Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. And how wrong could they be? And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. Some people want to find out if their baby has one of the 11 conditions and some do not. She didn't want to see the baby. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. the amniocentesis) and the pregnancy had already ended, or because the scan was not routinely offered in their region 5 or more years ago. That was an extremely difficult day. Three midwives came and went. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. And my partner and I would have a completely different life from the one we'd imagined. We were convinced everything would be OK. But I was struggling mentally with the anguish, grief and endless hospital visits. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. 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'). Went back a week later for the scan and, you were with me for this one, weren't you? But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. I didn't want to be convincing him to agree with me. So that was it. That he - I think I was 21 weeks and 3 days, and he was coming up at 19 weeks and 4 days, or something like that. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the scan. This was on the Friday. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. 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. 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. And attribute some blame to them. That was the first time I had heard him cry. So obviously quite relaxed. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. But they didn't. And you could see, where you should have a picture of 4 chambers, you could really see 2. I could hardly breathe. He had to come to the decision by himself. 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. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. I was told they needed to do a blood test to get a bench mark of my hormone levels. At which point they turned round and said, 'Well, there is something very seriously wrong with the baby, we don't know exactly what, but you do need to have a more in-depth scan at your regional hospital to find out the detail'. 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 think there might be a problem'. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. 1. 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. Yeah - in, stomach, out. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. 17/12/2020 17:13. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. But other than that everything was fine. And that was scanning up from the above the head, then you were coming up through the child's head, so you were seeing the chambers in the brain, sort of it was evident in all four chambers of the brain, then suddenly one chamber was empty. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . 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. chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet. You will be able to discuss this with your midwife or consultant. 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 know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. 13/12/2020 20:45. 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]. We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. I am a darker, harder version of myself. I felt more informed, and I felt that that was what I needed in my head to see you know, that I've got to accept now that this, all these things are real on the screen and this was really my baby that's suffering all these things [sighs], but I was sad as well. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. We went in, had a scan, I can't remember the exact sequence of events because the baby was still in the wrong position. It wasn't measuring at all the right measurements for the age - there was a heart defect, the limbs were sort of distorted, the arms were, you know - you could see that the arms were very sort of contracted, the hands were contracted. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. We talked all night and thanked God for crap television. Specialist scans had a powerful effect on some parents because they could see the baby more clearly and in some cases people recognised which parts of the baby's body were not working properly. And I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being selfish. I then found that soft markers means 'vague unproven suggestion of a link', and that echogenic locii are small concentrations of calcium which are incredibly common and harmless. The hardest thing I have ever done. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. I've still had no cramps or bleeding so fingers crossed everything is ok I just couldn't believe I fell down the stairs, I can't remember the last time I ever did that! 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. But that was too easy. But she told us, she told us, she gave us some more detail, she said, 'There's this, there's a big gap in the brain where there shouldn't be'.
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. No, we really didn't, with hindsight we probably should have, but not at all, it never occurred to us to be worried about it. 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. The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. She endured many agonising rounds of scans and tests, and unfortunately met with some unhelpful attitudes from some healthcare professionals. 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. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. My wife turned the screen away from her. Later, I did see and hold our baby. Many described how sonographers and doctors were very restrained and didn't speak at all until they had analysed all the baby's details. And the local hospital wanted to send us off to the regional hospital to actually confirm that, and were not really prepared to say at that time that there was something very seriously wrong. The consultant at the time wasn't really that interested in that imagery. 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. hi ladies. And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. The consultant had said it wouldn't be like a normal delivery. I had hope that the little bumps inside me were fighting just as much as I was to stay with me. And I, my husband and I both ran our own business at the time so we were desperate to get back and do some work, and things were going really well, so.. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. And I know I can't hurry up the process of grieving. Public Health England (PHE) created this information on behalf of the NHS. And I assumed my partner would feel the same. As two youngest siblings, we were both permanently stuck in the irresponsible, childish role. I want to be nice again. Which is what I'd seen. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. The next day, it was confirmed that my bloods had again dropped. Seated in the antenatal clinic with lots of expectant mothers with baby bumps. Still, the consultant thought things would be OK. You might be offered another test to find out for certain if your baby has one of the conditions. This image shows a baby's face and hands at 20 weeks, and gives you an idea of what you'll be able to see at this scan. It feels very lonely and isolating. And I can just remember flashing a look at you as if to say, 'Have I made a mistake here somewhere? And I said, I was still laughing, and I thought he was joking with me, and he said now I sort of could tell from his face that by that point he wasn't really joking anymore. I wanted to let nature take its course. It was sick. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy.