And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. All the time, the baby was kicking and I felt like a murderer waiting to strike her victim. And I went for, I went for a normal 12-week scan, at my local hospital and everything, they said everything was fine, there was no problem. Some people want to find out if their baby has one of the 11 conditions and some do not. 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. I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. We've joined the grown-ups and we both feel very different. Read full disclaimer. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. He suggested he perform an amniocentesis immediately, to rule out any chromosomal problems. Then I picked myself up. That they could have spotted something, or not? This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. The weeks since that day have been very weird. We felt as if we were in limbo. 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. I broke down and started hitting my disgusting body that had done this. There is more detailed information about the main conditions that are looked for during this scan on NHS.UK. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. blood tests, CVS) were clear - and as one woman put it, 'after the triple test* (Down's syndrome screening) you stop thinking anything can go wrong'. Possibly with hindsight we could have been more worried about it, but was probably a good thing we weren't, because we weren't worried about anything basically. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. 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. 80 percent of my pregnancies have ended in death and I felt like they were telling me those babies didn't matter. But he was not sure. 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. 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. The hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. I couldn't bring myself to push. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. Later, I did see and hold our baby. I am a darker, harder version of myself. 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. And the next day we went back to the hospital and we had another scan with a specialist, and he confirmed it was a condition called holoprosencephaly, which I'd never heard of any of these words before, they were just such long words. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. I know it sounds odd that you want to hear that it's wrong, but you, you know it's wrong, and you, you want to be reassured either that it's okay or is there something seriously wrong. There was cause for concern. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. What would we like to do with the body? Saturday came. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. We had amnio and then spent a week in absoute anguish waiting for the outcome which was no trisomies. hi ladies. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. And my husband, we never got to sit next to each other in the consulting room, my husband was across the room from me, and I was sat next to the consultant, and we were laughing and joking with him about, you know, the home delivery, and everything was going to be, 'Are you still on for the home delivery?' Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. 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'. 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. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. I was experiencing some light bleeding for the past few days. By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. 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. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. This was on the Friday. And so we had to go out a couple of times, [wife] had to walk around, and she had a drink of water, which is supposed to sort of change things inside, or help the baby turn around or something because the sonographer couldn't get the measurements she wanted. By the time I left the hospital, I was in shock. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. We left for home feeling completely numb. I have horrible thoughts. It was far too much power; neither of us wanted it. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . I didn't think my instincts were worth much. 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'. 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). Registered office: Nicholas House, 3 Laurence Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BB. 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. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. And they, sort of two of them were looking at the scan machine and then they sort of switched everything off and said, 'Oh, I think we have, might have a problem'. At first the closeness came through a sense of guilt. I remained positive, we researched lots of cases of mistaken dates, inconclusive scans, and compared them to our situation; scrutinising everything to try and believe it was all one big misunderstanding. 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. Again, no notes can have been written down because the midwife asked the same question. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. Maybe our son would have overcome his problems, survived his illnesses, led a happy life. 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), tbh, they never give you good news at scans. And nothing prepares you at all. . 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. You get extra care and monitoring as appropriate and baby is proactively treated. I had no idea if we were doing the "right" thing. Living in this world must be unbearable for them. 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. So he went out for a walk. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. 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. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. If this happens, you will be offered one further scan by 23 weeks of pregnancy. Despite this new discovery, the sonographer was still concerned. And, for a few hours, I'm convinced I've made a terrible mistake. 2022. It is as though our pain means we've earned the right to be taken more seriously. Somehow, I walked from the sofa up to the bathroom and told my partner. At this point it wasn't looking great. So at 20 weeks I went for my scan with my husband, with my daughter, to get our photographs. I was wondering if anyone has been is this situation and can give me a glimmer of hope. I didn't have a clue. Like many things, the theory is very different from the reality. We would terminate the pregnancy. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? I let out an animal scream and [wife] kind of leapt onto me on the bed. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. 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. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. By 7pm, I still hadn't delivered the baby. Cardiac surgery can do some amazing things. But that was too easy. An appointment should be arranged as soon as possible and ideally within three working days. The next day, it was confirmed that my bloods had again dropped. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. I was becoming numb to the whole process. I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. 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. He was sure the consultant on Monday would see that the measurements were completely normal and that there was nothing to worry about. It was sick. Nights were impossible. No sort of questions about, 'Do you want to know whether it's a boy or a girl?' Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. But other than that everything was fine. I wanted to let nature take its course. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. I want to be nice again. 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. 1. Never being able to look after himself. I had a horrible feeling of relief. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests, Ending the pregnancy for family & personal reasons, Deciding whether to see, hold and name the baby, Photographs and other mementoes of the baby, Saying goodbye to the baby - services & funerals, Coping with bereavement - women's experiences, Coping with bereavement - men's experiences, Men's ideas about their role in ending a pregnancy. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. The hardest thing I have ever done. Our position in our families has shifted. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. Baby loss stories 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. For example, the babys brain, kidneys, internal organs or bones may not have developed properly. 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. I just feel very unlucky. It is extremely rare for these pregnancies to reach term as they typically spontaneously miscarry early in pregnancy. So it was quite common, this is what happens. 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. No one else felt him kick. I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. I was becoming numb to the whole process. But he was wrong. Can't seem to find info on the Internet. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. He had to come to the decision by himself. Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. We saw the consultant, who was reassuring, saying that he would rescan me and was sure everything would be fine. It was the end of January, very end - about the 29th - I'd gone into, I'd gone into 5 months by then. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks. That's fine. It felt so wrong. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? Most hospitals do not allow children to attend scans as childcare is not usually available. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. 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. This was a ray of hope for us. Many described how sonographers and doctors were very restrained and didn't speak at all until they had analysed all the baby's details. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. 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. And they took me to another room and they explained that the baby had what they thought was ventriculomegaly or something. It was just a few little things like the kidneys were hard to find, and the stomach was hard to find, but that might be because it wasn't filled with fluid. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. 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. And attribute some blame to them. And so this one can't tell you anything, it's pictures, you're going, you're going to see your baby, you're going to get pictures. My partner watched the baby come out, and for a split second I saw a look of joy on his face. The consultant at the time wasn't really that interested in that imagery. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? Again, we weren't understood. . The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. Seated in the antenatal clinic with lots of expectant mothers with baby bumps. I went home feeling crushed; Sam and I both felt helpless. Last reviewed July 2017. It took 20 minutes to push him out. And I knew there was no way out. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You may need to have a full bladder when you come for the appointment. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Public Health England (PHE) created this information on behalf of the NHS. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. He felt doing more blood tests would only cause me more discomfort and false hope. Has anyone been told the sex incorrectly at their 20 week scan? Some stories I hear are amazing! And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. 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. She describes having to make a . I didn't really know what that was. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. There's nothing wrong, you know, we've had all the tests, everything's fine,' and being very upbeat about it all. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. Trying to carry on as normal, working and putting on a brave face. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. 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. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. 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. So that just left the talipes. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. And I am slowly coming to terms with what has happened. But no. Fine, go on my own. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the 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.'. Or, at the very least, heart problems. unfortunately the 20 week anomaly scan can pick up serious issues, hearing heart beats at midwife appointment doesn't let us know what's going on inside the body in detail. I sat and waited to be called for my scan. So we had to go in and out a couple of times, and we were just waiting around for ages and ages. 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'). During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. 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. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. . The first midwife seemed to understand what we were trying to say, and said she would ask the doctor to come and talk to us. 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. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have produced a report on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales (May 2010). Some things can be seen more clearly than others. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. The scan will find about half (50%) of those babies who have heart defects. I tried to keep positive. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. See you in -. or sort of light chat that we'd, we'd experienced before with previous scans. 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. It was positive, and I felt elated. And you know, we were laughing and joking. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. All my plans were beginning to fall down. Our week-by-week PREGNANCY emails are a must for parents-to-be. We talked all night and thanked God for crap television. It was just sort of deadpan faces, very serious looks, someone else coming to check. I think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. But you know I knew we had, we had to make a decision that was right for the baby as well. How was that scan different from the dating scan? And I can just remember flashing a look at you as if to say, 'Have I made a mistake here somewhere? 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). Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. My partner tried to remain calm, and at my request rang my mum. 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. 17/12/2020 17:13. 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. 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. How common is it for 2nd baby to come early..? Immediately I knew what decision we should take. That was the first time I had heard him cry. We had the baby cremated. 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'. The same unique expression he had when he saw our two year old born. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. My heart goes out to you OP. In a small number of cases some very serious conditions are found. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". The "why me?" Thanks girls, it's amazing how protected our babies are in there isn't it?! We thought it would all be over very quickly but, in fact, it was another 11 hours before the baby was delivered. And at that point I don't think we, I don't think we realised that there might have to be a decision, because we'd talked about it with, with Down's and the other possible problems, but at this point it was, well okay what can be done to fix the problem - because yes the heart's not developing properly but there must be something we can do. No one else ever met the object of my grief. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. And I wish that I'd been told at that point, that somebody had actually turned round to me and said, 'Look, I'm sorry, but I think there's something very wrong. 15/02/2014 08:02. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. And the first few things they said it didn't sound as thing, as though things were terribly wrong. As I waited for the doctor back on the EPU unit. 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. I loved him instantly and didn't want to let him go. The same rush of excitement. And as soon as she said those words, both of us were like, 'Well what's wrong?'. You may like someone to come with you to the scan appointment. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. It feels very lonely and isolating. So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. She wanted to have a look at the skull, which was the main thing, but she couldn't see it from where the baby was. (See 'Resources'). And I could see, before she even said anything I could see that there was something wrong with the heart. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.
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chances of bad news at 20 week scan mumsnet