong and I wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. And even at that early stage it was beginning to sink in that there was something really not right. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. So we hid in our house. The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. Read full disclaimer. I think I was about 20 weeks cos they, the hospital I think did the 12 and the 20, that was their standard thing and, yeah, so I got the 20 weeks one. I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. For many other women, the 18-20 week scan was the point at which they discovered the baby had serious problems. So I was a bit ignorant of the kind of things, you know, what the scans were really doing - maybe it was, a bit na've I think. I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. It felt so wrong. The hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. See you in -. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. The same sense of expectation. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. But you know I knew we had, we had to make a decision that was right for the baby as well. I was young, I didn't need one. The "why me?" It was positive, and I felt elated. In the case of a suspected abnormality, women should be seen for a second opinion by an expert in fetal ultrasound, such as a fetal medicine specialist. Baby loss stories The consultant showed us the letter with our result on and, yes, there were the words "Down's syndrome". After half an hour of lying on the bed, I was starting to get nervous, but was excited to find out that the baby would be a boy and that I could see his little heart beating strongly. But worse was to come. Try to relax and take it easy. An appointment should be arranged as soon as possible and ideally within three working days. She asked me how far gone I thought we were, and if I could have been mistaken. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. No one else ever met the object of my grief. The midwife was on the verge of tears and I felt responsible. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. There was a very marked lack of amniotic fluid which made it difficult, not even for the scanners to see, that made the picture of the scan look very, very different. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. Not a good sign in a hospital consulting room. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks.