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Avatar universal

Pregnant with Twins (NT = 3.5mm and 4.1mm)

I am 33, have a 19 month old daughter and am pregnant with twins (11w+0d now) who both have their own sac and own placenta - so we assume chances are that they are fraternal...  This past Friday when I was 10w+5d, we had a normal ultrasound with our doctor (who is a specialist in prenatal diagnostic).  Our doctor said that although it is a few days too early to do the NT scan, that she noticed that there is a lot of fluid around both childrens neck.  She measured and one child was 42mm long and had a NT of 3.5mm and  the other child was 38mm long and had a NT of 4.1mm.  She said we should come back next week and was pretty negative.  For both of us it sounded like she had just diagnosed a chromosone problem and that our pregnancy was doomed.

After we got home we read a lot about the scan and about testing and realized that the NT measurement is just a risk factor.  Both of us felt better about it but are still very worried.

Originally (before we knew we were we had decided against any testing - especially amnio or other invasive testing - because we knew that we would not end the pregnancy if our child turned out to be less than perfect.  Now when confronted with the thoughts or possibilities of twins with such problems, I still feel that I most likely would not end the pregnancy or anything.... but yet I need to know!!!  So we are thinking about getting the real NT measurement done next week and if still abnormal, maybe going through with a CB or Amnio.  Otherwise not knowing if something is wrong will drive me insane.

Once again, this wasn't even the official NT test.  IT was a normal US where she measured the fold and saw it was larger than "normal".... From what I have read, the test can only be done between 11w+0d and 13w+6d, and that is not until this week.... which is why I have to go back Wednesday.

Has anyone else had abnormal NT measurements with twins or even similar measurements with single pregnancy?  How did your pregnancy turn out?  What tests did you decide to subsequently have, if any?

Thanks!
6 Responses
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Avatar universal
I understad your frustration, not entirely as I have not been in your situation but for your doctor to add that stress to you ontop of the stress of a multiple pregnancy is not fair at all.
you are obviously educated about your pregnancy and testing and it is entirely possible that this minor glitch is just that. My neice was born with a pretty chubby neck and the fold at the back of her neck was pretty chubby but no DS. It is an indicator that they use during scans but it is one of many. This is why many, many people do not know for sure if their baby has DS until he or she is born.
If your doctor will not stay positive then at least you and your husband/partner can!
best of luck with both babies
Helpful - 0
671251 tn?1236116671
My heart goes out to you. What Ssejors said was very wise. Children are a blessing from the Lord.  If you have faith in God, He will give you the strength and will help you through this stressful time no matter what the outcome.
I'll pray for you and your babies. Sometimes doctors get things wrong. They don't know everything, but God does.
~Susan
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Avatar universal
My NT was normal and there were NO soft markers or any hints till about 27 weeks that there were any problems with My Beany Baby. He was born April 02/2008 with DS and I couldnt be happier!  !!!

I think that the NT test and all the other tests, amnio and the like, are a lot of worry for nothing.  Baby will come if baby is strong enough to come. Baby will have DS if thats how it is.  Baby wont live if baby's not strong enough..   80 years ago there were no US and NT or any of the kinds of screening we have now... babies were still being born!  Dont stess. There will be water if god wills it.  Everything will be ok.  Even if it seems like it's not ok. It will still be ok in the end

<3



Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry about the misunderstanding, but i meant "doomed" = "destined to end", not doomed because of a chromosome problem or organ problem.  My doctor told us that in the coming weeks it could be that the pregnancy ends on its own depending on the reasoning for the high NT measurement.  I was planning on telling work this week, but didn't because of the worry that I wont be pregnant soon or that by the next US there will be just one or none.  She has made us paranoid that we will lose the babies, and that is why I said she made us feel like our pregnancy was doomed (to end).

And the other comment I said was that we didn't even want testing originally because if our child was "less than perfect", I would still want to have it.  That is why we didn't have testing with our DS because no matter what had come out, we would have wanted to have her.  I do not think that that wording was offensive, but i truly apologize if it was hurtful to you.  
Helpful - 0
167426 tn?1254086235
It hurts  a Mother with a DS child to hear the words "doomed "  and "less than perfect".  trust in God to send you a baby or babies you can love with all your heart.  all the tests in the world are not going to change  your baby, relax and enjoy being  pregnant.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You're right, this is just one of many things that they look at to determine risk.  By the way, be sure to note that the nuchal translucency test around 10-13 weeks is different from a nuchal fold measurement later on.  When I was reading up on this, I had them confused.

About subsequent tests, you have some more steps that can be taken before you get to the amnio.  For instance, they can look at the long bone measurements, bright spots on the heart & bowel, dilated kidneys, cysts on the brain, etc. at around 20 weeks.  And usually, if only one thing is found suspect, not much concern is raised.  There is also a blood test called the quadruple scan done around 16-18 weeks (beware this has a high false positive rate).  Unfortunately, you're not yet due for these.  

Try to relax.  There are lots of "normal" babies with these kind of findings.  You're young, and that goes for your favor too.

But I know!  It's so much easier said than done to relax.  I'm 30, my NT was fine at 1.8 (13 weeks 1 day), but at 21 weeks they saw short long bones (baby is small all over) and dilated kidneys, then at 25 weeks we saw low fluid, an enlarged placenta, and he's breach, so we relented to do an amnio to put the puzzle together and figure out how to treat these issues going forward.  I'm 26 weeks today.  Time just seems to crawl, especially waiting for results.  
Helpful - 0
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