All my plans were beginning to fall down. Smiling at myself and picturing me and Sam becoming parents. Most scans show that babies seem to be developing as expected, and none of the 11 conditions are found. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. An appointment should be arranged as soon as possible and ideally within three working days. This short video explains screening for 11 physical conditions in pregnancy. Three midwives came and went. And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. We bought a two tests that evening (quite lucky as I messed the first one up!). You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. I'd had the scan in the scanning room, I can't remember what they call it now, it's silly, it's gone from my head. We both thought we would like some good to come out of this horrible experience, so wanted to talk to somebody about the possibility of using the body for research purposes. But he was wrong. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. . So I no longer trusted my instincts. Spina bifida can usually be seen clearly on a scan and of those babies who have this condition, around 9 out of 10 (90%) will be detected. Read full disclaimer. We went in, had a scan, I can't remember the exact sequence of events because the baby was still in the wrong position. For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. It is extremely rare for these pregnancies to reach term as they typically spontaneously miscarry early in pregnancy. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. Find more information and details of support groups on NHS.UK. We walked all the way home. So it was just, we were coming up to the 20-week scan and I was just getting more relaxed, just actually starting to look at maybe baby catalogues or, you know, going down the baby aisle at the shops, which I'd always avoided. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. An hour passed and I started to panic. . By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. I wanted to be a passive patient while the doctor did what he had to do. I did. When I think about how long it took them to deliberate ultimately, maybe not, but it just felt like a bit of a fast food situation, didn't it? Thinking back, I don't know how we left without him. Baby loss stories Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. I feel empty and incomplete. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. Health professionals use the 18-20 week scan to examine the baby's size and position, and also to check if his/her brain, heart, lungs and other internal organs are developing as expected. This article was amended on 24 November 2015 to anonymise the writer. For women who have been given distressing news about their baby during the scan, there should be a health professional available to provide immediate support. And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. 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 think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. And I knew there was no way out. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. And they took me into another room. My heart goes out to you OP. Thankfully I was met by an amazing sonographer, she was compassionate and understanding. We'll make an appointment with the senior sonographer, the consultant at the local hospital, and she'll do your scan and she'll be able to tell you more things'. It was positive, and I felt elated. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. The first words I said were: "If there's anything wrong then it's my fault", I had been working 70, nearly 80 hours the previous weeks and pushed myself hard. But the consultant had found more spots on the heart and the measurements were the same. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. We were denying him his life. I felt crushed, I wanted him to at least acknowledge what had been found already. But I was struggling mentally with the anguish, grief and endless hospital visits. And so, yeah we got to, carried on with the pregnancy, kept seeing the consultant, kept sitting in the waiting room outside, because there was a terribly long waiting time sometimes, depending on what time you had the appointment. In most cases the scan will show that your baby appears to be developing as expected but sometimes a condition is found or suspected. Enough for two weeks after he had been cremated. The termination would be averting a tragedy. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. Back on the EPU unit, a doctor organised for me to be admitted into the ward, to take the medical management under supervision as the sac was now to big for me to safely miscarry on my own at home. Reading individual, real-life experiences can be a helpful resource, but it is never a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a qualified health care provider. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. Purpose of screening. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. 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. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face. We, I was with my mum, and they scanned and found choroid plexus cysts on the brain, which is just a mark, it's a marker on the brain, it's a, what they call a 'soft marker'. 2022. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. They said the brain was okay -, We were in there for a matter of minutes, literally -, In and out. It took 20 minutes to push him out. So carried on with the plans, and, you know, planning for the, another baby to come along and then we went for a 20- week scan which is obviously the big one and very exciting, seeing all the arms and legs and once again everything was going fine, 'Look here's the baby, here's the length of baby'. It was real. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. And also what the prognosis would mean for our two year old: now a very happy child, he would have a completely different childhood with such an ill sibling. the amniocentesis) and the pregnancy had already ended, or because the scan was not routinely offered in their region 5 or more years ago. Some things can be seen more clearly than others. In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. And that was Monday afternoon. No one else but my partner saw how similar he was to our son. I was then told yet again bad news. So I suppose from that aspect, mind you having not been told that or sitting there, I wouldn't have thought necessarily that was odd. And, faced with feeling sorry for myself or feeling sorry for my child, I know which I'd choose. 15/02/2014 08:02. 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. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. Not marginalised into being a victim. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. We had amnio and then spent a week in absoute anguish waiting for the outcome which was no trisomies. And everybody knows and everything is right. But you could see there was something wrong? Maybe our son would have overcome his problems, survived his illnesses, led a happy life. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan It is essential that all practitioners performing fetal anomaly ultrasound screening should be trained to communicate abnormal findings to women, as such information is likely to have significant emotional impact. Again, we weren't understood. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. And again, you know, you read all the books and it tells you 'this is the diagnostics', but after a while you don't hear that inside your head any more No, no, no, I'm fine - because everything's perfect. I let out an animal scream and [wife] kind of leapt onto me on the bed. I think what everyone is saying is that most likely outcome is that there are no problems at all. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, midwife or hospital immediately. He had to come to the decision by himself. 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. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. You have rejected additional cookies. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. We're still not at the end of our journey, but we're much further along. He bluntly told me, he wasn't interested in whatever was seen before, he was only going to go by what he saw that day. I get terribly irritated by my close friends and family. After she had taken all the measurements, the sonographer told us that she was concerned with the length of the baby's limbs in relation to the head. I wasn't unduly worried at all. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. Some of the conditions that can be seen on the scan will mean the baby may need treatment or surgery after it is born, for example cleft lip. (See 'Resources'). I didn't think my instincts were worth much. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. 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. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. 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. But he was not sure. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. I want to be happy again. And this baby sort of floated, and occasionally there was a slight movement, but it was very you could almost see that he was really poorly just from looking at the screen. The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. You may like someone to come with you to the scan appointment. A black and white picture of your baby will then be seen on the ultrasound screen.
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