We went in, had a scan, I can't remember the exact sequence of events because the baby was still in the wrong position. 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. 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. 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. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. Which she reassured us that she'd be absolutely fine, this was a one-off. Three midwives came and went. Eventually, the midwife said to us very sweetly, "I think we should deliver the baby now." The 18 -20 week fetal anomaly scan is a watershed in most pregnancies because for the majority of women it will be the last time they are scanned before giving birth. 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.'. An hour passed and I started to panic. Sometimes it is difficult to get good views of a baby. 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 choroid plexus cysts on their own, no problem, but if there's something else wrong, then that's a problem. Which is what I'd seen. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. So it was quite common, this is what happens. This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/screening-tests-for-you-and-your-baby/11-physical-conditions-20-week-scan. We didn't feel we could tell anyone what was happening. 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'. Never being able to look after himself. 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). My baby might have Down's syndrome. It was just sort of deadpan faces, very serious looks, someone else coming to check. 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. 20-week ultrasound (anomaly scan) - BabyCenter Australia Find more information and details of support groups on NHS.UK. Some things can be seen more clearly than others. The thing that I have a very strong memory of is this child's face in amazing detail. The doctor didn't come. It took 20 minutes to push him out. 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. I travelled to work that day feeling amazing. So instead, I was advised to go home and let nature take its course. I'm trying to understand because I haven't seen a 3-D scan, what it tells the parents? And in this instance the scan was very evident that there was something very seriously wrong. But it is a soft marker for Edwards' syndrome. Baby loss stories The first words I said were: "If there's anything wrong then it's my fault", I had been working 70, nearly 80 hours the previous weeks and pushed myself hard. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks. 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. Last reviewed July 2017. So it was, there was very, very little movement from the baby because I remembered first time round by that stage, you know, that the baby was quite big and it moved around a lot at a later scan. We talked about the different sorts of pain relief I could have and I opted for a morphine drip, which I could control. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. Living in this world must be unbearable for them. It seemed a very arbitrary system, and so you quite often sat outside in the waiting room for a couple of hours before you actually got to see the consultant, which was, seemed you know, I kind of remember thinking before we went in to see him on the particular day when we found out there was a problem, 'Why are we sitting here? 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. He suggested he perform an amniocentesis immediately, to rule out any chromosomal problems. Christmas came and went in a blur of emotion, it felt so wrong to be celebrating when we were in such turmoil. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February. How was that scan different from the dating scan? We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. I was willing the results to be normal. I felt empty, scared, guilty and incredibly heartbroken. I know its hard- but i really wouldnt worry about it too much as the worry will stress you and your body out. The same anxious wait for a little, pathetic cry. 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. We felt as if we were in limbo. He told me that they may want to do blood tests, but that 'he didn't see the point'. Some say this estimate is really below the reality, and the out-of-pocket average costs are higher. We left the hospital a couple of hours later. I can't remember the exact words but she said, 'There might be some fatal problems with your baby'. I know I could have delivered him in a quarter of the time, but I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving me. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. Is it the same scan or is it the same equipment? If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. I had to wait yet another sleepless night. 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. Emma was 20 weeks' pregnant when a routine scan revealed that the baby she was expecting had Down's syndrome and heart problems. It's part of our family. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. I was experiencing some light bleeding for the past few days. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. I want to enjoy my son again, without any reservations. I then had to wait in the room along with many other patients for an hour so they could observe me. By my own hand, I had to end the pregnancy. 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. Your mind has closed to the possibility that there could be anything wrong. How common is it for 2nd baby to come early..? But everything seemed fine and we'd been sitting waiting to see the consultant, and I'd had an examination on the bed. They sort of drew some diagrams, and they said, 'But we need to refer you to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis'. But even if I was there, I still think I would have wanted to see the detail on the scan. But on, in the middle of March, 10th March it was, we had a 20 week scan. Nice people shouldn't hear about what we'd done. So we decided to book an early 10 week private scan. On January 18, my baby was born, at 23 weeks - a little boy. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? After the triple test you stop thinking, you stop thinking that anything can go wrong. 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.. 15/02/2014 08:02. This was a ray of hope for us. 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. You've had your, you know, you've had your triple test and everything was fine. And, for a few hours, I'm convinced I've made a terrible mistake. The doctor gave her consent, and I took the four little tablets. 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! So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. I give pregnant women dirty looks. When I see a child with Down's syndrome, I have a tremendous need to explain myself and apologise a million times over. The termination would be averting a tragedy. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. And with each one we had to have the same conversations. And at the end of the day however much we talked about it - that it was going to be the two of us to make the decision and me to actually you know, go through it and decide that that was what was going to happen for him - and I just, I didn't want to do it. You do not have to have the scan. I was becoming numb to the whole process. So I took the test and jumped in the shower. Another sick joke. He's now had the all clear and is wriggling round on . 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. Mm-hm. Others said they were shocked because all the early diagnostic tests (e.g. So we left it there, and we didn't actually think that there was anything really to worry about after that scan. All my instincts were to protect my belly, yet here I was allowing someone to stick a huge needle into it. I just feel very unlucky. We bought little outfits, teddies, and researched all the vitamins and foods that I could eat. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. And so began the most bizarre day of my life. But worse was to come. He then told us what the prognosis would mean for the child. 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 at least then we went to that next stage prepared for the worst really. The decision to terminate the pregnancy was my partner's and mine. And I'm glad I did and she's glad she didn't. Away you go'. While some parents understood the clinician's restraint - even when they had to wait an hour or more for a definite diagnosis - others disliked being kept in suspense and wanted to be told what the clinician was thinking. 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. And they took us out of the scanning room, into a more quiet room while they typed up the report. Then I picked myself up. But it's bloody hard being miserable the whole time. 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). We've got the same battle scars. 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. And she sort of got up and walked out of the room and called someone in. They would then re-test me in two days time. 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'. You have rejected additional cookies. 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. For example, some babies have a condition called open spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. I still feel guilty, I still cry at random times. 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. We were denying him his life. And I thought that if I were faced with the possibility of having an amnio, hours of discussion would follow - I would spend days mulling it over. Specialist scans 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. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. Instead, I had to raise a glass of water to my mouth, take a swig and swallow the tablet. But my brain had been given a train of thought that was impossible to stop. That's fine. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. I had to wait for a doctor to explain the situation. It felt as if we had gone power crazy. I want to be happy again. And for that whole time, my partner and I were both crying uncontrollably. Again, we weren't understood. I was disgusted - disgusted that such a tablet existed, let alone that I should have to take it. It's been a heartbreaking nightmare. This is not what I imagined pregnancy to feel like', Baby Loss Awareness Week - Voice Five - Bryony Seabrook. Just wonder whether anyone had ever been told? I hated my body and hated every feeling I was having. 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. 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. I remember thinking, 'that doesn't look quite right'. Sam reassured me, but the guilt had hit me along with the feeling that our world was falling apart. I guess the morphine made it easier. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. No one else felt him kick. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. In some cases concerns in utero fix themselves sometimes needs treatment. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic. Entering the labour ward, I waited for someone to say, "Go home, you are 16 weeks too early." For example, you may be offered further tests that have a risk of miscarriage. It would have been nice to see someone straight away because I was in such shock. 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. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. Have I misunderstood what's going on?' DS had 2 soft markers: talipes (club foot) and 'echogenic locii' somewhere - heart I think. I couldn't work out what was taking so long and put it down to the doctor being young and inexperienced. Finally, Monday came and we went back to the hospital. Our baby was beautiful. (See 'Resources'). In this information, the word we refers to the NHS service that provides screening. 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. So I trusted him. The week that followed was an agonising wait. My partner spent the weekend trying to convince me that things were OK. Many parents were shocked by findings from the 20-week and later scans. 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 it was Christmas Eve and at the time I didn't think, the sonographer did spend a little bit of time scanning us and queried my dates several times and then explained that she couldn't quite see the baby's heart properly and would we come back in a couple of days? It is also sometimes referred to as the mid-pregnancy scan. After preparing myself to face having to take the medication. Smiling at myself and picturing me and Sam becoming parents. 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. I agreed to an internal scan as the sonographer said we could get a better picture of what was happening. 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'. Unfortunately I was not met with a compassionate sonographer. Please ask your hospital about this before your appointment.