This was a ray of hope for us. It would be a personal tragedy for my partner and me, but that is all. So it was quite common, this is what happens. Thinking back, I don't know how we left without him. It was all going wrong and I wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. As soon as we arrived, we were shown to this little room. I was then told yet again bad news. 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. . 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. Some people we talked to had not had a 18-20-week scan, either because their babies' abnormalities had been detected by earlier . There, I would give birth. It took 20 minutes to push him out. It felt so wrong. The doctor explained the options I had to manage my miscarriage. I don't know how we got through the next couple of days. That they could have spotted something, or not? We had to discuss what we wanted to do with the little body after delivery. Apologise for somehow doubting their right to be in this world. After that I got, I, it was about in, in 19-, hang on a minute, 2001 I got pregnant again, slightly unexpectedly. I was becoming numb to the whole process. Specialist scans
The pain was excruciating, but nothing compared to how I felt inside. It went from bad, to worse, to worse, to dire, then to better. Parents get a chance to emotionally adapt to news and plan. So, in the end, we said we would arrange our own funeral. You have rejected additional cookies. 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. During the examination, sonographers need to keep the screen in a position that gives them a good view of your baby. Mm-hm. No, we really didn't, with hindsight we probably should have, but not at all, it never occurred to us to be worried about it. Being deeply unhappy and kind to others at the same time is nigh on impossible. The doctor wanted to do another blood test to confirm a significant drop in my hormone levels. If one of the conditions is found or suspected, the sonographer may ask for a second opinion from another member of staff. And at that point I don't think we, I don't think we realised that there might have to be a decision, because we'd talked about it with, with Down's and the other possible problems, but at this point it was, well okay what can be done to fix the problem - because yes the heart's not developing properly but there must be something we can do. Where we were living then at the time you only had a scan at 20 weeks. That he - I think I was 21 weeks and 3 days, and he was coming up at 19 weeks and 4 days, or something like that. So I lay on the bed and my partner sat next to me. 18-20 week scans provide clinicians with more information than earlier scans because by18 weeks a healthy baby should be larger and better developed. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Instinctively, did it feel right? Seeing your baby on a screen can be really exciting. Tissue paper will be tucked around your clothing to protect it from the ultrasound gel, which will then be put on your tummy. This image shows a baby's face and hands at 20 weeks, and gives you an idea of what you'll be able to see at this scan. In most cases the scan will show that your baby appears to be developing as expected but sometimes a condition is found or suspected. We decided that we wanted medication to help me. The same rush of excitement. The people who did know what was going on seemed far too sure that we were doing the right thing, that there was really no choice to be made. I thought surely everything is ok, as they couldn't detect twins the week before. 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. I used to think the feeling of your baby kicking inside you and the sight of a foot poking against your skin were the most fantastic things in the world. I endured 12 hours of medication and in the early hours February 7, 56 days after my first scan (at nearly 18 weeks), I miscarried our babies. x. But it was very evident. Bad news at 20 week scan, please help. | Mumsnet Again, we weren't understood. I know it is still early days. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. The scan can provide information that may mean you have to make further, important decisions. I have a terrible hatred of pregnant women and a new respect for infertile couples. You have accepted additional cookies. Later, I did see and hold our baby. Next most likely is that baby doesn't co-operate and they can't see some parts of anatomy and call you back 2 weeks later just because they couldn't see (i had this but because twin pregnancy I was due to be scanned 2 weeks later anyway). The doctor didn't come. Some people had underestimated how serious any abnormality found at this stage could be for the baby. I think I was about 20 weeks cos they, the hospital I think did the 12 and the 20, that was their standard thing and, yeah, so I got the 20 weeks one. I took my vitamins, stuck to the healthy diet and put on a brave face. Several women had taken young children with them to the 20-week scan because they expected to see 'nice pictures of the baby'. unfortunately the 20 week anomaly scan can pick up serious issues, hearing heart beats at midwife appointment doesn't let us know what's going on inside the body in detail. 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.. There is always a chance that a baby may be born with a health issue that scans could not have identified. As I was called for my scan I was nervous and emotional. Desperately trying to hold onto the glimmer of hope we'd been given. I had to be rescanned latter. 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. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales company number 3266897. We scattered his ashes over a bunch of snowdrops. If you are not sure, you can contact them and ask. 'I was having nightmares and panic attacks. And that was Monday afternoon. In fact, interestingly enough, going sort of. Looked exactly like our two year old as a baby. It felt as if we'd gone underground, that we were part of the criminal fraternity. Did you, how did that scan make you feel? Several parents said they would have preferred being told something, even it was vague. Next most likely (but actually in the minority) they identify something which whilst not 100% healthy is treatable. There was an extra digit on one of the hands. factor is very strong. No, you couldn't see there was anything wrong. We'd sort of put those discussions to the back of our mind, and then all of a sudden there are other abnormalities so yeah it was a bit a bit of a shocker [laughs]. 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.'. Could she possibly have something that's not been detected? For five months my body had known there was something wrong, yet I had felt fantastic. There was complete silence during the scan. The hardest thing I have ever done. No one else attended and we didn't have a service. He bluntly told me, he wasn't interested in whatever was seen before, he was only going to go by what he saw that day. So that just left the talipes. We were denying him his life. I think there might be a problem'. An appointment should be arranged as soon as possible and ideally within three working days. The consultant explained that this was just very bad luck and not, as far as they knew, genetic. But I still didn't want to be the one who stopped this baby's chance to live. So when that happened to us I really didn't worry, I thought, you know, it was literally the baby was in awkward position, they couldn't see the heart and that was why. So I suppose from that aspect, mind you having not been told that or sitting there, I wouldn't have thought necessarily that was odd. If you choose not to have the scan you can still have all other parts of your routine antenatal care. You will then be asked to raise your top to your chest and lower your skirt or trousers to your hips. The same anxious wait for a little, pathetic cry. How common is it to find anomolies at the 20 week scan? - Netmums Has anyone been told the sex incorrectly at their 20 week scan? I still feel guilty, I still cry at random times. Tommys is a registered charity in England and Wales (1060508) and Scotland (SC039280). 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'. 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. However, at the time neither of us could articulate that. See more information about the 20-week ultrasound scan. 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. 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. Originally I hadn't wanted to go down that road. With my oldest it turns out she has a minor thing that affects 1 in 1000 of the population and wont harm her at all it's just "there" and with my second the issue turned out to be nothing. Picture every packed football staduim up and down the country - all healthy pregnancies and births. But he was not sure. What would we like to do with the body? Or, at the very least, heart problems. It's part of our family. And my partner and I would have a completely different life from the one we'd imagined. But for those few days they were torture. The baby was very, very small. 'Yes, if that's okay with you,' kind of thing, like you do. I was then told yet again bad news. We'd just spent some time away on a, on a summer holiday and come back expecting to have this scan and be told, 'All fine. You do not have to have the scan. Away you go'. I couldn't really believe what they were saying. And even at that early stage it was beginning to sink in that there was something really not right. I was given a leaflet and told to return four days later to see the consultant. We're still not at the end of our journey, but we're much further along. The doctor or midwife looking after you will let you know before you come. Some of the conditions that can be seen on the scan will mean the baby may need treatment or surgery after it is born, for example cleft lip. . We had the 20 week scan yesterday and got some devastating news. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, midwife or hospital immediately. 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. Soon, the doctor came and inserted the tablets that would induce labour. 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. 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. You could see her face, and the major aspect that was, that was the indication of what was wrong was the thickening at the back of the neck in this instance, which, when you're looking at a fetus is, you know, sort of half a centimetre thicker or not is completely immaterial to me, and would look like a completely normal neck, but from the point of view of the consultant was severely abnormal. So that was it. 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. Laura miscarried her twin babies in February.