Nuchal Translucency

On my 12th week of pregnancy, I had my Nuchat Translucency ultrasound.  I'm not sure if any one is familiar with this or not but I will try to explain the best I could.  This ultrasound is in line with the California Blood screening for pregnant women.  During the first trimester, blood is drawn from the mommy and sent to a lab which tests the levels of hCG and PAPP-A.  The results combined with the maternal age risk factors and the Nuchal Translucency determines the risk of having a baby with chromosomal defects like Downs, Trisomy-18 and Trisomy-21.

I did not do this when I was pregnant with Macu. I did the 2nd trimester screening which looks at differs levels.  They found out one of my levels is "abnormal". So on my birthday, the clinic decided to give me the bad news.  I was devastated to say the least.  They said my baby could have neural tube defects.  Armed with that information, I googled the phrase and was bombarded with horrifying images of babies with this problem.  It was probably one of the worst days in my life.

I kept on blaming myself. Why did I to take care of my health enough to do this to my baby? DH kept me sane throughout the whole ordeal.  We had talks about what we would do if it turns out the baby does have serious problems.  We decided we will go through with it and accept whatever God gives us. I had an ultrasound a few weeks later and they determined Macu is healthy. Thank God! It was a false positive.

Back to this pregnancy with Wiggles (I have yet to decide a nickname).  Going through that experience with Macu, the worrywart in me started imagining different scenarios already.  I have been reading up on the chromosal disorders and watching videos of babies with those.  I have been crying every time.  I am in awe at the families who deal with that everyday.  I admire them for their strength and resilience but most of all, I admire them for their love and faith.