20 week scan

Saint_Chris

Daughter had her 20 week scan on tue, and was there for ages, she came home, and told us that she had to go to the local womens hospital, next tuesday for an in-deepth scan, as the scan has picked up spina bifida.

Have to say our hospital was not in the least bothered about giving out this information to her, the nurse asked her what she was expecting at this scan. My daughter replied just to be told the xex of the baby.

A doctor then came in, was with them for about 6 mins, the first few he read the notes, and then said you need to go to ***** hospital for another scan, as we can detect spina bifida and don't think that the spine has knitted correctly.

And that was it, no leaflet or offer of support.

So as you can guess, google has been my friend for the past 24 hours, and head is swimming with information.

My daughter went to see our doctor yesterday for a sick note, as she doesn't feel she can go to work, the girls has never had a sick note in her life, and she has to deal with the public, and doesn't feel she can, doctor gave her a week sick note, and he spent 30 mins with my daughter, talking to her, and she said he was lovely,.

he asked her did the babies leg move in the scan, my daughter thinks so but can't be sure.

I've read loads like i said, but i just wondered if anyone on here has received this news at the 20 week scan and if so what happend to you.

If you dont' want to post you could pm me, thank you, i'm just looking for hands on information, not a website informnation,.

sorry for waffling thanks

Nikabella

I'm afraid I have no real experience of this situation or advice but I couldn't read & run. However, I do think the hospital staff handled the situation very badly by the sound of it and it must be a very scary and worrying time for your daughter.

I'm really sorry you have been treated this way & I hope things work out as best as they possibly can, nowadays diagnosis aren't always as bleak as we first feel.

My thoughts are with you & your daughter.

A.x

caevans

Sorry to hear the news. Please step away from google though! I bled badly at start of pregnancy and I spent hours/days on the internet reading all the horror stories and scaring myself so badly I couldn't function (baby was born just fine). I know its difficult to stop, but really the internet is so full of worst case scenarios. Your daughter is an individual and you won't find the answer online. Wait and see what the Dr says next week who will be able to deal with the facts of the situation.
Fingers crossed that they baby is going to be just fine.

Becles

So sorry to hear this. I know how worrying it must be.

My 20 week scan was fine, but at 28 weeks my midwife noticed I was measuring far bigger than I should be. I was sent for an extra scan where they discovered I had excessive amniotic fluid and they suspected the baby had one of a number of things, including spina bifida.

I was sent for a more in depth scan a couple of weeks later, as well as having a number of tests on me to make sure I was ok.

The indepth scan didn't show anything conclusive apart from there was a shadow on the baby's head and her head was large, and I'd accumulated even more fluid.

I was referred to another hospital who are my region's specialists in dealing with cases like this. They tried to do a brain scan on my daughter, but by this time her head had dropped into my pelvis and they couldn't get a clear shot of her brain. I did get some freebie 4D pictures of her which were amazing.

At 36 weeks, I went into premature labour and she was delivered naturally. There was nothing wrong with her at delivery and she had a brain scan at 2 weeks old and everything looked normal. She's been fine since and is developing at normal rate. They now think the shadow on her head was the very thick head of hair she was born with, and she does have a larger than average head, but it just means I have to buy hats in the next size up to her age!

It could be something or it could be nothing. Just try and keep calm and help your daughter relax as worrying doesn't do the baby any good. I know how hard it to relax though. Thinking of you all, and hope you get some better news next week xx

belfastgirl23

This is awful. It's hard to believe medical professionals could be quite so casual about this, particularly since stress in pregnancy is so bad for both mum and baby.

your daughter may be able to get some further support and info from these guys http://www.asbah.org/

If it helps though I have worked with someone with spina bifida. i would never have known he had it except he said. he's as smart as anything, he has a PhD and is working towards a professional accountancy qualification. So even if the diagnosis is confirmed it doesn't have to be the end of the world. Many people with SB go on to live fulfilled lives and make contributions to their communities.

Good luck though, it must be an incredibly worrying time. And she's lucky to have you as a mum!

elle_gee

There was a similar thread on here a while ago.. will see if I can find it for you

ETA: Found it.. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1633249&highlight=spina
Have to say though, it didn't have a happy outcome so please be warned before you read it all. Hopefully there is some info and are some stories in there which will help you.

belfastgirl23

elle_gee wrote: »

There was a similar thread on here a while ago.. will see if I can find it for you

ETA: Found it.. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1633249&highlight=spina
Have to say though, it didn't have a happy outcome so please be warned before you read it all. Hopefully there is some info and are some stories in there which will help you.

And there are also some unhappy stories on it as well. I'd say steer clear unless you really feel you're up to it.

nottslass_2

Hi,I couldn't read and run.

Sorry I Have no experience of spina bifida,but I do know that sometimes Dr's can be misinterpreted (usually due to their lack of bedside manor) and its also very easy as a patient,when in a stressful situation, not to take in fully what the Dr is actually stating ( they don't teach communication skills at Med school)

Did the doctor categorically say "your baby has spina bifida" or did he say some thing along the lines of "we've found something that may indicate that there's a possibility of spina bifida"

When I was pregnant with my son,I was told at the 20week scan that they had found a "soft marker" for downs.
Thank goodness the nurse quickly explained that,they only spotted such things because the scanning equipment is so sophisticated nowadays & they wouldn't have picked it up a few years ago and it only indicated the need for an extra test- luckily I got the reassurance that every thing was OK later that day.

Had I just been told the news that something may be wrong in the same way your daughter has,I would have just picked up the message that "the baby has downs syndrome"

There is also the fact that they are not scanning your daughter until next week - If it was a definite diagnosis surely they would have referred her as an emergency and she would have been seen within at least 48 hours.

At 14 weeks pregnant myself,I can only imagine what you are all going through & my thoughts are with you and your daughter at this time.

Volupturaptor

Just wanted to say that even if the baby does have spina bifida, it may not be all that bad. My mum has it, she's 65 and leads a very full life, just as she has always done...

Saint_Chris

Hi

1st i'd like to say sorry for not getting back sooner, but i was busy yesterday.

Please step away from google

I have done, i've realised each case is different.

There was a similar thread on here a while ago.. will see if I can find it for you

I read that thread and i know it was the worse case senario, i felt so sad for the lady involved and her friend who was with her along the way.

Did the doctor categorically say "your baby has spina bifida" or did he say some thing along the lines of "we've found something that may indicate that there's a possibility of spina bifida"

No he said something along the lines of, we've found that your baby has, spina bifida and we need to send you for some more scans to see how advanced it is.

Many thanks for all of your replies, as a family we have decided not to talk about it at the moment, we have an apt for another scan on tuesday morning, and until we receive the results from that, we are just guessing the best or worse outcome.

We have been concentrating on babies names, and having a laugh over that, which i'm glad about, as my daughter doesn't need doom and gloom at this time. And Elliot is winning so far, but my favourite is Jake.

I won't know more till tuesday, but i will be back and keep you up-dated, on the thread.

Again thank you for your kind replies and to those of you who sent me a pm.

xxx

CAFCGirl

If its any help to you, my parents have both discovered that they have spina bifida at the grand old age of 50...

They both lived and still live the same life they did with the information as they did without.... and only discovered it during an xray at our chiropractors.....

I think you doing the right thing though in not discussing it until the scan, I would be sure however to ask any staff you come in contact with for information, they may think they do this day in day out and so its ok not to give the information but this is a big day in your family's life and you have a right to all the information, and if they dont give you any, ask to speak to someone more superior....

best wishes and love to your family