NT Screening, Take 2

Week 13

The only good thing about my first appointment was that the specialist wasn't very concerned.  John and I decided if she wasn't worried, we weren't going to worry.  At least not obsessively.  I had told my bosses at work so they were aware of why I was missing work on a weekly basis and we got the neighborhood under control.  Now it was a waiting game.

The other good thing was John was around to come with me to the second appointment.  We went back and were in to the sonographer almost immediately.  Will Peanut cooperate this week?



13 weeks, just chillin'

High five, dude!

That would be a no.  Not only would Peanut not cooperate, this child doesn't sit still.  It's pretty amazing to watch a tiny human doing somersaults.

Again, the specialist came in and tried to get my little fetus to cooperate.  No such luck.  But we did learn a few very reassuring things. 

1. The specialist said she has done enough nuchal translucency screenings that she can usually tell if there is an issue even without the measurement.  In that case, even before the bloodwork comes back she recommends the parents to schedule chorionic villus testing (an invasive diagnostic test that can be done before an amniocentesis).  She thought Baby K looked normal and did NOT recommend any invasive testing. (Whew!)
2. She explained the reason that an enlarge/abnormal yolk sac indicates chromosomal defect when noticed between weeks 8-10 is that at that stage, the yolk sac is larger than the embryo and it's the chromosomal defect that causes the yolk sac to grow and not the embryo, eventually leading to miscarriage or serious defect.  My abnormality was noticed at week 11, at which time the embryo was already larger than the yolk sac, and in all of the sonograms the fetal development was tracking perfectly with my due date, so she didn't see any reason for concern.  For reference, the yolk sac is the embryo's primary source of nourishment until around week 12 when the placenta becomes attached.  Once the placenta attaches, the yolk sac dissipates completely.  This is also about the same time the embryo is officially considered a fetus.  That is also why week 12 is when it's considered "safe" to tell the whole world you're pregnant.

I almost started to cry again, this time with tears of relief.  The nurse advised us of our last option, the blood test after 15 weeks, and we agreed.  We didn't go through all of this for no results, so I gave a sample of blood before we left with a card to come back in 2-3 weeks for blood draw number 2.

We were both relieved.  And we both decided after this roller coaster that we were not going to worry about it.  There are no guarantees, but we both agreed there is no reason for us to stress out about something we have no control over.  If the specialist wasn't worried, then we wouldn't worry either.