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Why Is An NT Scan Essential During Pregnancy In The UAE

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Mother and Fetus Medical Group
Why Is An NT Scan Essential During Pregnancy In The UAE

Nuchal translucency is the name for the normal fluid space at the back of the neck of a fetus that can be seen on ultrasound scans. An NT Scan in Sharjah is performed during weeks eleven and thirteen of a pregnancy. The test makes use of an ultrasound with the purpose of screening for Down syndrome, or any other chromosomal or inherited conditions in the unborn baby.


Other non-chromosomal conditions, such as limb abnormalities, abdominal wall defects, neural tube defects, and a few congenital heart diseases, can even be detected at this phase of the pregnancy. Screening can find out the probability of risk of an abnormality, but does not identify the condition. If screening does diagnose a likely risk, it does not essentially signify there is an abnormality present, but does signify that further testing is required.


A nuchal translucency test is blended with the age of the mother and results of a blood test demonstrating the pregnancy hormone levels of the mother in order to provide a combined risk.


Without the blood test, screening is 80 percent precise for forecasting Down syndrome. With the blood test, the precision grows to 87 percent. The ones who return a high-risk result from the screening will be offered formal genetic testing by making use of some other procedures, such as CVS (Chorionic villus sampling) or amniocentesis.


All women are offered a nuchal translucency scan in spite of their age, and nineteen out of twenty women have a normal screening result. You will be going through an abdominal ultrasound. At times, you will be referred by an expert for maternal fetal medicine to a transvaginal test. Regardless of what your age is, you will be referred to an NT scan by the doctor. The scan is normally carried out:


a.     To check whether the fetus is progressing normally or not

b.     Family members with a genetic abnormality

c.     History of chromosomal abnormality in a previous pregnancy

d.     Depending on the age of the expectant - mothers who are over 35 years are supposed to go through this scan

e.     To find out the number of fetuses

f.      To confirm due date

g.     To confirm the date of pregnancy


Why do you need to go through a nuchal scan?

Expectant mothers are supposed to go through a nuchal translucency test in order to find out whether or not there are possibilities of chromosomal abnormality such as Down syndrome. An NT scan is simply a part of the detailed scan that you go through during the 1st trimester.


If you are older, then you have more possibilities of giving birth to a baby having Down Syndrome. By going through a screening test, it can be verified whether or not a baby has Down syndrome. But there is no surety with an NT test. As a result, after going through amniocentesis or CVS (chronic villus sampling), it can be verified whether the baby has Down syndrome or not.


Not just the results of an NT scan in pregnancy in UAE are mulled over in the screening test, the age of the mother and blood test and a few other factors are also taken into consideration. You can find out the abnormality with the aim of going ahead with a diagnostic test.


Procedure for an NT Scan

For a nuchal translucency test, you do not need to be prepared specifically. It takes just less than half an hour for the entire process of scan. At times, the doctor will ask you to consume water before the test takes place. The visuals will be simpler to understand if you go through the scan with a full bladder. The technician will ask you to lie down on a table during the process of scan. A technician will apply a water-based gel on the stomach and move the ultrasound device through the stomach.


The ultrasound waves are emitted by the ultrasound transducer that are reflected back to the ultrasound machine, creating visuals. You will be able to see the visuals on an ultrasound screen. At times, the doctor will ask you to go through a transvaginal scan if the uterus has a backward tilt - also known as the retroverted uterus -or in case you are overweight. In order to go through a transvaginal scan, you need to empty the bladder. The scan is totally safe for both the mother and the baby.


After measuring the baby from head to spine, the date of pregnancy can be confirmed by the fetal medicine specialist. Subsequently, the width of the fluid is measured by the doctor. Under the skin, the fluid appears as black at the same time as it appears as a white line on the skin. There are certain abnormalities associated with the urinary bladder, abdominal wall, stomach, and skull that can be ruled out by the doctor during the scan.


At times, the doctor will even as you to go through a TIFFA scan or an anomaly scan between the eighteen to twenty weeks of pregnancy, where more features of the baby will be noticeable. With the help of screening, size of the fetus, number of fetuses, fetus structure, and the heart rate can be determined by the doctor.


At times, the results will be available on the same day when you have gone through the test, and the doctor will explain to you the results.


Should I have a nuchal translucency scan?

The possibilities of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality are greater the older you are when you get pregnant. However, any person can have a baby with chromosomal abnormalities, so screening is offered to every person by a maternal fetal medicine doctor in Alain, but the decision to have the scan is exclusively yours.


At the same time as scans can reassure you that the baby is progressing normally, you may even get to know that the baby has an abnormality. For this reason, prior to you have the scan, it is a good idea to mull over the reason you are choosing to go for it, and what you would do next if the screening test showed you were at a high risk of the baby having a chromosomal abnormality.


A few women choose not to have any scans or make a decision to have a diagnostic test in its place such as amniocentesis or CVS (chorionic villus sampling), which can provide them with more definite information regarding the health of their baby.


Who carries out a nuchal translucency test?

A nuchal translucency test is normally carried out by a technician who is trained specially. This technician is known as a sonographer. However, other health professionals, such as midwives or doctors with the pertinent training, may even do it. The scan may be carried out in a radiology clinic or a hospital.


In conclusion

An NT scan is believed to be safe. It does not cause any harm to the baby. But make sure that you go through an NT scan only in the 1st trimester. The reason why an NT test is supposed to be carried out in the 1st trimester is that the space at the back of the neck of the baby can disappear by the fifteenth week of pregnancy. Do not miss to have a word regarding an NT scan with a specialized fetal medicine doctor at Mothers & Fetuses prior to going through the scan!

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