The Long, Long Ultrasound

Ever since I was younger, I've always carried a book with me. You never knew when downtime would occur - so it was important to be prepared.

Yesterday, I had an NT scan.

How nuchal translucency screening is done

Nuchal translucency screening, or NT screening, is an ultrasound test. It screens for Down syndrome (trisomy 21, meaning an extra copy of chromosome 21) and other disorders that are caused by extra copies of chromosomes (trisomy 13, trisomy 18), as well as congenital heart defects. This procedure is done during an ultrasound. The sonographer will first move the transducer across your belly to measure your baby from crown to rump to ensure that the fetal age is accurate. Then he or she will locate and measure the nuchal fold (if you're lucky your baby will cooperate by moving into a position where the measurement will be easy).

Once I was in the room, I was told to lie down on the table and that it would take about 30 minutes. I figured - great - glad I brought that Jackie Collins. No prob!

Then she turned the lights off.

Damn.

And because she needed to see the images more than I did, I couldn't see the screen. Therfore, nothing to look at.

Double Damn.

So I thought - OK, I can go to sleep.

But, because she needed to get a really good reading, she kept pushing the transducer into my belly - making it impossible for me to sleep.

Triple Damn.

In the end, it took about 25 minutes, I did get to see the matzo ball and the tech told me there was no inidcation that anything was wrong. Also, if there was, they'd be calling me right away.

Thus far, no call. :)