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But they didn't. And at that, I let out a scream I think. The consultant showed us the letter with our result on and, yes, there were the words "Down's syndrome". 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. So we went home really and I sort of had to think about it all night. From losing my dad to his battle with cancer, to then having to face another battle with cancer and my mum; thankfully she pulled though. I had a horrible feeling of relief. or sort of light chat that we'd, we'd experienced before with previous scans. So that was it. And they took me into another room. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. factor is very strong. I had an appointment with my consultant 2 days later, and again he said, you know, 'Very common - shouldn't worry about it too much, you know, if, the problem is if they find anything else wrong'. I was becoming numb to the whole process. b>Bad news at 20 week scan. We saw the consultant, who was reassuring, saying that he would rescan me and was sure everything would be fine. You get extra care and monitoring as appropriate and baby is proactively treated. Some stories I hear are amazing! Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. And, it does not occur to you in the slightest. Any delay in receiving more information about the abnormality and its implications will be distressing for women and this should be acknowledged. And I thought that if I were faced with the possibility of having an amnio, hours of discussion would follow - I would spend days mulling it over. . And I, and, I felt the weight of deciding what to do about it. Severe chromosomal conditions such as Edwards' syndrome are now often picked up in the first trimester antenatal screening but itwill usually be more obviousat the 18- 20 week scan, though usually a firm diagnosis will not be made until one or two specialists have weighed up all available evidence about the baby - which usually means that another expert needs to scan the baby again, or until the woman has had an amniocentesis. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. The only thing you're thinking now is the birth, and what if something goes wrong in the birth? As I waited for the doctor back on the EPU unit. He looked excited. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. Others said they were shocked because all the early diagnostic tests (e.g. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. My partner went out with him, wanting to see him. The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. Some hospitals do offer earlier anomaly scans of the baby, but they will not show as much detail as scans performed between 18 and 20weeks. So even if anomolies are found, they don't always mean a problem.. x. I had issues at the 20 weeks scan with both of mine. Specialist scans are performed in specialist fetal units and if clinicians feel that there might be problems scanning will be done up to 32 weeks. So at 20 weeks I went for my scan with my husband, with my daughter, to get our photographs. So I trusted him. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. I felt I needed proof of what was wrong before I take such a huge decision and that I couldn't do it based on what someone had written on, on the paper. Those two weeks were agonising for us both. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. That they could have spotted something, or not? They said the brain was okay -, We were in there for a matter of minutes, literally -, In and out. Away you go'. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. Just that really! 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. So we went home, me to rest in an attempt to prevent miscarriage, my partner to reassure us both. I guess the morphine made it easier. 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. So obviously quite relaxed. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. My partner was away working and was waiting to hear whether he was having a son or daughter. The weeks since that day have been very weird. This was a ray of hope for us. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? Another sick joke. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic. He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. 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. And how wrong could they be? I felt the dread run through me. We'd just spent some time away on a, on a summer holiday and come back expecting to have this scan and be told, 'All fine. But at the 20 week scan, which was on a Wednesday, we saw the nurse at the local hospital, the sonographer, and she did a scan and she found that the femur length was quite short in the, in the fetus. Saturday came. 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. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. 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. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). The first result, which tells you if the baby has Down's syndrome, is ready in three days, but the other chromosomal problems cannot be eliminated for up to three weeks. I just feel very unlucky. We understand the real meaning of "shit happens". 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). To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' It was sick. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. The pain was bearable but uncomfortable, the hospital rang me a few days later and asked me how I was. We'd sort of put those discussions to the back of our mind, and then all of a sudden there are other abnormalities so yeah it was a bit a bit of a shocker [laughs]. I returned to be told they wanted to scan me again, another internal to see exactly what was happening. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. The week that followed was an agonising wait. A few people recalled how frightened and alarmed they became when they sensed that the atmosphere in the scanning room changed in an instant from 'jokey' to serious when the baby's problems were detected. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." And I felt like a murderer. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. It was a bit worrying but on the plus side I got an extra couple of scans and an extra couple of pictures. Never lacking a sense of the dramatic, it felt as if we shared the responsibility for the terrible, dirty act that we had committed. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. He wanted to talk about it, but I didn't. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. Maybe. Though the 18-20 week scan can detect when certain parts of the baby's body have grown abnormally, it may not be possible for clinicians to identify why it has happened or make a firm diagnosis based on the scan alone. Although the anomaly scan is often called a 20-week scan, you may have it any time between 18 and 22 weeks, although it's usually done between 18 and 20 weeks. 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. So she said, 'Come back on Monday. I came back probably about 17 weeks pregnant and had the anomaly scan at 20 weeks and like most people expected everything to be fine and to come away with a lovely picture but unfortunately that isn't what happened. Specialist scans are performed in specialist fetal units and if clinicians feel that there might be problems scanning will be done up to 32 weeks. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. See more information about the 20-week ultrasound scan. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. We felt as if we were in limbo. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. I noticed the box of tissues on the table. All women are offered a dating scan, and an 18- 20 week fetal anomaly ultrasound scan, in line with NICE and UK National Screening Committee recommendations. The sonographer told me to take the notes, and the scan photos with me so they could review them also. Again, no notes can have been written down because the midwife asked the same question. I didn't think my instincts were worth much. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. We had the baby cremated. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. That was an extremely difficult day. And I assumed my partner would feel the same. Two days, after on Christmas Eve, (my 12 week date) I had more blood tests. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. 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. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . And that was Monday afternoon. The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. And there [sighs] was a very dark patch over one, where the eye socket was, and they didn't know it, in the Edward's babies sometimes the eyes don't develop properly, or it might have been bleeding, they weren't very sure. So he went out for a walk. So I was, they couldn't actually finish the scan then, the baby was moving around too much, so they couldn't scan the heart and the stomach. The people who did know what was going on seemed far too sure that we were doing the right thing, that there was really no choice to be made. And with each one we had to have the same conversations. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. The gel makes sure there is good contact between the probe and your skin. I know it is still early days. The blood test confirmed it was twins. Fine, go on my own. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. Severe chromosomal conditions such as Edwards' syndrome are now often picked up in the first trimester antenatal screening but itwill usually be more obviousat the 18- 20 week scan, though usually a firm diagnosis will not be made until one or two specialists have weighed up all available evidence about the baby - which usually means that another expert needs to scan the baby again, or until the woman has had an amniocentesis. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. It felt as if we had gone power crazy. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. Unfortunately I was not met with a compassionate sonographer. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. And then all of a sudden, I was still laughing and we were all very upbeat, and then suddenly, he suddenly said, but I was still, still laughing, and he said to me, 'Oh, there might be a problem, there might be a problem with the, I think this baby has hydrocephalus'. And then I can't remember an awful lot more about that scan apart from that feeling of searching of how to react in an unknown situation - your brain's kind of trying to work out what to say, what to do, but I had no idea what to say or what to do and I think my first thought was, does that mean our first daughter's okay? The hardest thing I have ever done. We need to have your opinion'. We were convinced everything would be OK. Previous scans in this pregnancy and with my first child had been fun - a chance to see the baby wriggling around and perhaps find out its sex. x. All my plans were beginning to fall down. We've got the same battle scars. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. We had so much power, we could decide that this little thing should die. Some people want to find out if their baby has one of the 11 conditions and some do not. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. For instance a couple who knew their baby was 'on the small size' were told he was fine at the 18-20 week scan, but discovered at 32 weeks that he had microcephaly. But other than that everything was fine. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . I tried to show him the notes and the photos. Sometimes a post mortem was needed to confirm the 20-week diagnosis to see if the baby had inherited a genetic problem (such as Fowler syndrome - see 'Resources'). chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet. 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. The results come in stages. The nursery I had selected for our two-year-old son; my maternity leave; the bunk beds; the summer holiday suitable for a newborn baby. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. And it was just a bit of a shock because it's not really what you want to hear - you don't really expect that. I then had to wait in the room along with many other patients for an hour so they could observe me. Slightly marked from our peers. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . Tears started to roll down my face. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. I think there might be a problem'. In some cases concerns in utero fix themselves sometimes needs treatment. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. 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. He looked fine. I believed at this point I had miscarried, they wanted me to come back I'm for a follow up scan. But I still didn't want to be the one who stopped this baby's chance to live. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." I hadn't thought about the mechanics of such a late termination, but had assumed it would mean some kind of operation. Well, at the regional hospital it was a 3-D scan. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. So it was quite common, this is what happens. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. And it was then because we were at 20 weeks by this point, there was only fairly short window to actually, to get some more tests done, find out what the problems were, and then make any decisions that might have to be made. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. An hour passed and I started to panic. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. For instance a couple who knew their baby was 'on the small size' were told he was fine at the 18-20 week scan, but discovered at 32 weeks that he had microcephaly. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". Again, we weren't understood. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. It's quite common, perhaps 1 in 10 they find these, and within a few weeks they disappear. I have horrible thoughts. What would we like to do with the body? So I sort of went home quite, fairly kind of happy and I, at, at this point I hadn't any idea things could go wrong anyway. Very occasionally this second scan cannot be completed, for example because: In this case you will not be offered another screening scan but you will offered an all over physical examination for your baby after birth. I can feel my child kick, it responds when he shouts at football - I mean literally, this baby used to dance around whenever he'd like scream at a goal - and there cannot be anything wrong with this child because it's part of us already. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. At that point, I got very not upset but quite sort of strongly severe sort of with the people at the hospital saying, 'Look, you know, that's 24 hours, possibly a 48 hours' wait - that's not something that's tenable. The same rush of excitement. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. It was far too much power; neither of us wanted it. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. There are no known risks to your baby or the mother from having an ultrasound scan but it is important that you consider carefully whether or not to have the 20-week scan. I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. I didn't really know what that was. Or, at the very least, heart problems. 2022. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. It was positive, and I felt elated. For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. The clinic advised a follow up scan the week after, to check on progress and to see what to do next. I faced another internal scan where I began to feel helpless and alone. But the consultant had found more spots on the heart and the measurements were the same. Yeah - in, stomach, out. And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. 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. You have rejected additional cookies. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. Sometimes a post mortem was needed to confirm the 20-week diagnosis to see if the baby had inherited a genetic problem (such as Fowler syndrome - see '. And you know, we were laughing and joking. Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. The scan will look in detail at your babys bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. But worse was to come. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. There was cause for concern. All the hopes, dreams, and plans we made with our little bumps has been taken away from us. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. 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. I wrote a few things down last night when we were trying to go over things, just to remind myself. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. Sometimes doctors will wait to give the baby more time to develop and carry out repeat scans - this had confused several parents we talked to who had gone for repeat scans not knowing that the baby might have a problem. No one else ever met the object of my grief. This might be uncomfortable. [Husband] couldn't make it. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. Everywhere you look, there are happy, fat, smug pregnant women. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. the amniocentesis) and the pregnancy had already ended, or because the scan was not routinely offered in their region 5 or more years ago. I feel empty and incomplete. Our baby was beautiful. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail.