He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. These were said to be soft markers fo a range of trisomies, 2 of which were incompatible with life. 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'. He started to scan me with a cold expression, then told me, "it didn't look good" and that "my womb looked raggedy". 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. 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. Instead, I had to raise a glass of water to my mouth, take a swig and swallow the tablet. So obviously quite relaxed. The results come in stages. Except for the persistent, nagging doubts. All my instincts were to protect my belly, yet here I was allowing someone to stick a huge needle into it. You know there's always that bit on the bottom of the thing, 'These are diagnostics, do not bring other children,' - blah, blah, blah.. it's not, you know, it's not a family outing kind of thing, but it feels like it. Specialist scans The contractions started very quickly and within an hour my waters had broken. I had to stop myself from yanking out the needle. I was young, I didn't need one. 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. Maybe. We just couldn't use the words. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. 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. I couldn't have the added responsibility for changing his mind. Despite this new discovery, the sonographer was still concerned. She asked me how far gone I thought we were, and if I could have been mistaken. 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'. It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan . It was, 'Oh we'll come back to that'. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. The scan was inconclusive, but the size of my little bump was measuring a lot smaller than it should have for 10 weeks. 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. 17/12/2020 17:13. Again, we weren't understood. And it turned out the baby's heart wasn't forming properly, the chambers weren't forming properly. I think at that time she had come to terms better with the fact that this baby was going to be terminated, and I don't think I was quite there. The consultant showed us the letter with our result on and, yes, there were the words "Down's syndrome". It was over. It felt as if we had gone power crazy. Scans cannot find all conditions. I guess the morphine made it easier. 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? It seemed inconceivable that we would not be having a baby in May. And I felt like a murderer. I think it's the same - in fact I think it was probably the same room, same consultant - and [sighs] I suppose it felt upsetting because at the dating scan you're full of hope and this scan we knew wasn't going to be good, we knew it was maybe the last time we would see the baby moving around. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. I was becoming numb to the whole process. It was probably all right but hadn't had any fluid in it at the moment. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. 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. Fine, go on my own. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). My son's congenital heart defect was detected at the 20 week scan and he had 2 other markers, no . To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. 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. 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. I think I don't everything just seems a real blur because it was, it was such a strange experience. 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). I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. We needed closure, to allow us to grieve properly. Eventually, the doctor finished the scan and said that some of the baby's measurements were very small. Then I picked myself up. That was the first time I had heard him cry. 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. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. 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. 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. I felt the dread run through me. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. We had amnio and then spent a week in absoute anguish waiting for the outcome which was no trisomies. But with time although we will never forget, I know we will be ok again. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. What were babys measurements at 20 week scan? At first the closeness came through a sense of guilt. We're still not at the end of our journey, but we're much further along. I had my little leaflet, printed off leaflet about choroid plexus cysts. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. I felt sad, but not the complete devastation of the last scan as they had seen a change of some sort. As I say, I'm not a very nice person at the moment. It is impossible to escape them and each one underlines your loss. No one else felt him kick. And they actually asked my husband to come in before they spoke to me. 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. We're going to go and see them. You've had a scan, you've had the blood tests, you've been good. The same sense of expectation. My mum arrived early to look after our son, and my partner and I got a cab to the hospital. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. I want to stop having such horrible thoughts. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. And that was extraordinary to see the detail that that could offer. And I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being selfish. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. And with each one we had to have the same conversations. So once again we were right back down, really no, really not knowing what to expect. I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. And having read, since read my information on Edwards' syndrome, a good 85 per cent have problems with the heart. 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. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. 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. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. I didn't really know what that was. 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. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. I did think it was a bit strange that she wasn't talking, and then she sort of said, 'Oh, I think there's a problem. So he was about two weeks smaller than what he should have been. 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. You do not have to have the scan. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. As I lay down, and the sonographer started, I could see there was something wrong. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. The rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. b>Bad news at 20 week scan. Eventually she got the measurements she wanted. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. 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. So it was quite common, this is what happens. And everybody knows and everything is right. Another sick joke. 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. 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. 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. I just want to be normal again. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. The appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. Went off for the 20-week scan, which you didn't, you weren't there, were you, for the first scan? So we gave up and said we'd arrange the funeral ourselves. I couldn't really believe what they were saying. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. But you could see there was something wrong? 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. 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.'. But for those few days they were torture. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. He looked fine. I tried not to sit still for too long, because then I became too aware of the little thing inside me. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. I mean the lady who was scanning was very quiet for a long time. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. I've been incredibly lucky to have such amazing support from Sam, my mum, and close friends and family. The only thing you're thinking now is the birth, and what if something goes wrong in the birth? If an abnormality is confirmed or suspected, referral is usually required, although some obvious major fetal abnormalities, such as anencephaly, may not require a second opinion (this should be decided by local guidelines). And that was a terrible moment to be sort of hanging on, waiting. Our position in our families has shifted. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. 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. Limitations of the 18-20 week scan And even at that early stage it was beginning to sink in that there was something really not right. We understand the real meaning of "shit happens". In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. By the time I left the hospital, I was in shock. My partner spent the weekend trying to convince me that things were OK. An hour passed and I started to panic. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. I believed at this point I had miscarried, they wanted me to come back I'm for a follow up scan. Because we knew that that wasn't normal, that wasn't what we'd experienced before, it wasn't just the, 'There's the arm, there's the leg, oh look the baby's moving'. Rather sharply, my partner tried to explain. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. 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'. And I assumed my partner would feel the same. 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'. I had to take a tablet there and then, under the supervision of a nurse, to end the pregnancy. She brought up a picture of the heart on the screen. We had the baby cremated. I should stop being dramatic and pessimistic. We thought it would all be over very quickly but, in fact, it was another 11 hours before the baby was delivered. I was then told yet again bad news. You could see her face, and the major aspect that was, that was the indication of what was wrong was the thickening at the back of the neck in this instance, which, when you're looking at a fetus is, you know, sort of half a centimetre thicker or not is completely immaterial to me, and would look like a completely normal neck, but from the point of view of the consultant was severely abnormal. How was that scan different from the dating scan? We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. So I no longer trusted my instincts. So we'd gone through the Down's syndrome or worse scare, we'd had conversations about what we would do, if it was confirmed that it was Down's syndrome or another syndrome, another sort of chromosome abnormality. 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 hormone levels had dropped, but they wanted to scan me again. The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. In most cases the scan will show that your baby appears to be developing as expected but sometimes a condition is found or suspected.

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