what is an NT scan?

I feel like I am going to be like "I knew that" but for the life of me right now I can not figure it out!
Thanks

Re: what is an NT scan?

I was told they check all of the anatomy of the baby. They also took my blood beforehand (a week and a half ago) to do the genetic testing along with it.
I have mine on Wed!!

Re: what is an NT scan?

It's a test to scare the living crap out of mom and dad.

It's called a Nuchal translucency test, and it's done before week 14, so that they can still see through the translucent brain stem while the area is still translucent.

It screens the baby for the likeliness/chance of having Downs Syndrome or things like Trisonomy 16/18 and it's accompanied by the bloodwork Colleen was talking about. They also assess the nasal bone to ensure it's there (or not)

This is of course in Laymen's terms. I can't tell you how many people I know had bad news after an NT scan and their babies are perfectly fine. That's why I prefaced that they scare the crap out of you.

If something is really serious, they follow it up with more bloodwork and a CVS.

Re: what is an NT scan?

What the others said. Some drs do what Colleen mentioned where they do the bloodwork at 10 weeks or so then it's back in 2 weeks for the scan. Sometimes they do bloodwork and scan the same day which is why they scare some people. The scan itself can show soft markers for downs then you have to sit and freak out for 2 weeks till your bloodwork comes in which often shows that everything is fine. It's the combo of the spinal fluid and measurements with that bloodwork that gives the big picture. If there are issues they might suggest an amnio or cvs to know for sure. If there is a potential issue and you have no plans to terminate the pregnancy then there is no need for an amnio or cvs.