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rpd-and-6mm-borderline-nuchal-fold-at-scan-21-weeks

Hi ladies, first post on here, and first baby.

If anyone has any words of wisdom, then I could use some support.
Basically, had my scan today at 21 weeks 2 days, and mostly everything was fine, except my baby boy has RPD or 'baggy kidneys' is also what they were refered to as. Basically, I was told this by itself wasn't too serious and usually goes away by itself, but if it doesn't, then my son will be more prone to water infections and it is also linked to babies with chromosonal problems like downs symdrome. So they measured my babys nuchal fold twice, and although they said he wasn't in the best position, the fold was measured at 6mm, which is boarderline and anything over 6mm would be considered to give the baby a higher risk of having down's.

This is my first pregnancy and I have to say, as rational as I'm trying to be, I'm no less than worried out of my mind!

At my previous scan, the sonographer dated my baby at just 11 weeks so my baby was too small and in a bad position again, and therefore she didn't measure the nuchal translucency then. At 16 weeks I had the blood test which gave me a low risk of having a 1 in 25000 chance of having a baby with a choromosonal abnormality. I'm also only 22 so still fairly young so was expecting to be low risk, and I know that these tests are not diagnostic so I should try not to worry too much. I'm waiting to hear back from my Fetal Medicine Unit about booking in for another scan, and hopefully everything will look ok then. I'm not sure whether I would go ahead for amniocentesis as even if I was high risk, I don't think I could bring myself to have a termination, and the procedure itself has a risk of miscarrying.
I rang a helpline and they said I can opt for a blood test to be sent off to America where they can test for down's, but it will cost me £600 that I do not have. My mind is frazzeld and although I doubt anything will be really wrong with my baby, I'm also not dealing with the news very well!

Any advice or help or shared experiences would be appreciated, thanks x

Replies

  • When I was pg with dd my nuchal translucency came back at 1/250, at which point I thought I would be offered further tests with my risk being higher than usual. I wasnt offered any further tests, and went on to have a normal, healthy happy baby who is now 2 and has only ever had a cold! I wouldnt worry too much about it, which I know is easier said than done, but just because baggy kidneys is associated with Downs Syndrome doesnt mean your baby necessarily has a chromosomal disorder, and based upon your blood results you're very low risk, id trust your bloods. image

    And if your baby does have downs syndrome, then they'll just be extra special and just as beautiful (but i dont need to tell you thatimage) good luck hun xxx

  • Thanks so much bella'smummy, its all too easy to concentrate on the bad things said at the scan rather than the positives, like in every other way my baby looked healthy and normal. I feel deep down that there's nothing wrong but the shock of the news mixed with my hormones is just asking for me to feel awful! I'm trying my best to be rational, and I've calmed down a bit since yesterday. Scralwing through the internet doesnt help when ive came across figures like 1 in 4 chance if your baby has 2 'soft markers'. Anyways, thank you again, and its not that i wouldnt love my baby even if it did have downs, of course i would, but we all hope for the best start in life for our bumps so im praying he's fine! the anxiety caused by the news is porbably causing more harm than what was found itself x

  • Oh of course you'd love your baby no matter what! But I know how scary it is to hear that there's a possibility of your baby having any sort of medical problem. I panicked for about a week phoning my mw unit because I read that they should offer you further tests for anything higher than a 1/600 risk, and as I said before mine was 1/250. Then I just told myself that what will happen will happen and worrying wont change anything, so I just enjoyed the rest of my pregnancy and hoped for the best image 

    Im sure everything will be fine honey, bet you're soo excited! image hubby and I are ttc#2, cant wait to see that positive again image xx

  • Hey again, I'm feeling a lot calmer about it all now, your messages have helped. I have my appointment with the consultant on monday so hopefully they will be able to put my mind at rest some more. The chairty ARC has also helped reassure me that with my bloodwork at 16 weeks giving me such low risk, the chances are still going to be very low even with the RPD and nuchal fold being borderline. I'll let you know the outcome on monday. The news has definetly taken me on an emotional rollarcoaster, and I feel for all the women who have been in this position and much worse, being a mother and caring about another person so much is a beautiful and terrifying prospect! Good luck with baby number 2, you sound like a lovely mummy! Thanks again x

  • Hey ladies, update about scan if you'd like to read...

    Had another scan with a consultant, she re-measured the nuchal fold a few times, and she got readings as low as 3.5mm and as high as 5.2mm depending on position of baby and the screenshot they measure when doing the scan. So at 22 weeks this fold measured was within 'normal' range. (just goes to show you how innaccurate those measurements are when in one sitting she gave me about 4 different readings of the nuchal fold) Also, although I've read that once you have one large reading youre chances are always higher for there to be a chromosonal problem and it doesnt matter if the reading is subsequently 'normal' again, I asked the consultant this and asked are majority of babies with downs still born with a large nuchal fold present and she said yes, so if my baby did have downs, he would still be more likely to continue to have a larger nuchal fold throughout pregnancy. She took a look at the images from previous scan and could see how baby had flexed his head back as well which could be responsible for the larger reading.

    RPD was still present, but only mildly, fluid in the kidneys is meant to be below 7mm, anything above is classed as a dilation. So in one kidney he had fluid of about 7.5mm, and in the other it was 8mm. So it is only mild, anything above 9mm is considered 'moderate rpd' and anything above 10 is considered strong rpd. Through some research, ive also found that RPD is more prevelant in boys as well! All in all I'm feeling much more convinced that everything will be fine, even if the RPD is still present at birth, its nothing i cant handle, just means baby has to be put on antibiotics to ensure he doesnt get a kidney infection and it would just be something to keep an eye on as he grows up that hes likely to grow out of.
    She also rechecked other measurements and took a good look at his heart and couldnt see any other problems, although she reminded me that women who have normal scans and normal blood tests, can still end up having a baby with a range of problems.

    Got to go back at 30 weeks for a scan to see if RPD is still present, and if so, means when baby is born, and hes three days old (enough time for his system to have started functioning efficiently independently) he will have to have his own scan to see if its gone away.

    She mentioned to me that technically my chances are more like 1 in 200 now just because 1 in 200 babies scanned with rpd are born with downs, and she informed me about amnio, and that if I was still worried that I could have the procedure to find out, but as previously mentioned, the chances are actually higher that I could miscarry than the chance there actually is a problem anyway so it's not a risk i am willing to take myself, although I definetley understand why women do it, as those few days of feeling lost in the unknown were terrifying. I asked her about harmony blood test and she said it will hopefully be offered in the UK in the next few years or another non-invasive procedure will be. Which is good news for future ladies!

    I have to say though, she wasnt the most reassuring doctor and I felt as if she didnt really have time for me as the waiting room was packed, so as technically unprofessional that is, I guess it can also only mean that she didnt think i had anything to worry about otherwise she would have kept me around longer. Anyway, thanks for your messages and I'll let you know what happens when my little one is born, and even if he does have a health issue, I will try my best to be strong and handle it. Cant wait to meet my little boy however he comes out!
    xxxx

  • Hii 

    My baby's nuchal thickness is 5.0mm, is my baby physically and mentally fine?? because my doctor said that it is very thin so there can be risk of mental abnormalty...

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