Panic over my scan - please advise if any of you know

[hannah_fraser]

I know this sounds incredibly silly but I am really panicking about this today. I had a 3D scan of my baby at 18 weeks to find out the sex and a couple of the pictures have worried me. Organs etc all looked fine, but the bit between his skull and nose seemed a bit odd. I keep reading everywhere that baby's develop a button nose which becomes more defined, but our little one the skull seemed to go straight down into a long nose with no real bridge there. Could it be that this will change or could it be some indication of something being wrong? If it is just a big nose then that doesn't matter but I'm really worrying something is wrong. My 20 week scan is next week but I'm guessing a 2D won't look into this?

[mamacool]

Try not to panic. Most private scans will refer you back to your GP or antenatal care if they suspect a problem with the development of the baby as part of their terms of business. The anomally scan at 20 weeks is pretty thorough and I'm sure that if you talk to the sonographer at the start they will double check for you. My 2d scan looked at everything, including the face, plus remember baby still has a lot of developing to do so try not to worry in between time.

[Mummyleanne]

Did the sonographer not advise anything about this to u? I'm sure it's nothing to worry about and you have another scan next week so ensure you ask any questions or concerns. X

[hannah_fraser]

No they didn't mention it at all. At the time I just assumed it wasn't finished developing or maybe the angle was odd, but looking at a friends scan picture from 12 weeks in 2D you could really see the button nose clearly, so it has just made me panic. I will ask at the scan next week for them to check, I didn't realised they looked at the face so that's reassuring. Thanks for both replying so quickly x

[NanKing]

I don' think you are being silly - I went through my last pregnancy worrying because whenever we saw my son in scans his mouth was gaping open - I became paranoid that there was something wrong with his jaw and he couldn't close it! (he was absolutely fine).

I am not an expert but at the 20 week scan the anomalies which are usually looked for are to do with things like talipes (which people used to call club-foot), number of digits, cysts etc which can be (but aren't always) indicators of more serious conditions. So if you are worrying about a 'condition' I can't be totally reassuring but I am not aware that any of these are to do with the facial structure of the baby other than cleft lip/palate. However the sonographer would also look at the general bone structure, including, of course the shape of the skull. If there was something unusual about the structure of your baby's face this would presumably be due to the bone structure so the scan should show it. If there was something unusual about the soft tissue then that would obviously still be distressing but I would imagine it would also be easily corrected. Cleft lip is sometimes detected on an ultrasound so they are pretty detailed as to soft tissue too. My advice would be to be totally frank with the sonographer doing the scan and say what is worrying you, they are the experts in this area and will know exactly what the are seeing. Although the 3D scans are great images they are not diagnostic in the same way. Don't let the 20 week scan go by without asking about it, however silly you might feel, it is worth getting your concerns out in the open. All the very best to you.

[hannah_fraser]

Thank you, nice to know someone else has felt this way. Just having all these silly thoughts about his nose either being deformed or very large for his face and children bullying etc, not to mention the fear that it is something medically wrong, but you are right I just need to mention it and hopefully all will be well. Maybe it will have changed in the last two weeks anyway.

Luckily rest of the baby looked very healthy. Lips and eyes looked fine it was just the front of the skull bone and nose. Will mention it and let you know how I get on.

[Armywag]

I was worried sick after my 20 week anomaly scan as on one photo it looked like my baby had a stump for her left leg! On other photos, the leg looked slightly different but I still couldn't see the whole leg.

At my 4d scan, I was relieved to see two fully formed legs with feet. I have to say that on the dvd of the 4d scan, as the camera moves, it looks like part of her scull is missing but I think this is just the image moving as on other parts of the dvd you can see it is fully formed.

The sonographer will (or should) have informed you if they see anything to be concerned about. Did you just get one photo?

I'd say don't worry - but I know that is just unrealistic until you see it with your own eyes

[2andcounting]

My daughter looked like she was going to have a big pointy nose at my 20 week (2d) scan... When she was born she had a perfect button nose without a hint of a point. Best to check but try not to worry... I think you are right, they just haven't finished developing yet.

[hannah_fraser]

Thanks all. Well that day was hell, no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't calm down. In the end, on the advice of my mother-in-law (nurse) and boss (ex-gp) I went to my gp. Luckily he was a lovely man and didn't laugh or scorn at me for being silly. He said baby looks like he is developing normally and that at this stage it isn't bone, it's mostly cartalidge and will be changing, but to mention it next week at my scan anyway. Have calmed down now and back to just being excited to see my little man Will update next week after the scan x