Ultra Sound
Jan. 5th, 2010 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheThe icon is actually Linnea's scan, which was at 20 weeks or so. But today's scan went well, and the baby held the same pose, cupped hand up to mouth with fingers clearly visible, nose and mouth visible with a careful look. 13 weeks now.
We went to the scan and the technician asked chattily what we were hoping for; I said "A skull." So she first said "there's the skull, and the spine, they're fine," and I was able to look at the screen. She then showed us all the bits of the anatomy - the heart, both sides of the brain, the abdomen, feet and hands. She exclaimed "Oh that's cute!" when the baby sucked its thumb.
Rob feels that the whole thing is more real now and I have alleviated a big worry, which I knew was largely unfounded but still worried about.
Then there was the nonsense about the downs screening. "You want the combined screening?" "No, I want the nuchal fold screening." "OK."
About three people said that, but nonetheless I was directed, after the nuchal fold measurements were taken, to go and get blood drawn. So I did, and then the care assistant said "We need to have your weight."
I said "No, you don't, you just prefer to for your systems."
She had to go up the food chain to find someone who could officially accept that we declined the combined test and only wanted the nuchal fold one. But we managed it, and she understood that our declining the standardised testing was something the system ought to be able to cope with and just didn't because it's so unusual.
It's not the test I object to, though; it's the weighing. They weigh one once and use that measurement. They'd have weighed me at 5 weeks pregnant - only a few days after missing a period - wearing my light shoes, and used that. Or today they'd have weighed me wearing my hiking boots, two layers of winter underwear, many jumpers etc, at 13 weeks pregnant and being significantly larger. They would treat both of those weights as meaning *exactly the same thing* for the test; the forms they send to the lab have no place for "approx weight of clothing" or "week of pregnancy at which weight measured."
Along with all the other things they claim to be able to judge using weight, I find that ridiculous.
And I intend to get to the end of this pregnancy without being weighed. I wasn't weighed either of the other times, because there was no clinical reason to do so and it wasn't policy; I was told at the time that this was because weighing pregnant women can make them restrict their food unnecessarily, which is not desirable.
We went to the scan and the technician asked chattily what we were hoping for; I said "A skull." So she first said "there's the skull, and the spine, they're fine," and I was able to look at the screen. She then showed us all the bits of the anatomy - the heart, both sides of the brain, the abdomen, feet and hands. She exclaimed "Oh that's cute!" when the baby sucked its thumb.
Rob feels that the whole thing is more real now and I have alleviated a big worry, which I knew was largely unfounded but still worried about.
Then there was the nonsense about the downs screening. "You want the combined screening?" "No, I want the nuchal fold screening." "OK."
About three people said that, but nonetheless I was directed, after the nuchal fold measurements were taken, to go and get blood drawn. So I did, and then the care assistant said "We need to have your weight."
I said "No, you don't, you just prefer to for your systems."
She had to go up the food chain to find someone who could officially accept that we declined the combined test and only wanted the nuchal fold one. But we managed it, and she understood that our declining the standardised testing was something the system ought to be able to cope with and just didn't because it's so unusual.
It's not the test I object to, though; it's the weighing. They weigh one once and use that measurement. They'd have weighed me at 5 weeks pregnant - only a few days after missing a period - wearing my light shoes, and used that. Or today they'd have weighed me wearing my hiking boots, two layers of winter underwear, many jumpers etc, at 13 weeks pregnant and being significantly larger. They would treat both of those weights as meaning *exactly the same thing* for the test; the forms they send to the lab have no place for "approx weight of clothing" or "week of pregnancy at which weight measured."
Along with all the other things they claim to be able to judge using weight, I find that ridiculous.
And I intend to get to the end of this pregnancy without being weighed. I wasn't weighed either of the other times, because there was no clinical reason to do so and it wasn't policy; I was told at the time that this was because weighing pregnant women can make them restrict their food unnecessarily, which is not desirable.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-06 11:04 pm (UTC)By the time the triple-test blood test results came back it was too late for the nuchal-fold scan. The triple-test results seem to have coloured the way we were treated throughout Debbie's pregnancy, and none of the tests could actually tell us what we needed to know so we aren't sure we will have any tests next time.
For those who don't know us, we weren't prepared to terminate on the strength of any of the Down's tests or risk losing the baby with an invasive test. We have a happy, healthy seven-month old boy with Down's who so far was no evidence of problems caused by his genes.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-06 11:13 pm (UTC)Congratulations on your baby :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-07 08:27 am (UTC)The triple test gave us a 1 in 14, which we allowed ourselves to think was a 93% probability of being normal, and Debbie was convinced that her intuition said that everything was fine.
We spent the pregnancy thinking all would be fine, and being annoyed at the scans (the final tally was 13) because he seemed to have a small stomach and the consultant who "couldn't quite persuade herself that is heart was completely normal" so called in the specialist from London*.
When he was born and they said he (probably) had Down's it was a surprise but not a complete shock, although Debbie refused to believe it until his blood test result came back, so I'm not sure that the "1 in 14" did a lot to make us mentally prepared.
* Who said that it was absolutely fine, just like the one who checked his heart when he was born. He had a final heart scan at six months and the consultant not only said it was fine but "beautiful".