Hi Princess
What a rollercoaster! Completely agree that screening has it's own risks. I'm so pleased for you that Dr Bradley treated you so well - bet you're glad you didn't go for the Kings CVS now?! Having my anomaly scan on 16/9 - I'll post how it goes. I'm sure we're all going to be fine in the end - fingers crossed.

Hi Princess - and sorry for confusing you with Kitty earlier, posted in haste . I'm really glad you had a good consultant who took the time to focus on you rather than just get on with the job he'd been booked to do; and I really hope that all goes well from here

Hi all,
Thanks for sharing ur similar experiences, its comforting to know others are faced with the same situation.
After a lot of deliberation about having the CVS today we decided to go, I was so anxious all morn & felt physically sick... still confused 'why' this was happening when my adjusted risk was 1:2128 but with a Nucal of 4mm!!! We expected to just go in and have the procedure. But as it happened the consultant, Dr Rob Bradley, took us into a room and sat us down for a chat. Straight away I confessed my concerns & confusions as to why we had been offered a CVS & recommended it by various mid wifes & the sonographer at Kings. He was the first professional person to actaully be positive about our statistical results from Kings & talked things thru making everyhing much clearer on a personal one to one human level rather than bombarding us with stats, which is exactly what we haven't had. He said forget what anyone else has said, this starts here. He completely agreed that even tho my Nuchal was 1mm thicker than the NHS guideline the fact that everything else was good had dragged that risk down significantly. Where everyone was concentrating on that one thing that looked bad, all of the other things were good, the Nucahl fold makes up one tiny part of a big jigsaw that on its own can look bad but put together can look so much better.
As a result of this long chat, that actually lasted longer than if he was to go ahead with the CVS procedure, we decided to not take the risk of MC with a CVS but to concentrate on all the good things that came out of our babies scan. Dr Bradley was very pleased with our decision and even commented that if had we had wanted the CVS he would be doing his best to talk us out of it. Just for the record, I would have completely trusted him doing the CVS as he does many, but I was more thankful that he took his time to talk to us rather than treated us another 'high risk' case & did the CVS regardless, which is how Kings seem to operate.
We are now so relieved that we can put that behind us and carry on with our pregnancy, we have been booked in for a special cardiac scan at Guys & St. Thomas's at 16wks which we have been assured will be a lot nicer experience than kings. Rather than worring about that scan, we're using the positive approach that at least we get to see our baby an extra time than most people!
I hope this encourages others to not dwell on the 'one' bad thing that can come out of a scan but to look at the bigger picture in a positive way, it doesn't have to be all bad.... nothing is certain anyway until that baby is in your arms. The CVS does help those who are unfortuante to be diagnosed with a DS baby & can then have a termination if they wish but what about all the other women who then have a MC after finding their results are all clear.
I know some people just 'need to know' and thats fair enough but when everything else is ok I do wonder why we put ourselves and our baby thru this worry!
Good luck everyone with ur final decisions

Hi Kitty

Hoping your CVS went well today; occupy yourself this weekend doing nice comforting things eg walk by the sea, reading a good book or watching a film to try and keep your mind on happier matters rather than worrying. Wishing you all the best...

I feel the same about my wonky bloods. At first I was almost convinced I was a false negative. It's taken weeks to feel positive about this baby and I suppose I will only stop worrying when the baby is born, hopefully normal. Such a shame to waste so much energy on worry.

Level II scan is the 20 week anomaly scan. I had a consultant doing the scan in view of the last problems I had.

Still the high NT is ALWAYS at the back of your mind....

Hi Jaabaar
What is a level II scan? Glad it was fine btw!

Hi,
Just wanted to share my experience. I had a first pregnancy where I had a nuchal fold of 2.6 mm which is not that bad, however the blood tests were not goods and I got result of 1 in 23! I was offered a CVS (fetal medical centre - professore nikolaides) straight after. I was alone at the scan as my partner was abroad working. Very very difficult as you are very shocked at first! I went ahead and results came back positive with genetic disorder. Subsequently after very painfully considering all options I decided for a termination.

I am now pregnant again. Had the NT test and it came back wiht an even higher NT of 3.9. However this time blood test was better. Still my result this time was 1 in 11!! Absolutely devasted! Had CVS all was normal this time! however the waiting is undiscribable.

Now you have to worry: WHY is NT high if no chromosomal problems? Well first is the heart scan - that turned out fine too. Thne the Level II scan - had it today and was fine too! So now.... I will have to wait and see.

It is very very distressing, all of those tests. You can only personally decide if you want them or not. If you know you would go ahead wiht a pregnacy anyway I would not risk invasive tests.

I can only say that ONLY when you are in the situation - you know how bad it really is - the waiting ......

I wish I wouldnt have worried so much and I want to tell all that a positive outcome is always the most likely (although not with me first time).

Good luck to all!

G x

Hi Princess and NM
Just wanted to wish Princess the best luck for tomorrow. I will be thinking about you! If you feel up to it, do let us know how it all went.

I actually had the combined test in Kent and I know that a Kings/FMC scan may well have given me a better risk score as they take more factors into account. Next time it's FMC from the beginning for me! 2 weeks until my anomaly scan then hopefully I'll be able to relax too. Also ARC are such a great charity - so kind and helpful. Not sure how thay are funded but I'm really keen to make a donation.

Don't feel bad about having declined the CVS immediately. It is a tough decision as you say and this way whatever happens you will be able to feel that it was a properly considered decison and you did what was best for you. That's the most important thing.

Hi Princess

You might find Millarkie's post at the foot of this thread useful re why you were being offered a CVS - I hadn't realised this before (guess ARC may have explained this already). I know there are risks of miscarriage with CVS, but remember these could sadly be babies that were very likely to miscarry anyway; rest up in the 48 hours after and try not to exert yourself too much. I know it is a long wait - we went on a day trip to the sea to try and occupy ourselves. I hope it goes well - once you know the results you'll be able to move forward.