Thick Neck, Lots of Liquid

[pkubier]

About two weeks ago I bled real bad, about 2 pads worth. We went to the ER and luckily everything was fine, I had a hematoma at about 50% size of the placenta and was on bed rest for a week and a half. However, we had an ultrasound at my doc's, and they thought the neck may be thick, somewhat associated with Down's Syndrome. We went to a specialist yesterday, and they told us the neck has liquid in it, it measures 7mm and normal is 3 mm. However, the heart is very strong, pumping at about 155-165 depending on things. We did an amnio, we just had to know, they told us we were earlier than normal for an amnio, but like I said, we had to know. I am 13 weeks and about 1 or 2 days roughly. Anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, knowledge?

[no5no5]

Hi there.  I wish I had good news for you, but a nuchal fold translucency of 7 is very abnormal.    It is a sign of Down Syndrome, but it can also be a sign of many other problems.  Even if your babe does not have DS, you should strongly consider a level 2 ultrasound later on in pregnancy to check for heart problems and other issues.  I don't want to scare you, and of course there is a chance that your babe could be fine, but you do have a significantly increased risk. 

Big .  I recently got the news that my baby also has an increased risk for Down Syndrome, due to a combination of the nuchal translucency scan and some odd hormone levels, so I know that it's hard to deal with.  I hope your amnio comes back normal and I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your pregnancy. 

[SGVaughn]

I can only speak on the hematoma and tell you that they generally resolve on their own but should be watched with serial ultrasounds

some people with disagree with me on that but you're at risk for an abruption with a bleed and clot that large

I had one with my last daughter and everything turned out fine but I believe its what set up the placenta towards the end for some deterioration which was NOT detrimental to my daughter when it was all said and done but bears mentioning. I had bleeding off and on for about 4 months..I learned really fast that if it looked like older blood to not panic but readily submitted myself to weekly ultrasounds for about two months, then biweekly for a bit (ps, babygirl has zero problems from that many ultrasounds...shes very healthy and considered exceptionally intelligent by all measures and is very social)

now, the nuchal fold thickness..no thats not good but I have heard and seen cases where it wasn't related to any causes that was ever detected so I won't say ..hey it'll all be fine, but this is one of those instances where you just have to wait it out and see :(

I wish you luck , truly

what kind of time frame did they give you for the amnio results?

[pkubier]

We were told the amnio would be anywhere between last Thursday, up to about two weeks. Two weeks is the more likely time period. The hematoma seems to be doing better, right now its a small side note with everything else. Thank you for your support.