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Do I need to have a blood test too?

The 11-14 week scan can be performed on its own, without the blood test, but it is preferable to have both and the screening test for Down’s syndrome is more sensitive if both the blood test result and the ultrasound findings are taken into account. Beard Mill Clinic uses the laboratory at the Fetal Medicine Centre to process its blood tests results. The appropriate collection bottle and posting instructions will be sent to each patient when they book the 11-14 week scan. The blood can be taken at Beard Mill Clinic, or can be taken locally by the mother’s own GP practice or by her midwife. Either way, it is important that the blood is taken and sent to the laboratory at least 48 hours before the scan, to ensure that the results are available at the time of the scan.

Having had this first trimester screening test, it is not advisable to have the Triple test, offered routinely at 16-18 weeks. Having both frequently leads to confusion and may result in the patient having an unnecessary invasive test (see below). However one of the hormones that form part of the triple test is AFP, which is also used to screen for babies with spina bifida. This abnormality is usually detected at the time of the anomaly scan, but the AFP test is helpful in identifying women who require a detailed examination of the baby’s spine and may lead to the diagnosis being made earlier. If you have had 11-14 week scan you can still have the AFP test without having a Triple test and this can be arranged through your own doctor or midwife.

What is an invasive test?

Most parents will receive a low-risk result for Down’s syndrome screening and will be reassured. However some parents (approximately 3%) will have a high-risk result and may decide to go on to have an invasive test, such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. These tests allow the baby’s chromosomes to be analysed and will definitely exclude or confirm Down’s syndrome.

A CVS can be performed from 11 weeks and involves removing a small amount of tissue from the placenta. An amniocentesis is performed from 15 weeks and involves removing a small amount of amniotic fluid from around the baby. Both tests carry a risk of miscarriage at a rate of about 1% above the normal risk expected for any pregnancy at the time of testing.

These tests are not carried out at Beard Mill Clinic, but if required arrangements can be made for them to be performed either at the Prenatal Diagnosis Unit in Oxford, or at the Fetal Medicine Centre in London.

Do I need a full bladder?

The mother is not required to have a full bladder for any type of scan at Beard Mill Clinic.

Will I find out the sex of my baby?

The sex of the baby can almost always be determined from 18 weeks onwards and parents will be told if they wish to know.

Will the nuchal scan pick up spina bifida?

The 11-14 week scan is not a screening test for spina bifida, although a major spina bifida may be obvious on scan as early as 11 weeks. However more subtle cases will not be seen until 20 weeks and occasionally a small spina bifida may not be obvious on scan at all. One of the hormones that forms part of the triple test, AFP, is a marker for spina bifida and can be measured at 16 weeks to screen for spina bifida as discussed above in Do I need to have a blood test too?