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.



So even before my NT exam, I already researched what is going to happen and what the doctors are going to look for.  It is important to do this ultrasound between the 12 to 13 week because that is when the Nuchal fold is most transparent hence the name.  The Nuchal fold is the thickness of the nape or batok.  The thicker it is, the more fluid build up which is commonly seen in babies with disorders.  I know that the measurement cannot be more than 3mm otherwise that is will be considered lending towards disorder.

The procedure is basically like a normal ultrasound.  They took measurements of the baby to determine the gestational age.  Then they look at different areas such as the heart, stomach, etc.  by the time they started measuring the fold, I have been praying to make sure it is ok.  I saw them put in 1.3 and I swear I could hear angels sing.  That combined with my blood test results and risk factors, they determined I have low risk for the disorders. Hallelujah!

"Mr." Wiggles for now

The sonographer and doctor also asked usif we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I thought it was not possible to determine that early.  They said it is not definite but since they have been doing this for a while they look at the angle of the organ since boy and girl looks the same at this age.  The said judging by the angle, it is a BOY.  Needless to say DH is very happy.  Me too as I want another boy.  But we are not holding on to that prediction. We will wait until the 16 to 20 week to get a more accurate one. :)

We are just happy the baby is healthy...... But wait, as the doctor was wrapping up and looking over my lab results, he mentioned another issue and referred me to Genetics. More on that in my next post.