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 think the whole experience has made me a pretty nasty person. So choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. And so we talked about it euphemistically, never saying the word "research". 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. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and . Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. I broke down and started hitting my disgusting body that had done this. Please ask your hospital about this before your appointment. On the next shift, the new midwife asked us again. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. 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 was willing the results to be normal. The doctor gave her consent, and I took the four little tablets. And I, and, I felt the weight of deciding what to do about it. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. Has anyone been told the wrong sex at 20 week scan? No one else ever met the object of my grief. 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. Could you tell? Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Baby loss stories 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. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. See you in -. I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. 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'. 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. I just feel very unlucky. We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan
We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. Most hospitals do not allow children to attend scans as childcare is not usually available. 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. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. Sam followed and I broke down. 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. Actually you could tell from the brain development as he scanned up through the chambers of the brain, that one quarter of the brain, one chamber was not evident. I give obsessively to charity, especially those linked to sick children. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. So he went out for a walk. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. I didn't want to go through anymore scans. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. Some parents wondered if it was possible to have the same scan done at 16 weeks rather than 20 weeks. I took my vitamins, stuck to the healthy diet and put on a brave face. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. The weeks since that day have been very weird. All my plans were beginning to fall down. Usually, sonographers will ask a senior sonographer colleague to confirm findings and this should be done immediately. 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. 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. factor is very strong. We couldn't say we'd lost the baby, because he was still kicking away, but we couldn't pretend everything was fine, either. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. Everywhere you look, there are happy, fat, smug pregnant women. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier diagnostic tests (e.g. 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. As you felt that, you know, it was probably going to show lots of problems and it just wasn't what we wanted, but at the same time we needed to sort of see it and, we needed to prove it I suppose. There, I would give birth. It was exactly like the labour I had with my first child. I couldn't bear to see the baby and asked the midwife to take him away immediately. [Husband] couldn't make it. 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. Sometimes specialist scans such as 3D scans, or MRI scans, are used to examine the baby in greater detail. We understand the real meaning of "shit happens". 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. 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'. And, so they sent me home at that stage because they said the specialist wasn't available till the following day, which was awful. The gel makes sure there is good contact between the probe and your skin. The midwife was on the verge of tears and I felt responsible. But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. The same rush of excitement. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, NHS fetal anomaly screening programme (FASP), Screening tests for you and your baby (STFYAYB), nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, more information and details of support groups. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". 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. My partner spent the weekend trying to convince me that things were OK. For once in my life, I had been organised. 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. I give pregnant women dirty looks. The hardest thing I have ever done | Health | The Guardian 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. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. Bad news at 20 week scan, please help. | Mumsnet We're going to go and see them. I felt the dread run through me. 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. All pregnant women should be given the booklet by their midwife or GP Screening tests for you and your baby by Public Health England, which gives detailed information about the types of scan offered and what they are looking for. By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. I know it is still early days. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. I was young, I didn't need one. 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. The thing about that which I felt was difficult is that we could tell when being scanned that there was something very seriously wrong. Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. She just said, 'It's a bit short, it needs to be checked' again basically. I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. Some of the other conditions, such as heart defects, are more difficult to see. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, 'it didn't look good' and that 'my womb looked raggedy'. And I can just remember flashing a look at you as if to say, 'Have I made a mistake here somewhere? He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. He sounded like a wild animal in pain, deep pain. Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. 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. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. I have horrible thoughts. 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. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Registered office: Nicholas House, 3 Laurence Pountney Hill, London, EC4R 0BB. And she said that, you know, as the, if the baby did develop further there would probably be other problems with internal organs that weren't really that visible at that stage. And, for a few hours, I'm convinced I've made a terrible mistake. But other than that everything was fine. Within it are a number of recommendations for the communication of findings from ultrasounds. And attribute some blame to them. And I knew there was no way out. Just that really! Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans
It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . It felt like a lifetime to reach our 12-week-scan. It was the end of January, very end - about the 29th - I'd gone into, I'd gone into 5 months by then. I was becoming numb to the whole process. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. But with time although we will never forget, I know we will be ok again. The clinic advised a follow up scan the week after, to check on progress and to see what to do next. I wasn't ready to make a decision straight away, and I was told I could call them in the morning. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. Away you go'. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. Wishing to be anywhere, but here being told the same agonising truth over and over again. He felt strong and fit and healthy. Perhaps because we are alone in this, it has brought my partner and me very close. We felt as if we were in limbo. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. And it's, I can't remember exactly what it was now, it's about where the brain is supposed to form. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. 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'. So I no longer trusted my instincts. So and you could see the exomphalus, this little pouch, which was obviously just the intestines where they are. 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. 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. 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. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. I wasn't unduly worried at all. Instead, I had to raise a glass of water to my mouth, take a swig and swallow the tablet. Seated in the antenatal clinic with lots of expectant mothers with baby bumps. 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. The next day, it was confirmed that my bloods had again dropped. Let a mum know you're thinking of them send one of our personalised Mother's Day cards today, Home She didn't want to see the baby. It felt as if we had gone power crazy. The doctor didn't come. How was that scan different from the dating scan? So I took the test and jumped in the shower. Three midwives came and went. And she sort of got up and walked out of the room and called someone in. I faced another internal scan where I began to feel helpless and alone. At this point it wasn't looking great. Never being able to look after himself. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. And still we asked to see a, Impact of the 20-week and later specialist scans. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. It is as though our pain means we've earned the right to be taken more seriously. I was another one who did get bad news at the 20 week scan. We must have had one before that as well, we must have had one before that, but it came back quite normal. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. 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. When he came back, he agreed on a termination. Not surprisingly, people aren't quite sure how to deal with me. (See. Tears started to roll down my face. 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. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? Or, at the very least, heart problems. I returned to be told they wanted to scan me again, another internal to see exactly what was happening. The doctor told me he was 98% sure this was a failing twin pregnancy. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. 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. I tried to keep positive. Then I picked myself up. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the scan. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. I didn't really know what that was. . 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. The screen may be directly facing them or at an angle. And with each one we had to have the same conversations. And my partner and I would have a completely different life from the one we'd imagined. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. 2022. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. That was the first time I had heard him cry. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. 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. They said the brain was okay -, We were in there for a matter of minutes, literally -, In and out. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. I was saving my child from pain and suffering. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. 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. So we had to go in and out a couple of times, and we were just waiting around for ages and ages. We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. And the doctor - because it was a doctor rather then just the, a sonographer or whatever the correct term is - was scanning my wife, and she hovered over the heart of the baby and said, 'Oh there's the heart, we'll come back to that'. So that was it. So I trusted him. Still, the consultant thought things would be OK. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. the amniocentesis) and the pregnancy had already ended, or because the scan was not routinely offered in their region 5 or more years ago. Please note that the opinions expressed by users in Tommys Book of #misCOURAGE are solely those of the user, who is unlikely to have had medical training. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. The sonographer then passes a hand-held probe over your skin to examine the babys body. And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. And I could see, before she even said anything I could see that there was something wrong with the heart. So it was quite common, this is what happens. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. This was on the Friday. I think they perhaps could have done, if they had looked a bit closely. You have rejected additional cookies. Good luck has not come easily over the past few years. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. BabyCenter. 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. I had my little leaflet, printed off leaflet about choroid plexus cysts. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. If you choose not to have the scan you can still have all other parts of your routine antenatal care. 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. Yeah, yeah. Saturday came. She endured many agonising rounds of scans and tests, and unfortunately met with some unhelpful attitudes from some healthcare professionals. So that just left the talipes. 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. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. The baby was very, very small. hi ladies. And as, and as soon as I saw the pictures of the scan, having had two normal pregnancies, even I could see that there was a marked contrast between this pregnancy and the pictures that I'd had previously. 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. It was over. She describes having to make a . We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. Just doing it. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. It was another consultant, who said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news - your baby has Down's syndrome." As I left the room to compose myself. During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. Finally, Monday came and we went back to the hospital. The following is a quote from their report: If the scan reveals either a suspected or confirmed abnormality, the woman should be informed by the sonographer at the time of the scan. The results come in stages. How common is it to find anomolies at the 20 week scan? - Netmums As though I went power mad for a week, killing my innocent unborn child, and now I am tainted for ever. 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 went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. The sonographer will be able to tell you the results of the scan at the time. A long process of blood tests, scans, doctors and hospitals. I was told this was common as my body and hormones still thought I was pregnant. We left for home feeling completely numb. Well send you a link to a feedback form. 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). Some things can be seen more clearly than others. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. And that, that was when things where it started going a bit wrong. We strongly advise readers not to take drugs that are not prescribed by your qualified healthcare provider. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. She asked me how far gone I thought we were, and if I could have been mistaken. 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. Our position in our families has shifted. It doesn't remove the guilt, but I don't know what else to do. Last reviewed July 2017. It was sick. I was experiencing some light bleeding for the past few days. 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. Being generous and kind generally happens only when you're happy. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. And everybody knows and everything is right. The ultimate betrayal. There was cause for concern. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. And then, so I went to my next scan, which was the 20-week abnormality scan, and we took our first child with us, I think he was 17 months old at the time. 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. He was sure the consultant on Monday would see that the measurements were completely normal and that there was nothing to worry about. This scan takes place between 18 weeks and 20 weeks 6 days of pregnancy and is commonly called the 20-week scan. I could hardly breathe. It sounds crazy, but I just knew. The consultant had said it wouldn't be like a normal delivery. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic.