Just a warning, this post will have no pictures, and in fact is NOT about Cassidy. As I approach the 22nd week of my pregnancy I can finally breathe a little easier. Though the marvels of modern science are interesting and often times can be considered helpful, currently I do not subscribe completely to that belief. Fourteen weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to subject myself to some prenatal screenings. That consisted of an ultrasound at 11 weeks, to check the nuchal fold (thickness) of the baby's neck, followed by 2 sets of blood work at 11 weeks & 15 weeks respectively, to check for certain levels of hormones and proteins found in pregnancy. Often times babies with large nuchal folds are born with Downs, Trisomy 18 or other heart defects. Although I was not considered high risk for any defects or diseases I opted for the test, mostly for reassurance things were progressing as they normally would. Boy, was I fooled. Instead what I got was a minimally elevated nuchal fold reading (normal is <2.5cm, mine was 3.95cm). That was followed by 1 hour of genetic counseling. Basically to be told, this is only a screen, it is not a definitive diagnosis of any problems with the baby, but can show women who are at higher risk. A weekend of worrying came to a close in early December with my 1st round of blood tests coming as close to normal as they possibly could. That gave the genetics counselor and my OB some reassurance that things were seemingly better than the nuchal test portrayed. Due to the high nuchal reading I was offered a fetal echocardiogram as well, to be done at a later date in January once the baby's heart had developed better. I felt better about things after the initial blood work came back, but had to wait until the 2nd blood work to be sure of my overall risk. 2nd round came back and ruled out high risk for Downs & Trisomy 18 (1:10,000), but with low AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) levels, which are often found in babies with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. Normal odds of neural tube defects are 1:1000, but with my elevated NT and low AFP, my risk was higher 1:500. So rather than wait for my standard 19 week ultrasound at the OB office, I was given a level 2 ultrasound at the hospital in the OB wing. There they take a more detailed look at the baby, and all of the organs, to look for the tell-tale signs of spina bifida, such as enlarged cerebellum , breaks or inconsisitencies in the spine. Thankfully when this U\S was performed the baby presented healthy and without anything abnormal. Also we found out we are having another girl (80% sure at 16 weeks). We kept our regular 19 week U\S at the OB office (last week) and were reassured by that scan that she looked healthly and she was confirmed to be a girl. Lastly we have made it to the fetal echo (today) and although I felt like everything was fine, I had that feeling before so nothing was going to surprise me. Low and behold today's echo was unbelievable. The baby's heart is only about the size of the tip of your pinkie, but when it is enlarged on the screen you can see so much detail. We saw 4 healthy chambers, pulmonary arteries and the aorta, valves opening & closing and it was truly remarkable. She was given 2 thumbs up and I can honestly rest a little easier tonight knowing that she is growing and progressing just as she should. Turns out, spina bifida is the least common result of having an elevated NT scan, the screen has a high false\positive rate, miscalculation of due date, normal fluctutations in nature (woman to woman), and often times pregnancies that experience bleeding in the beginning all have been shown to have elevated NTs. It's too bad they didn't give me that information in the beginning, from day 1, maybe then I would have been a little more calm during the first half of my pregnancy.