The description from Baby Center about what Nuchal translucency screening is:
This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby’s risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.
The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby’s neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.
The NT scan must be done when you’re between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. (The last day you can have it done is the day you turn 13 weeks and 6 days pregnant.) It’s usually offered along with a blood test in what’s known as first-trimester combined screening.
Like other screening tests, an NT scan won’t give you a diagnosis. But it can assess your baby’s risk for certain problems and help you decide whether you want to have chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis to find out whether your baby is actually affected.
The NT scan has been performed in the United States since 1995, mostly at large medical centers. Ultrasound technicians (sonographers) and doctors need special training and high-resolution ultrasound equipment to perform it correctly. They must be certified by the Fetal Medicine Foundation in London, the organization that sets the international standards and provides the software that enables a doctor to evaluate your baby’s risk.
I sense that this test is the beginning of many ways that we’ve introduced new ways to worry about pregnancy. The desire to know everything comes from the fear that something scary will happen with the pregnancy. But, strangely, because of the nature of these results, knowing more in many cases only causes you to worry more. Not only that, but doing these tests costs money and also increase the chance of miscarriage.
Another statistic, mentioned in last week’s This American Life, which focused on America’s health care system, is that up to 33% of our medical procedures are not needed. Because we feel like the insurance companies charge us too much, we in turn try to run up our hospital bills with costs to justify the big spending, which in turn makes us a country that spends a lot on health care but isn’t any healthier.
I suspect that the infinite number of blood tests, screenings, etc are a big part of that 33% of things that don’t need to happen. Less is more. By avoiding these tests, I will be saving money (our health insurance has a $3,000 deductible and only covers bills 80% after that, so costs are very real to us), we will be avoiding procedures that increase the risk of problems, and in the meantime we won’t have to worry about ambiguous results and statistics and false reasons to worry.
What do others think about this?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Where I live (France), the NT Scan is a standard procedure that is in fact part of the mandatory pre-natal follow up that all French women have to comply with (if they want to get their benefits). The blood test and CVS/Amnio is optional.
So, over here, cost is absolutely not an issue, the NT Scan doesn’t cost a cent. Looking at it from a standpoint of “it won’t cost me anything and I get to see my baby on the ultrasound again”, I see no reason not to do it.
Sad! Is this what they call the “quad screen” blood test? I know it is controversial because of the high chance of a false positive and if you need to know this info at all, but I heard a nurse once give a good argument in favor of these tests. If there is some sort of neural tube disorder (what the heck am I typing? not really sure if this is right) this can be corrected immediately after birth but only if it is known before the birth. I can put you in touch with the nurse/friend who gave me this spiel if you are interested in hearing it correctly for yourself.
Also sad because it seems like this little test shouldn’t costs that much (IMHO). It saddens me to think of skimping on standard health care procedures just because your insurance isn’t that great. I don’t blame you at all, just the screwed up system that says you need a lot of money or a lame corporate job to get decent health care in this country.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty similar to the quad screen.
To be honest, we’re not NOT doing it because it costs too much. We’re not doing it because I really don’t think there’s a point. The screening doesn’t tell you if your baby has a problem, it just says that there’s an either tiny, small, or medium sized chance of there being a problem. And, shouldn’t hospitals be equipped for complications during labor and birth? I don’t buy the only possible to correct if you do all these expensive tests first. Doctors are paid to be ready.
I don’t think it’s skimping. I think it’s avoiding unnecessary tests that only fuel paranoia rather than alleviate it. All of the studies I’m reading point to the fact that these screening don’t decrease the likelihood of complications, they only increase the chance of introducing new risks.
But yes, health insurance is a mess. At the same time, we shouldn’t waste money simply because it’s possible to. I am guessing that the way to save health insurance is by reducing the number of high tech, expensive, unproven tests and screenings and drugs and whatever that we opt into merely because we feel like we’re entitled to since we have to pay a ton for health insurance.
Lori, seeing the baby again is a good reason to do it if it’s free. Also, with the better equipment required for this test, it’s sometimes possible to find out the gender (not with 100% accuracy). Now, that’s one piece of information that I AM 100% excited about finding out as soon as possible.