NT test numbers? who's done this??

[hildare]

our average at 11 weeks 1 days is around a 1.8, which is within the "normal" range of < 3 but i am concerned it's high for that age.  anyone know anything about this or have numbers to share?  my dh thinks i am crazy for being told it's normal by the ob while still kind of freaking out.

[parsley]

I don't remember my numbers from DD and don't have my screening until late next week.  But, from what I've read numbers a measurement below 2.5 is very safe.  Did they try to also find the nasal fetal bone?  It might have been too early but if they found it and your measurement was 1.8 than I think you're in great shape. 

[atomicrocket]

Ours measured 1.5mm at 11w6d, and that is considered within the safe range for that age.  There is a lot of variation so I would try not to worry too much (not as easy as it sounds, I know!).

Do they routinely measure the nasal bone?  I wasn't aware that could be done.  It wasn't done at my appointment.

[hildare]

we couldn't tell about the nasal bone, the baby was pretty uncooperative in every possible way. (i think this one is gonna be like daddy! lol)  so i get to go back in 3 weeks.

[parsley]

I did a little more searching and found on Wikipedia (which has generally been found to be accurate because of the open review) that at 12w the mean measurement is 2.118.  According to that source, measurements between 1-2 are considered low risk, 2-3 are borderline, and above 3 high risk.  I was told by my midwife last week that below 2.5 is safe. 

When do you get the blood work results back and your ratio of risk? 

Here's the wikipedia link and it has several citations as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuchal_scan

Hope this helps you feel better, Hildare!

Atomicrocket- I don't know if looking for the nasal bone is standard.  I had read though that when the test is performed toward the end of the window, it's a good predictor.  Don't know too much more than that. 

ETA: the wiki link.

Edited by parsley - 7/27/11 at 6:04am

[hildare]

uhhhhh..  i think my ob is trying to make me crazy on purpose.  i asked at the appointment whether the bloodwork could reveal more info and he was like.. they factor in your age.  (i'm 37) & all that will do is steer you towards invasive testing.    i'm going to try to calm myself down.  and, from what i've read, i think he could be right.  it's not just the blood levels, and it does seem kind of arbitrary.  does anyone have an opinion?  i could request to do it & it wouldn't be a big deal.  otherwise i can wait 3 weeks to see the nasal bone. 

dd's was < 1 at this point and she was a HUGE baby.  i guess that's part of what's worrying me.

parsley you didn't link to the wikipedia article but i had already read it (like 8 times).. 

[parsley]

From my understanding the blood work (done at the same time as the ultrasound screening) moves the test from 65-70% accurate to 90% accurate because high hcg numbers (and whatever else is measured) are also correlated with downs syndrome.  So, normal blood numbers would help to mitigate a borderline high measurement and high blood numbers might flag a relatively low borderline measurement.  

Honestly, maybe I'm wrong about this.  But, that's my understanding about how the testing works and why they recommend a quad screen or sequential screen in addition to the nuchal translucency ultrasound. 

I know the age thing makes this more nerve-wracking (I'm 35) but those numbers seem sort of arbitrary to me (and likely based on a time when there were way fewer women having babies after 35, and all sorts of conflating factors shaping those decisions).

From the numbers you're mentioning it really seems like you are fine.  They would have flagged you and given you tons to worry about if not.  The tests have a really high false positive rate.  But, since you are so worried,  Hildare, can you call your ob and share your fears and confusion?  Maybe go in today and get the blood work done anyway? 

[AlyM]

Just had ours today, they calculated us at 13 weeks NT was 1.7 and they just commented that the nasal bone was present and looked good, I had my blood drawn but won't know results until we go to my OB next week. It was so much fun to see the baby jumping around in there!!!!! The MD who read the results said everything looked great! We even had a bunch of 3D shots taken in color! It was so much fun!!!!

[nannybutterfly]

DS was 1.44 at 11 weeks 5 days, and he's a normal 14 month old! They told us as long as it was under 3 it was fine.  Try not to worry, but I know it's hard. Having the NT scan for this baby on Friday, so excited to see our new little one! Hoping for a clue to the gender.  They told us they were pretty sure DS was a boy and they were right at 11.5 weeks, so hoping for a similar experience.  Anyone else get any gender guesses?

[Mosaic]

DDCC to say that my DD's NT measurement was 2.974 and the bloodwork put our risk at 1 in 80 (though that was mostly driven by the high NT). We did the amnio and all was good, and they did a follow-up u/s because such a large NT measurement is also associated with cogenital heart defects and that was good, too.

DD is now 15.5mo and is totally healthy and ridiculously cute to boot! I wouldn't have blinked an eye at 1.8.

[hildare]

mosaic, thanks for sharing that.  i feel better.  thanks everybody else, too...

i think the whole PAL thing is making me paranoid and anxious. 

[FrannieM]

At 12w3d the neck fold measured 2.00 mm - we are in the medium risk category now and likely getting amnio done very soon.  It does make me sad but I am really trying not to worry about it (after an initial huuuuge freakout)

 

[hildare]

frannie, did they see the nasal bone?  did they look? 

did they tell you it was medium risk or was it b/c of your age too?  i'm 37.  yours sounds pretty much like ours but our ob didn't say medium risk but i think it was implied thus my freakout.

i hope your amnio goes well.  i can't decide whether to have one or not, i am leaning towards it though and it freaks me out even more. 

but then again, some kids have to have bigger measurements otherwise 2 or so wouldn't be the mean, right? 

[hildare]

i found a calculator into which you can plug the ctr length and the nuchal measurement and it spits out a percentile.  that doesn't tell much but it makes it seem not so bad..  here's the link.

[FrannieM]

argh, i hate when i reply and the site eats my comment!
 

I am 31, the neckfold was 2.00 mm and the baby is 58,4 mm long.   I think they must have found some proteins in my blood that are an indicator...

i could not understand the results of that link... bummers!

hildare - i will be curious to know whether you go for amnio or not... i will let you know about me - monday an appt to discuss it with the hospital.  

 

[hildare]

frannie, that honestly sounds normal to me!  and from what i read about the bloodwork, there's a HUGE variation in hcg and the blood levels are frequently false positives (i think why my ob doesn't do that test).

i haven't decided about the amnio.  i will go for the next u/s, for us, in 3 weeks to look for the nasal bone but after that, i don't know. 

i really wish i hadn't done the NT at this point because i am just freaking out about something that i really cannot change. 

if i were going to have another babe, i think i would just do the 20 week anatomy scan and refuse everything else.  it's changed pretty much every bit of happiness i've had about this pregnancy. 

the link just spits out a percentile, which i found somewhat comforting for me... yours is just in the 77th percentile, ours was around 72-83 depending on what numbers i put in.  which, you know.. some babies HAVE to be in the higher percentiles or the norm would be different, right? 

i hope we both get good news and get to hold our healthy babies in february.

[FrannieM]

Hey HIldare - I hear ya, this whole thing has made me very sad.   But hubby and I decided to keep on carrying on like it is a normal happy pregnancy... which it MOST LIKELY IS.   I wouldnt say I wish I hadnt had the test though... if something is wrong I want to know it.    So... amnio in a couple of weeks.  I 99.5% expect to get good results from that test... but in the meantime it is hard!

 

[londongandert]

Hey ladies.

I start this process on Monday. My Freak Out is just starting and continues to grow.  Your stories are so parallel to where I am and what is just starting that I feel normal. Thank you so very much for hashing this out. Number's, nasal bones OH My! This is baby #4 and I never went through this before, and I had thought I'd done it all! So, I go in for my NT testing, blood work this coming week. From reading your stories I feel completely unprepared.

What do I need to know NOW and when I go in? So I don't flip out? It's funny but I trust Mothering.Com moms over the OBGY medical adivice more often then not. My midwife is in a freee standing water birth center and is reallllly calmmmmmmmm. But is sending me to OHSU. Oregon Health Sciences Univ. which is a teaching hospital and pretty kick a*s in the med world. See where I am?

Any helpful hints will be greatly appreciated. I am 35yrs and I will be 12 weeks and 1 day on Monday (supposedly)

[hildare]

Originally Posted by londongandert 

Hey ladies.

I start this process on Monday. My Freak Out is just starting and continues to grow.  Your stories are so parallel to where I am and what is just starting that I feel normal. Thank you so very much for hashing this out. Number's, nasal bones OH My! This is baby #4 and I never went through this before, and I had thought I'd done it all! So, I go in for my NT testing, blood work this coming week. From reading your stories I feel completely unprepared.

What do I need to know NOW and when I go in? So I don't flip out? It's funny but I trust Mothering.Com moms over the OBGY medical adivice more often then not. My midwife is in a freee standing water birth center and is reallllly calmmmmmmmm. But is sending me to OHSU. Oregon Health Sciences Univ. which is a teaching hospital and pretty kick a*s in the med world. See where I am?

Any helpful hints will be greatly appreciated. I am 35yrs and I will be 12 weeks and 1 day on Monday (supposedly)

i had dd when i was 35/36 and the ob treated it like it was no big deal then. 

stay calm!  the actual ultrasound won't be anything and you'll get to see your baby bouncing around in there.  if your ob is sending you somewhere else, it's likely that they will NOT discuss anything with you.  remember that this means nothing at all-- they are not "supposed" to talk to you about results if your ob is the one to go over them with you.  you can google images of the NT test and kind of see what an < 3 measurement will look like, but they might not even let you view the screen.  so i guess, just be prepared to leave as uninformed as you were before you went in :(  and remember that doesn't mean something's wrong at all. i hope it goes well for you!  keep us posted.  :)

my friend just emailed me and she's due any day now... i had asked about her NT stuff because as you can see above i was freaking out some.  she said they didn't do ANY of that stuff with this, her second pregnancy, because she had gotten a false positive for the trisomies that were not trisomy 21 (like tri 13 and the other one which i cannot remember, the ones that are usually fatal) with her first babe.  and, you know, in using teh google, that's pretty much MOST of what i've come across-- people with positive screens that came back to be perfectly fine.  sigh.

[hildare]

londongandert  how did it go?