Forum 1st trimester

Nuchal translucency measurement

7 replies

KatyGuest ·
Hi everyone!
I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and yesterday was finally the day for my ultrasound!
It didn't go smoothly at all; we were sent for walks again and again by the gynecologist because the baby wasn't positioned well for the nuchal translucency measurement. In the end, she managed to take a few measurements. These showed that the nuchal fold was thickened. However, the blood test showed that there's only a 1 in 3000 chance of Down syndrome. I now have to wait and see what the further measurements reveal. This was the last thing I expected at the age of 23. What do you all think?

Replies

  1. Maartje #2

    What is the combined chance of nuchal translucency and blood test?

  2. Nancy Guest #3

    Even healthy babies can have a thickened nuchal fold. Your blood test results are good though. Are they going to do further tests or was that offered to you?

    Hopefully, there's nothing wrong. I know someone who was 36 when pregnant and had a 1 in 99 chance plus a thickened nuchal fold. She ended up having a healthy daughter.

  3. Katy started this #4

    The combined chance from both tests is 1 in 800. The gynecologist did recommend the NIPT test to me. But I think that’s a fairly good result?

  4. Anonymous Guest #5

    Yeah, normally you only get follow-up tests offered if the risk is 1 in 200 or lower.

    Tough choice... You should do what feels right for you and your partner.

    We never had a nuchal translucency scan because there was no NIPT available when my first daughter was born. I wouldn't have done a CVS or amniocentesis because of the risk of miscarriage. If it turned out my baby was healthy, I'd never forgive myself. So it didn't have any added value for us.

    For us, it was welcome even if it had Down syndrome – that's something you need to think carefully about. What you'd do with the results...

    Hope you get a healthy baby.

  5. Maartje #6

    That sounds like a pretty good result, indeed. I never got the separate tests, only combined ones. How thick was the nuchal fold then?

  6. Mams #7

    A friend of mine had a test that was completely fine.
    She and her partner were both 26 years old at the time.

    In the end, she gave birth to a baby with Down syndrome.

    Nothing is ruled out by age; no one in the family has disabilities.

  7. Anoniem89 Guest #8

    Hi,
    My story was a bit of the opposite. My nuchal fold measurement was very good (1mm) and the nasal bone was present too. But my blood test showed that the hcg level was elevated, which can also happen in pregnancies with Down syndrome. So despite the really good ultrasound, the chance of having a baby with Down suddenly jumped to 1/450. The gynecologist called me at home in the evening about it... She recommended a NIPT test for any risk higher than 1/500. So we just went ahead and had it done. After two weeks we got the results and everything turned out normal. For your risk of 1/800 she wouldn't have recommended the NIPT test, but that varies from doctor to doctor.

    We decided to do the NIPT test because we wanted to be prepared if it turned out we were expecting a baby with Down, we didn't want to be surprised during childbirth.
    I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. There are many babies with a thickened nuchal fold who end up having no abnormalities. If you really want to know, the NIPT test is quite accurate. With an abnormal result it's almost certain there is an abnormality, but that still has to be confirmed by amniocentesis or CVS, because NIPT can give false positives. And apparently they haven't missed a single case of Down syndrome, so if the test is normal, you can really feel confident
    Whatever you decide to do, NIPT or not, don't worry too much and enjoy your pregnancy!
    Greetings

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