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CVS: The Rapid Result.

Posted on by Claire

Wednesday 18th January: The Rapid Result came back.

I was laid on the sofa with the quilt, again, running through every single scenario possible. We were told that we’d get the rapid result back within 3 working days, and that an FMU midwife would call after 5pm. We anticipated that we’d get the phone call on Friday 20th January. My mobile started ringing at around 5pm. The number was ‘BLOCKED’. I knew it had to be them. I sat myself up and prepared myself.

The FMU midwife asked me to confirm my name and date of birth and then said the words we’d only hoped for, the results were NORMAL. That meant that there were no abnormalities with regards to Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome or Pateau Syndrome.

I rang my partner first and we both cried. I then rang my parents and close family – then my best friend. We all could breathe a sign of relief and relax, a little bit, until the final report came through…

This was the most agonising 2 week wait of our entire lives.

MM.

Referral to UCLH for the CVS procedure.

Posted on by Claire

Tuesday 17th January 2012: Appointment at UCLH for detailed scan and CVS procedure.

With barely a wink of sleep between us, we arrived at the Fetal Medicine Unit at 9am for our 9:15am appointment. We were taken a for full scan which lasted around 45 minutes. There were two specialists and a FMU Midwife present, along with a student who was observing. The specialist doctor who was performing the scan said that there was a lack of nasal bone visibility, which also carried through as a ‘soft marker’.

We were taken into a family room where we could discuss our options… and we were then joined by an FMU Midwife who went through the basic pro’s and con’s of the procedure and the impending results that would follow.

I signed the consent forms and was taken back through to the specialist room where the procedure would take place.

The doctor and an additional Midwife scrubbed up and I was given two injections of local anaesthetic directly into my tummy, on the left hand side. The injections were the easy bit…

After around 5 minutes the anaesthetic had taken hold and the doctor proceeded to take the first of the placenta samples, while the FMU midwife constantly scanned my tummy. The procedure was uncomfortable and felt like tugging. I winced quite a fair bit and squeezed on my partners hand so tightly! I just kept looking at him and both he and all the staff present reassured me throughout. I felt in safe hands, with the best in the business!

The second biopsy was taken and I breathed a sigh of relief. The FMU midwife showed us our precious little babbit on the screen again to reassure us of his movements again.

I was then taken, slowly, into a recovery ward where one of the FMU midwife’s who had been present joined us to explain that that procedure had collected two successful samples that would be sent away asap. We were to get the ‘rapid result’ back within 3 days. The rapid result checks for Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome and Pateau Syndrome. The rest of the results would follow in around 3 weeks with a detailed report on rarer chromosomal abnormalities.

After recovering for a further 25 minutes or so, we were free to go home. My partner took me home and I tried to sleep on the sofa all day. I was exceptionally emotional and quite sore. I was advised that I may have period-type pains, some bleeding and soreness for a few days. I could not help but run over every single result and scenario in my head… and again, barely slept a wink that night.

MM.

 

Pregnancy and the Flu Jab.

Posted on by Claire

I received a letter last week from my doctors; offering a Free Flu vaccination. I was quite surprised I had been called for so early – but decided that receiving the jab was essential. This Winter’s Flu jab protects against the same three strains of Flu as last year’s vaccines. These include the H1N1 strain of the Flu virus. H1N1 is the same strain of Flu that caused the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic.

I had the injection on the morning of Saturday 10th December. By the afternoon my left arm was absolutely aching like hell! Then when I woke up on Sunday morning I just felt exhausted; with a really achy arm! By Sunday lunchtime, I was really flagging. I struggled to keep my eyes open – and could not make our usual Sunday roast! DP took care of the roast dinner, but I really had to force myself to eat it – for the sake of the baby growing inside me. I seriously had zero appetite. After lunch I slept all afternoon. I woke up at 10pm feeling even worse. I ached from head to toe. I felt weak and frail. I also noticed a huge red circle on my arm, where the injection had been performed.

I woke up on Monday morning at 6:45am, ready for work. Except I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow. I felt so so ill. My entire back was aching so much – especially the back of my lungs. I couldn’t even clench my fists. I had to call in sick. Only the second time in 3 years – so I think my boss understood ;o

I went back to work on Tuesday – still not feeling great. Infact, today is Wednesday and I still don’t feel 100%!

But hey ho – the side-effects from having the injection clearly out-weigh the effects of actually catching Flu in pregnancy!

For details on why you should get the Flu vaccination, see the dedicated NHS page, here: NHS.uk

MM.