During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. factor is very strong. Try to relax and take it easy. We don't know, but it's not looking good'. He was tiny, perfect and a Down's syndrome baby. It was sick. Forcing my hand to my mouth to take the tablet was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. Most scans are carried out by specially trained staff called sonographers. I had no issues at my 20wk scan with DD - and neither did any of my antenatal group (9 mums). Again the legs were quite twisted, they said that the baby's sternum was very short - things weren't in proportion you know - the head was quite large, the neck was very thick, there wasn't really like a neck as such it was just things were kind of - there were lots of things that obviously the consultant could see that we weren't aware of. The 18-20 week antenatal scan and further tests. Again, we weren't understood. 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. So it was quite common, this is what happens. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. I didn't have a clue. Surely he couldn't have missed anything else that is so serious x. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. 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). 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 '. Hugely upset that to think that the baby was so poorly. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. 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. SO much upset and needless angst has been caused by 'soft markers' found at scans. 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. 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. 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. Sam squeezed my hand and told me it was ok. 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. 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. Others said they were shocked because all the early diagnostic tests (e.g. I would be put to sleep, and when I woke up I wouldn't be pregnant any more. Well send you a link to a feedback form. We would terminate the pregnancy. But before he could speak, he, too, had broken down. And how wrong could they be? Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. It is a noise that will stay with me for ever. Read full disclaimer. I had to stop myself from yanking out the needle. There, I would give birth. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Everywhere you look, there are happy, fat, smug pregnant women. This does not mean there is anything to worry about. At first, I still had to deal with the physical implications of having given birth. 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. 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'. So on the Monday we went in to see the senior sonographer, I think she was a consultant at the hospital. Abortion has never raised any moral dilemmas for me and I am an atheist, so there are no religious issues. It's a bit at the back of the brain and - no I can't remember what it is - it's called, it's something that's called Dandy-Walker mal, 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). But other than that everything was fine. Purpose of screening. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to me. Life expectancy of 30 or 40. 80 percent of my pregnancies have ended in death and I felt like they were telling me those babies didn't matter. The consultant had said it wouldn't be like a normal delivery. I went home feeling crushed; Sam and I both felt helpless. I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. Only this time, no cry came. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. I ran into the bedroom to tell Sam, who was ecstatic. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. 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. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. The baby was kicking so hard that I began to believe him. Within two days I was waiting in my local EPU unit for further tests. And shortly after that, that scan we'd finished and the consultant leant back and said, 'I'm afraid we have some problems here'. And you could see, where you should have a picture of 4 chambers, you could really see 2. The scan looks for 11 different conditions in your baby and cannot find everything that might be wrong. I remember thinking, 'Gosh' I now know it was a girl, I didn't know that then, that, 'She looks just like her brother'. 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 tried to show him the notes and the photos. Our week-by-week PREGNANCY emails are a must for parents-to-be. But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. When he came back, he agreed on a termination. I get terribly irritated by my close friends and family. 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. So we gave up and said we'd arrange the funeral ourselves. 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. 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. See you in -. 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. Many people were deeply affected by their experiences of the 20-week and subsequent specialist scans. She didn't want to see the baby. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, midwife or hospital immediately. 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. 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. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. I wasn't ready to make a decision straight away, and I was told I could call them in the morning. I give pregnant women dirty looks. After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. I did. 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. I went away and came back, and she couldn't get a good picture. She advised I be referred to the EPU to be assessed. As I left the room to compose myself. I wanted to let nature take its course. I was becoming numb to the whole process. The baby kicked, blissfully unaware of what I had done. However painful and traumatic the labour was, it was better than what would happen at the end of it. It was exactly like the labour I had with my first child. 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. 20 week scans look for 11 different anomalies as a rule, however, indicators (markers) are not terribly reliable and in all the literature I found, the targets set for stonographers look like they only pick up around 50% or less of these variants. For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. 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 rarest scenario is that the baby is severely ill and choices will need to be made. She describes having to make a momentous decision very quickly, and the ferment of relief, guilt and grief that followed, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. I had never imagined having an amniocentesis. No one else but my partner saw how similar he was to our son. Could you tell? 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. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. Never being able to look after himself. That was an extremely difficult day. In some very serious rare cases, where no treatment is possible, the baby will die soon after it is born or during pregnancy. I was booked back in to discuss management options, if nothing had happened. However, a few hours later there was another shift change. As two youngest siblings, we were both permanently stuck in the irresponsible, childish role. 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?' The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." She didn't say at the time that it was a major problem or that it was something to watch out for. All my plans were beginning to fall down. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. And that was Monday afternoon. At the time the same thing had, exactly the same thing had happened to my friend a month before, and her scan was absolutely fine. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. If you are offered further tests, you will be given more information about them so that you can decide whether or not you want to have them. I had to take a tablet there and then, under the supervision of a nurse, to end the pregnancy. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. I was sent home with a leaflet, strong painkillers and two types of antibiotics. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. I wasn't unduly worried at all. We spent the next few weeks in a happy bubble. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. Slightly marked from our peers. Our nightmare began when I went for my 20-week scan. I mean, you just, you're just overwhelmed, it's so much fun. I had to be rescanned latter. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. You can change your cookie settings at any time. 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. Thankfully I was met by an amazing sonographer, she was compassionate and understanding. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. 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. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. There's nothing wrong, you know, we've had all the tests, everything's fine,' and being very upbeat about it all. I was willing the results to be normal. 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'. The scan yet again confirmed things were not good, however the sac had grown. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. This was on the Friday. 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 appointment usually takes around 30 minutes. 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. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. Having the scan does not hurt but the sonographer may need to apply slight pressure to get the best views of your baby.