Nuchal scan when do i get results

Fetal nuchal translucency: is there an association with birthweight and neonatal wellbeing? Turk J Obstet Gynecol 16 1 Fetal anomaly screening programme: handbook for ultrasound practitioners.

What is Down's syndrome? Screening for Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome and Patau's syndrome. NHS, Pregnancy. Screening for fetal aneuploidies at 11 to 13 weeks. Prenat Diagn 7— NHS fetal anomaly screening programme handbook. Public Health England. Screening in pregnancy: dating scan. Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome and Patau's syndrome. Supporting women and their partners through prenatal screening for Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome.

Increased nuchal translucency and cystic hygroma. What you should know about retroverted uterus. Show references Hide references. Enter your due date or child's birthday dd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 mm Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec yyyy Trying to conceive? We use your health information to make our site even more helpful.

By clicking the button, you agree to our policies and to get emails from us. Join BabyCentre. Sign up to receive free emails and track your baby's development. Track my baby. The scan takes around 30 minutes. A probe is passed across the skin of your abdomen and as this happens images will appear on screen.

Your sonographer will talk you through the images and point out aspects of your baby's anatomy. He or she will explain what these imply in terms of your risk level for Down syndrome and other congenital abnormalities. After your appointment, we will send you a secure link where you can view and download a selection of images from your scan.

If you have not already had a sample of your blood taken, this will take a few minutes. We'll have your blood test results within 24 hours and will combine these with the results from your scan.

Your sonographer or doctor will explain them in more detail and let you know what you need to do next. We'll also send a report to your doctor within 24 hours. We will give you a copy of your report shortly after your appointment, or we can send it by email. In the unlikely event that the scan or blood test reveals anything of concern the sonographer will telephone your doctor immediately.

Testing for Down syndrome During the ultrasound scan the sonographer measures the fluid beneath the skin at the back of your baby's neck - known as the nuchal translucency.

This measurement is combined with other information to estimate the risk of Down syndrome. The blood test, which you may have any time after 10 weeks or on the same day as your scan, is used to measure the levels of two hormones in your blood, which provide another indication of risk of having a baby with Down syndrome.

The results can help you make prenatal care decisions. Although NT is widely available, some rural and urban areas may not have the resources to perform the procedure. After that, the tissue gets thicker and is no longer translucent, so test results become inconclusive. An NT is a special type of ultrasound using a very sensitive but safe machine. A sonographer will apply a transducer wand to the outside of your stomach to measure your baby from crown to rump and check that the fetal age is accurate.

Then he or she will locate the nuchal fold and measure its thickness on the screen. Those measurements, plus your age and baby's gestational age, will be entered into an equation that calculates the probability of a chromosomal abnormality.

Although this number can't give you a definitive diagnosis, it can help you decide whether you want to undergo diagnostic testing.

Nuchal translucency screening has a relatively high rate of error when performed by itself. To improve the accuracy of results, your practitioner will likely offer what's known as a combined screening.

NT results by themselves have an accuracy rate of about 70 percent. That means that the test misses 30 percent of babies with Down syndrome or other chromosome disorders.

Including the NT as part of a first trimester combined screening improves detection to between 83 and 92 percent. Pairing the results of the nuchal translucency with other screening tests in the first trimester further improves the accuracy.

The integrated screen, which combines the NT screening, measurements of the hormone PAPP-A, and the quad screen , improves Down syndrome detection rates to between 94 and 96 percent. If your nuchal translucency screening or any other prenatal screening results indicate that your baby may be at an increased risk of having a genetic abnormality, your practitioner will likely suggest a diagnostic test like chorionic villus sampling CVS or amniocentesis.

He or she may also suggest talking to a genetic counselor, who can better explain what the results mean. An abnormally thick nuchal measurement should be taken into account at the week anatomy scan and special attention paid to scanning the heart. Increased NT measurements may also be linked to a very slightly higher risk of preterm birth , so you may be monitored for that as well. Keep in mind that all pregnancy screenings, including the nuchal translucency and the associated bloodwork, don't directly test for chromosomal problems.

An abnormal result on the nuchal translucency or combined screening test doesn't mean that your baby has a chromosomal abnormality.