Do you go beyond the normal screenings while your pregnant???

From what I understand, there is no ultrasound that can be done while the mom is pregnant that will really pinpoint complications or defects in the baby's heart.

My sister had heart problems as a baby so while she was pregnant they did ultrasounds just to make sure the heartbeat was there, but she was told that they wouldn't know if the baby had them until after she was born.

They did an ultrasound of her heart after she was born and found that she has 2 small holes and a valve that isn't closing all the way. They did surgery to correct the valve and decided to watch the holes since they can heal on their own. The baby is almost a year now and the holes got bigger so she has to have surgery to correct it.

So, I'm not sure if there is a good screening method that will really pinpoint this while you are pregnant. Plus, even if doctors could see a defect, there isn't anything that can be done until after birth.

Good luck with your baby and let us know how she is doing.

I got a nuchal translucency ultrasound to test for Downs syndrome, but it was really more because they could tell me at 12 weeks what I was having.

Ive had a ton of ultrasounds during this pregnancy, and I'm only 25 weeks along.   I have had a previous misscarriage and it was never figured out why.   So far Ive been told that I'm underweight, my baby WAS underweight, the bowels were deformed but have corrected themselves, my due date has been corrected twice... it seems like the screening is just...eeh.  A bunch of stress.  In all honesty, if they werent keeping track of my baby's weight gain and development and I was scared to death of misscarrying again, I wouldnt put myself through the stress of it!!!  Because REGARDLESS of what they tell me I'm going to carry to birth and I'm going to be there through whatever complications there are....its just the way life is...

Good luck to you, and my well wishes are def. your way.  You and your baby are in my prayers!!

My 2 yo Dd was born with a Congenital Heart Defect.  So I had a Fetal Echocardiogram with this pregnancy to look for any heart defects.   But I never had anything 'extra' when I was pregnant with my DD.
I will have this 'extra' ultrasound with all of my future pregnancies.  But its not something they normally do.

Make a pregnancy ticker

I didn't with my pregnancies.   I tried to be very low intervention.   I did appreciate that I was not prepared if a baby was born with a problem, but it seemed unlikely.   And IF there was any problems I would have to deal with it postpartum, anyway.

Best wishes, hope all goes well with your baby!

I can see why you would want additional screenings. I chose to do as little as possible.So many things can be misread, that I just wait and cross that bridge when we get there.

I think this is a personal choice.  I don't see the need for all the tests cause the docs can't reverse time or the problem if they find it, and all it would do is stress me out.....so whats the point? Now for some they need to know and "prepare" for everything so they want the extra tests.

We had the Nuchal Screen done too. Also found out the sexes.

My daughter did have Choroid Plexus Cysts on her brain. Usually they only worry if there are more than one, they are bilateral and more than 6-9mm. My daughter had 3, bilateral and they were all between a 4 and 10mm.

They did another ultrasound and she did not open or close her fists, she had some abnormalities of the palate as well. They told us it looked like she was a Trisomy 18 baby. It wasn't until late in my second trimester that she was opening her fists and she was born 100% fine. She has a small issue with her kidneys and skin tags in her mouth but she is now a happy/healthy 19 month old.

The screen allowed us to be prepared, but it would not have changed the outcome. We already loved her and would not have terminated.

Quoting abstractmommy:

I got a nuchal translucency ultrasound to test for Downs syndrome, but it was really more because they could tell me at 12 weeks what I was having.

I agree....I don't see a point in stressing myself out throughout my pregnancy to find out that there was a false positive on a test. I would rather just find out after the baby is born. I would never terminate so it really doesn't matter with me. So, I got very minimal tests done.

Quoting housefullofkidz:

I can see why you would want additional screenings. I chose to do as little as possible.So many things can be misread, that I just wait and cross that bridge when we get there.

I had the 20 week biophysicial ultrasound. Aside from that, I declined hcg tests and all screenings.