With thousands of award-winning articles and community groups, you can track your pregnancy and baby's growth, get answers to your toughest questions, and connect with moms, dads, and expectant parents just like you. The owner of this site is using Wordfence to manage access to their site. This test uses a combination of a maternal scan and a blood test and must be performed in an accredited Fetal medicine centre.
It was a head to toe analysis of my baby. A high risk test result in a baby with normal chromosomes can indicate an increased risk of a fetal heart abnormality and concerns with the growth of the baby during the pregnancy. But it also means there's a 5 to 21 percent chance that the tests will miss the DS and give you a screen-negative result. RADIUS Study Group.N Engl J Med. 2019. LuvnLifeWith3. So a result of 1 in 1,200 would be considered normal because the risk that there's a problem is lower than 1 in 250. Detailed fetal echocardiography can improve the detection rate but this is impractical for large populations. Is the Nuchal Translucency scan still needed if I took the NIPT? You are passing a message to a BabyCenter staff member. My ob advised that it ads additional support to results you would get from NIPS test, if you can do both then I would for peace of mind. A circumspect approach is therefore required when receiving a normal fetal morphology scan result. I’m 11 weeks and will need to schedule the scan soon if it is needed. I dont know how it'd work to have to try and get in to see some random approved OB just for the referral... My OB suggested it when I said we were opting for the NIPT. Suite 2, 25 Morehead Street, Lambton NSW 2299. Maybe ask your GP or if you call the place your having the NT scan, they could tell you. The results must be interpreted in conjunction with the nuchal translucency scan and morphology ultrasound examinations. Ewigman BG et al. (Most tests will include both the NT scan and the blood test, unless you've already had NIPT testing and opt to only have the NT scan at this time.). To help you get started read our. This is a simple non-invasive test best performed between 12-14 weeks of pregnancy to assess the risk of having a baby with a chromosome abnormality. 2012 Oct;40(4):418-25. doi: 10.1002/uog.10116. OR the tests she has written would be enough? If performed by skilled ultrasonologists it will detect a significant number of serious fetal anomalies. Plus both just flag risks, so one might find concern where the other doesn't. The 1993 RADIUS study surveyed 92 obstetric practices and 17 family practices in 6 US States and identified 15,530 low risk pregnant women who were scanned between 15-22 weeks and 31-35 weeks by 28 ultrasound referral laboratories staffed by 91 qualified sonologists. This is called a false negative result, and it might lead you to decide against diagnostic testing that would have revealed a problem. Not for Downs, but I heard the NT scan would also look at how baby is developing in general and maybe pick up other potential problems?
You could also choose to have an NT scan without the blood work, if you already had NIPT screening. a 90% detection rate with NT Plus. Sharifzadeh M et al. These tests also have a 5 percent false-positive rate. (The last day you can have it is the day you turn 13 weeks and 6 days pregnant.). Positive or abnormal NIPT test results usually need to be confirmed by either chorion villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. When I did the NT scan, the sonographer did a great job walking me through everything he was measuring, and how my baby looked/measured compared to what's typical. Interpretation of the NIPT test must be undertaken by an experienced obstetric specialist or geneticist. I've had my dating ultrasound at 8 weeks but I thought the nuchal translucency was pretty important. It just means that 79 to 90 percent of babies who have DS will have screening results that are suspicious enough to recommend diagnostic testing. Alldred SK et al. 2019. How does the test assess the risk of abnormality? The sonographer first confirms your baby's gestational age by measuring him from crown to rump to see whether he's about the size he should be for his age. They don't detect all cases of DS, so they may identify your baby as being at low risk when she really does have DS. Home | Site Map | Print this page | Top of page, Posted by Professor Mike O’Connor AM If you've had NIPT, you would probably not also do an NT scan, because it would be somewhat redundant. First-trimester screening lets you learn about your baby's risk for chromosomal problems relatively early in the pregnancy without subjecting yourself to the slight risk of miscarriage from an invasive test like CVS.
It’s a personal choice but better safe than sorry in my opinion. Should I have a screening test for Down syndrome during pregnancy? Normal reference range of fetal nuchal translucency thickness in pregnant women in the first trimester, one center study J Res Med Sci. 2018.
https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/down-syndrome.aspx [Accessed June 2020], MedlinePlus. However I'm not sure if I should still get the NT scan done at 12w? Pinto NM et al. Both tests should only be performed and interpreted by highly trained and experienced practitioners. I'm really happy I did it. Making sure organs were in the right place, brain looked symmetrical, blood flow in the umbilical cord looked typical, baby is growing on track, etc. I'm not certain if you would need the bloods too. https://www.acog.org/patient-resources/faqs/pregnancy/prenatal-genetic-screening-tests [Accessed June 2020], March of Dimes. 1993 Sep 16;329(12):821-7. In addition to testing for Down syndrome (trisomy 21), the NT scan will also screen for: If your baby's nuchal translucency measurement indicates that he's at increased risk for structural defects, you'll be given a special ultrasound (also called an advanced level or level II ultrasound) and a special test called a fetal echocardiogram, both in the second trimester. It's usually done along with a blood test. 2020. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average. 2015. ACOG. We chose to do PGTA testing on our embryos, so we know that our embryo doesn't have chromosomal abnormality, but I can't decide if we should have a NT and NIPT testing.