u/s ever wrong on baby's health?

[Hobbermittens]

I am debating skipping my amnio appointment and just waiting for my u/s at 18 weeks. I am just afraid of getting an "all clear" at the u/s only to find out later that the baby has issues.

Has anyone had an u/s that showed a healthy baby, only to find out later that the baby wasn't healthy after all??

[*ruby*]

If you are concerned about chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome then an ultrasound will only give you a risk screening while the amnio can actually diagnose a problem. So you may receive a higher risk on U/S and then be offered to go on and have an amino which can either rule out or diagnose the problem.

Regarding other health issues such as heart defects, cleft palate/lip etc.. U/S can often pick up these things but they are by no means a sure thing. I'm a midwife and we still see babies born with problems undiagnosed during pregnancy. While medical advancements have made it easier for us to relax a bit during pregnancy I think it's important to understand that a clear u/s is not a definitive answer.

Fortunately the majority of babies ARE born completely healthy u/s or not and those born with undiagnosed problems can usually be successfully treated.

Good luck in your decision.

[Hobbermittens]

Thanks Ruby. I am just terrified that the amnio will cause me to miscarry and I don't want to have it done. I am hoping the u/s will set my mind at ease if everything is okay there, but I don't want false hope.

[*ruby*]

I completely understand re risk of miscarriage with the amino. Why don't you wait for u/s results and go from there.

Personally I would only consider an amnio if I received high risk u/s results, but i understand it can be a difficult descision to make.

[Hobbermittens]

My 12 wk u/s was good. I hope that means all will be well at the anatomy scan.

[Zivic-Bubac]

FX everything goes OK and you don't have to do the amnio :luck:

[Hobbermittens]

Thanks, Z. I really don't want to do it. :(

[Yuzu]

When my blood tests and ultrasound came back good with DS3, I decided against the amnio. I thought the risk wasn't worth it. I think if everything looks good you can skip it.

[Sunset]

Well, it's not something that can be picked up by amnio but I got the all clear with ds1 at my 20 week scan and he was born with heart disease which was only discovered when he was 2 days old. Ultrasound scans can only detect around 50% of cases where there is a problem so it's by no means foolproof. But the chance of something going wrong after an amnio is greater than your chance of having a baby with a genetic disease.

[rainbowflower]

have a read here: Anomaly scan (20 weeks) (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/scans/secondtrimesterscans/#12)

Some conditions are easier to spot than others; some are hard to see at all. Most of the conditions on the list are very rare. Here's the list of conditions, and the percentage chance of your sonographer seeing each one, if your baby has it:
Absence of the top of the head (anencephaly): 98 per cent


Cleft lip: 75 per cent


Defect of the abdominal wall (exomphalos): 80 per cent


Defect of the abdominal wall (gastroschisis): 98 per cent


Missing or very short limbs: 90 per cent


Defect of the spinal cord (spina bifida): 90 per cent


Major kidney problems (missing or abnormal kidneys): 84 per cent


Hole in the muscle separating chest and abdomen (diaphragmatic hernia): 60 per cent


Excess fluid within the brain (hydrocephalus): 60 per cent


Edwards' syndrome or Patau's syndrome (chromosomal abnormalities): 95 per cent


Major heart problems (defects of chambers, valves or vessels): 50 per cent
Some conditions, including heart defects and bowel obstructions, may not be seen until later in your pregnancy. Having your anomoly scan will most likely rule out all these conditions, as the vast majority of babies are born healthy.


Personally DH and I could never abort even if the baby had a life-limiting condition, so we decided not to have any further testing as it wouldn't change anything for us but could give additional worry

[Hobbermittens]

When my blood tests and ultrasound came back good with DS3, I decided against the amnio. I thought the risk wasn't worth it. I think if everything looks good you can skip it.

Can you tell me what your calculated risk was? Mine for downs is 1:120, which my doctor says is good, because my age related risk is something like 1:80. I know 1:120 is less than a 1% chance, so that's pretty good. Right? How old were you when you had DS3? I am 39.

[Hobbermittens]

Rainbow, thanks for that link and that info!

[Hobbermittens]

Well, it's not something that can be picked up by amnio but I got the all clear with ds1 at my 20 week scan and he was born with heart disease which was only discovered when he was 2 days old. Ultrasound scans can only detect around 50% of cases where there is a problem so it's by no means foolproof. But the chance of something going wrong after an amnio is greater than your chance of having a baby with a genetic disease.

Has your DS had to have surgery? How did they discover his heart problem?

[atomic sagebrush]

Wow Rainbow that is brilliant, thanks! I'm not having testing but it is nice to see it laid out like that.

I read that if you're thin it's way more likely that they will be able to see stuff than if you are heavier-set, but at the same time if you're heavy-set, amnios are riskier too so it's a tough decision for heavier moms to make. I also read that older women have higher risks from amnios than younger women do so for some of us, our risks may be higher from amnio than the general population. So we get scared into having amnios because we have higher risks of some disorders (and heaven knows they never shut up about that!!) but no one ever once has told me that risks from amnio are actually as much as doubled if you're over 40!

All that aside, I wonder if you will ever have peace of mind without the amnio, though?? You've put a lot of thought into this and I wonder if you'd just have more peace of mind if you did go thru with it.

[Hobbermittens]

Wow Rainbow that is brilliant, thanks! I'm not having testing but it is nice to see it laid out like that.

I read that if you're thin it's way more likely that they will be able to see stuff than if you are heavier-set, but at the same time if you're heavy-set, amnios are riskier too so it's a tough decision for heavier moms to make. I also read that older women have higher risks from amnios than younger women do so for some of us, our risks may be higher from amnio than the general population. So we get scared into having amnios because we have higher risks of some disorders (and heaven knows they never shut up about that!!) but no one ever once has told me that risks from amnio are actually as much as doubled if you're over 40!

All that aside, I wonder if you will ever have peace of mind without the amnio, though?? You've put a lot of thought into this and I wonder if you'd just have more peace of mind if you did go thru with it.

Crap, I didn't know any of that about the heavier thing. I am definitely heavier than I should be--not obese, but probably 30lbs more than I should be (maybe that does count as obese!) and a lot of it is around my middle. :worry:

I also didn't know the risk of amnio went up with age, either. :worry: My gut feeling is that I DON'T want the test. I am just scared of a miscarriage. I hate to go against my gut feeling, because if something went wrong, I would never forgive myself!

At this point I am almost positive that I will just see what the u/s says andgo from there. I am wondering if my Dr would let me get two u/s, one as a "second opinion" at another high risk clinic.

[nuthinbutpink]

Where I live, once over 35, you go to a specialist for all u/s.

[Hobbermittens]

Where I live, once over 35, you go to a specialist for all u/s.

They have me seeing a doctor at a maternal fetal medicine clinic, so I am getting a high resolution u/s by a specialist. Definitely better than going to the local hospital with their old dinosaur of an u/s machine! I was just thinking if I got two of the high resolution u/s from two different places, I would have an even better idea of what was going on in there... just not sure if my Dr. will go for it, and he would have to refer me.

[Sunset]

Has your DS had to have surgery? How did they discover his heart problem?

It was discovered when he was 2 days old when the doctor came and did the routine baby checks. He had a heart murmur which he told me is quite normal for newborn babies but that he would come back the next day and the heart murmur should then have gone if it was a normal murmur.. but it hadn't so they sent my son for further ultrasound scans which picked up on a hole in his heart. The hole at the time wasnt large but it wasnt small enough to ignore either so at first he had to go every 3 months for check ups but after his first birthday it started closing up and now he only has to go every 3 years for routine check ups. We've been incredibly lucky that nature decided to heal itself and we're hoping that next time he goes for a check up that it will have closed up completely... either way he won't need surgery :) :)

[Hobbermittens]

That's great sunset! How lucky that he healed up and hasn't needed surgery.

[atomic sagebrush]

Crap, I didn't know any of that about the heavier thing. I am definitely heavier than I should be--not obese, but probably 30lbs more than I should be (maybe that does count as obese!) and a lot of it is around my middle. :worry:

I also didn't know the risk of amnio went up with age, either. :worry: My gut feeling is that I DON'T want the test. I am just scared of a miscarriage. I hate to go against my gut feeling, because if something went wrong, I would never forgive myself!

At this point I am almost positive that I will just see what the u/s says andgo from there. I am wondering if my Dr would let me get two u/s, one as a "second opinion" at another high risk clinic.

Oh, I'm so sorry, didn't mean anything by that, I just read it and found it interesting. That was actually an (unsuccessful!) attempt to reassure you about the ultrasound, because the odds are quite good that for the average sized woman they can see even better than they can with the population as a whole and so the numbers that Rainbow posted are probably even higher for a person of a relatively normal weight.

I don't think they're talking about 30 lbs, they're talking about 130 lbs., KWIM?? I don't think 30 lbs could possibly make that much difference.

[begonia]

Hobbs when is your 20 week scan?

I do have 2 friends who had babies born with Down's, MILD cases, that were not detected via u/s. One had an NT scan and the other didn't, both had the 20 week scan. Both were under age 30. Anyhow, the babes are 3 and 4 now and are doing really well :) I have another friend like Sunset who had an undiagnosed heart condition that was mild; theirs required surgery but he is 100% a-ok!

:luck: odds are VERY much in your favor on this. FX you find peace with whatever decision you make!

[Hobbermittens]

Begonia, that kind of worries me! :worry: My scan is in a couple weeks (I am getting one at 18.5 weeks). I skipped my amnio appt today, and I don't regret that, but I am concerned when I hear stories like yours about undetected down's cases. The u/s are supposed to pick up markers, right??

[begonia]

I know Hobbs, I hesitated to tell you bc I am sure it's not what you or any pregnant woman wants to hear. But like I said, they are both mild cases (both boys), so much so that you can hardly tell by looking at them.

And realistically think of all the babies born every single day that DON'T have a single issue. That's why I say odds are very much in your favor that this bean, like your other 3, is going to be JUST fine.

But I totally understand the fears. I have breathed a huge sigh of relief every time my babies come out screaming and healthy. Pregnancy is a roller coaster.

[Hobbermittens]

Did they have a high resolution (level 2) u/s or just the standard one? I assume (hope!) that there is a better success rate detecting things when a better machine is used.

[atomic sagebrush]

I also think they may look a lot closer at moms who are older than younger moms. With my last ultrasound, the baby wouldn't hold still so they could get a look at the heart and they made me stay in there for a really long time until they could see it.

[LolaInLove]

I was wondering if you did the amnio or not. Like Atomic said, I am sure they will do a really thorough scan, and like Begonia said, I am sure your bub is just fine!!!

[Hobbermittens]

Thanks, Lola. I hope everything is fine. I have been waiting to tell people about the pregnancy until I had an idea of how the baby was, but someone outed me at the grocery store today... so I guess I have to start telling people! I am really showing, so I am sure a lot of people suspect but just aren't asking. I just hope it doesn't get o FB before we tell our parents.

[fresas]

Both ultrasounds for my sons were right. The first one indicated normal development and health (correct) and with DS 2, the technician found a missing artery in the umbilical chord (correct). Later, during a heart and kidney study, the perinatologist didn't see anything abnormal (correct).