Today I had my first trimester ultrasound screening. Last week, I had gone to get my blood drawn so that today, the blood test results would be back and I could get a combined result on the spot.
The ultrasound technician did a very thorough scan. She checked the baby for growth, checked for the presence of the major organs, took the nuchal fold measurement at least three times and checked for the presence of a nasal bone. The baby was very active and kicking his or her feet. The nuchal fold measurement was 1.0 mm and a nasal bone was present. A nuchal fold measurement of greater than 3 mm and/or the absence of a nasal bones are markers for Down Syndrome and other more serious trisomies. I just love watching the baby move around and kick its feet and move its arms. For me, watching my growing babies on an ultrasound never gets old. The doctor then came in and remeasured the important things and told me that the baby looked great. She also got a nuchal fold measurement of 1 mm. Then, she plugged some numbers into a computer and combined them with my blood test results to give me a probability of having a baby with the chromosomal abnormality. My chances for having a baby with Down Syndrome were 1/1800 or so. Based on my age alone, I had a 1/92 chance of having a baby with Downs. My chances for having a baby with trisomy 18 or 13 was 1/3200. Based on age alone, I would have a 1/155 chance of having a baby with a more serious trisomy! I was super excited about these odds and how well the test went. I just kept saying, "Thank you God, thank you God" over and over again in my head. I had tears of joy in my eyes as I was overcome with gratitude.
For you numbers geeks like me, here are the baby's measurements:
BPD--(bipolar diameter) 1.61 cm = 12 weeks 3 days
HC--(head circumference) 2.09 cm = 12 weeks 2 days
AC--(abdominal circumference) 5.01 cm = 12 weeks 0 days
CRL--(crown to rump length) 5.34 cm = 12 weeks 0 days
The heartbeat was 158 beats per minute.
Based on my last cycle, I am 11 weeks, 6 days. Based on my viability ultrasound at 8 weeks, I am 11 weeks, 4 days (the latter of which I tend to believe because never in my life have I had a 28 days cycle). Based on all these calculations, the baby is measuring 12 weeks, 1 day, so a couple to several days ahead of schedule. Since Jeremiah was growth restricted, and since he was measuring a couple of days ahead of schedule at this point, I know the doctors will be keeping close eyes on these numbers as we get more scans later in the pregnancy.
The technician said that it was too early to tell whether the baby was a boy or a girl because all babies have nubs at this point, and that nub could either develop into a penis or a clitoris. We will be finding out the gender of this baby prior to delivery and we even hope to have a first and second name finalized prior to delivery. Since that has never happened before, I am not holding out too much hope that we will have a name decided before the big day. What you can count on is an Old Testament Hebrew name for a boy with Paul for the middle name, after David's father. For a girl, well, I have my heart well-set on a traditional, beautiful and meaningful name, Isabelle has her heart set on another traditional, beautiful name, so now we will just have to convince David on one of those names.
I had some time to kill before my doctor's appointment, so I headed to the mall to buy some clothes that would actually fit me and grab a quick lunch. Then I went back to the hospital for my doctor's appointment. Since I was the first appointment after lunch, I was in and out of there. The doctor was very happy with my scan results, but did caution me several times that these tests are not full-proof and that they can miss a diagnosis of Downs 1/10 times. In other words, 10% of babies born with Downs have a small nuchal fold measurement and a nasal bones and they have no other soft markers for Downs present on the ultrasound. Notwithstanding her repeated reminders (when I say repeated, I mean she said it at least three times), I was still inclined to avoid additional testing. I am not saying that she was pushing the amnio on me, but I know she would have had no problem giving me one in four weeks. She said if I declined the amnio, we would do the anatomy scan in 6 weeks when I am 18 weeks pregnant. She did say if we saw some other soft markers at that point, we could always change of minds and do an amnio then. I was getting the feeling that she was rather surprised that I kept declining the amnio. The tech told me when I was leaving that nearly all women over 35 insist on an amnio these days, so I guess she was making sure my "no" was a "no." The good news that came out of this was now, I am on notice to make my decisions known in a strong manner and I will know to be particularly strong in stating that under no circumstances do I want an epidural or any other other drugs during delivery.
Other than that, we listened to the baby's heartbeat and went over my blood test results. Then she asked if I had any questions. I did not. And that was that. I go back in four weeks for my 16 week check-up. She also confirmed that we will do a fetal echo cardiogram at 22 weeks to check for heart defects.
I don't think there are any words to describe the gratitude I feel right now after receiving these good test results. I know they are not full-proof. I know there are plenty of other things besides chromosomal abnormalities that could be wrong with this baby, but I refuse to dwell on them or spend time looking them up on the internet; in fact, I intend to continue to avoid Google like the plague. But for now, I am happy and grateful. Happy and grateful. And if it was not patently obvious from my tone, I am just as excited about this baby as I was when I was pregnant with my first babies, nearly nine years ago. This could be the best Mother's Day gift ever! God is so good. Thanks be to God for this amazing gift, this amazing blessing, this amazing miracle of life.
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