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Early dating scans
All women will be offered a dating scan and an 18–20 week mid-pregnancy or fetal anomaly ultrasound scan. The main purpose of a dating scan...
The purpose of blood tests in pregnancy was a common source of confusion for the women we spoke to. Blood tests are carried out for many reasons:
Here we focus only on tests which screen for conditions in the baby, but many women we talked to weren’t sure why their blood was being taken (see Information for making decisions).
Not everyone worried about this, and some happily trusted their doctor or midwife to act in their interests. One woman was concerned that her results were taking a long time to come back, including the tests to see if she was a carrier of sickle cell disease.
Not everyone was aware they could have a blood test around the same time as their nuchal translucency scan, to produce a combined and more accurate assessment for chromosomal conditions, especially Down’s syndrome. The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme now recommends that women have the combined screening for Down’s syndrome (blood test as well as nuchal translucency scan) rather than just either test on its own. The vast majority of units in England, Scotland and soon Wales offer combined screening for Down’s syndrome.
One woman told how her first sample was damaged and the test had to be repeated.
One person said she had missed the test because her fear of needles had led her to delay it. For another couple this blood test turned out to be crucial in detecting Turner’s syndrome, which the scan alone would not have picked up.
The ‘quadruple test’ is a test for Down’s Syndrome and other conditions, that can be done between 14–20 weeks. It is offered to people who are unable to have the nuchal translucency scan.
If you have had a result from a nuchal scan and blood test, it is not advisable to have the quadruple test as well, because it will also give you a result for Down’s syndrome and having two different assessments can be confusing.
After ending a pregnancy for a serious chromosomal condition (Edward’s syndrome), one couple decided against blood tests in their next pregnancy and relied only on scans. This was because the chance of their baby having a condition would automatically work out higher, because previous Edward’s syndrome is added as an extra risk factor. They did not want any further diagnostic tests. This time they felt better informed to make a real choice about screening.
Another woman who had ended a pregnancy for spina bifida also relied only on scans in her next pregnancy. She felt she would have to wait anyway for the 20 week scan to know how severe the condition was, and the triple test might make her anxious unnecessarily.
The non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) is another blood test that can be used to detect Down’s syndrome. This screening test is not currently offered by the NHS, however some NHS Trusts have piloted the test and a number of maternity units do offer testing privately.
All women will be offered a dating scan and an 18–20 week mid-pregnancy or fetal anomaly ultrasound scan. The main purpose of a dating scan...
All women will be offered a 12 week dating scan and an 18–20 week mid-pregnancy scan also known as the 'fetal anomaly' scan. The purpose...