Most would-be mothers take 5-6 ultrasounds during their pregnancy. By the end of my first trimester during my first pregnancy, I had gone through 19 ultrasounds, of which 11 happened during a single day - 10 April 2012.
Since it was our first ultrasound at Jehangir, we reached the hospital at 9.25 am for a 9:30 am NT Scan appointment and was asked to wait for 15 minutes. Knowing what I know now, I can safely say that we shouldn't have reached a minute before 10:30 am.
An NTS or Nuchal Translucency Scan alongwith the blood test is called the Combined Test and is a screening test for assessing the foetus' risk for Down's syndrome and as per our gynec, this was a standard test all expectant mothers went through.
I utilized my waiting time drinking water since a full bladder supposedly gives a good view during the scan. After 20 minutes, we check again and was told to wait for 20 more minutes. In the meanwhile we got to know that at 9:30 am I had the last appointment and the woman slotted for 8:30 am was still awaiting her turn. My husband and I didn't even carry our laptops or any sort of reading material since we expected to be back at work by 12:00 noon after an early lunch which seemed like wishful thinking so we informed our respective managers' that we would reach post lunch. Neither of us owned smartphones in 2012, so we just got more frustrated with every passing minute with nothing to do.
After a long wait I got called at 11:00 am and the receptionist asks me for my forms. I look at her blankly till she hands me the consent forms for the ultrasound. By now I am furious. I was waiting in front of that woman for 1.5 hrs and inquiring at regular intervals, when my scan would take place and she didn't think of mentioning the consent form even once!!! So since the form is not ready, another patient goes in for her scan while I am left waiting outside.
I finally go in for my scan at 11:45 am, 2 hrs and 15 minutes after my pre-scheduled appointment by which time my bladder is about to burst. The doctor starts the scan and asks me to empty my bladder as it is "too full". "Too full??" I ask her incredulously because I honestly was too furious to react and she blithely says "Aren't you feeling the pressure on your bladder?". My husband sagely advises me not to completely empty my bladder as though it is even possible let alone for a pregnant woman with urine incontinence. So then I had to use the hospital toilet (yuck). Thank God for the truckload of tissue papers I carried in my mountain of a handbag. I have a deep rooted aversion to using public toilets. I have gone through 30 hour train journeys without urinating just to avoid using the loo in the train.
I again drink some water and go in for my scan and the doctor says my bladder is too empty. By now it is 1 pm and lunch break for the doctors. They come back by 1:30 and tell me that the baby is not in the right position and I would need to eat something to get the baby to move. We go to the hospital canteen and have a sandwich and come back. The doctor scans me again and tells me a sandwich is not enough energy to get the baby to move; I need to have something sweet. I go to the canteen and eat a chocolate pastry all the while praying that my nausea doesn't choose to act up now. By now we have informed our managers that reaching office today does not seem probable.
The doctor scans me again and tells me that though the baby has moved, even the new position is not right. She keeps prodding my lower abdomen, but the baby doesn't budge. She started talking to the baby, asking why he/she was troubling mamma so much who has been patiently waiting for one scan since morning. She even tried prodding the baby by inserting a scanner into my vagina. Tears came from my eyes, but baby refused to budge. That doctor was the first person to call Eric stubborn and after he was born with every passing day we realize just how right she was :) By now it is time for the doctor to leave, but she feels sorry for us and tells her colleague who has just arrived to get the NT scan done instead of her.
The drama continues. The cycle repeats itself multiple times. The doctor scans, prods the baby, doesn't get the required position, send me out to eat/drink something and come back. I call my colleague to vent out my frustration and she googles and suggests I drink orange juice to get the baby to move. Though the baby used to move, he was never in the elusive "right position". By 6 pm, it is time to shut down the ultrasound centre for the day and the doctor tries one last time. My husband and I hope with all our hearts, but we were disappointed yet again. At 6:30 pm, we finally left after spending one whole day fruitlessly at the hospital.
NTS appointments were given only on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I went to the hospital again on 12 April 2012 for my NTS. My husband had a full day training and hence couldn't accompany me. This time though I was prepared. I had my laptop, data card, fully charged phone, newspaper and told my manager that I will definitely be late. The doctors tried scanning me multiple times but to no avail. After 2 full days in the hospital the doctors finally said enough is enough.
Later on I realized, there is a screening for Downs syndrome that is done in the later weeks called the Quadruple Test. The test was fortunately negative. In any case as both my mom and MIL told me, what would I have done even if the test was positive. The test is only an assessment of risk and not capable of accurately assessing whether the baby has Downs syndrome or not. Other than giving me one more thing to worry about, the test would've resulted in nothing. In fact my brother-in-law's wife who has 2 healthy kids now was telling me how when she went for NTS for her first baby, the doctor commented that the risk was high after the scan. Since it was in December before the Christmas shutdown, she had to wait for a torturous 2 weeks to get the results which were ultimately negative. I fail to understand why doctors don't understand the impact a simple comment from them has on an anxious pregnant mother's psyche. In fact when she was pregnant with her second baby she flat out refused to get the NTS done. Her husband didn't understand why she was fussing especially since this expensive test was covered by their comprehensive insurance but I completely agree with her.
Anyway cut to my 2nd pregnancy when the gynec told us to get the NTS done, I told her how I took around 16 scans when I was pregnant with my son and still didn't get the reading so I was not very keen on doing it. She asked me to get it done by Dr. Aparna Kulkarni who is supposedly the best ultrasound doctor in Pune city. Either due to Dr. Kulkarni's skill or the fact that I just had lunch and was drinking Sprite and Minute Maid's orange juice instead of plain water or maybe baby number 2 is not as stubborn as his/her brother we got the "right position" and reading at the second attempt itself :)
Since it was our first ultrasound at Jehangir, we reached the hospital at 9.25 am for a 9:30 am NT Scan appointment and was asked to wait for 15 minutes. Knowing what I know now, I can safely say that we shouldn't have reached a minute before 10:30 am.
An NTS or Nuchal Translucency Scan alongwith the blood test is called the Combined Test and is a screening test for assessing the foetus' risk for Down's syndrome and as per our gynec, this was a standard test all expectant mothers went through.
I utilized my waiting time drinking water since a full bladder supposedly gives a good view during the scan. After 20 minutes, we check again and was told to wait for 20 more minutes. In the meanwhile we got to know that at 9:30 am I had the last appointment and the woman slotted for 8:30 am was still awaiting her turn. My husband and I didn't even carry our laptops or any sort of reading material since we expected to be back at work by 12:00 noon after an early lunch which seemed like wishful thinking so we informed our respective managers' that we would reach post lunch. Neither of us owned smartphones in 2012, so we just got more frustrated with every passing minute with nothing to do.
After a long wait I got called at 11:00 am and the receptionist asks me for my forms. I look at her blankly till she hands me the consent forms for the ultrasound. By now I am furious. I was waiting in front of that woman for 1.5 hrs and inquiring at regular intervals, when my scan would take place and she didn't think of mentioning the consent form even once!!! So since the form is not ready, another patient goes in for her scan while I am left waiting outside.
I finally go in for my scan at 11:45 am, 2 hrs and 15 minutes after my pre-scheduled appointment by which time my bladder is about to burst. The doctor starts the scan and asks me to empty my bladder as it is "too full". "Too full??" I ask her incredulously because I honestly was too furious to react and she blithely says "Aren't you feeling the pressure on your bladder?". My husband sagely advises me not to completely empty my bladder as though it is even possible let alone for a pregnant woman with urine incontinence. So then I had to use the hospital toilet (yuck). Thank God for the truckload of tissue papers I carried in my mountain of a handbag. I have a deep rooted aversion to using public toilets. I have gone through 30 hour train journeys without urinating just to avoid using the loo in the train.
I again drink some water and go in for my scan and the doctor says my bladder is too empty. By now it is 1 pm and lunch break for the doctors. They come back by 1:30 and tell me that the baby is not in the right position and I would need to eat something to get the baby to move. We go to the hospital canteen and have a sandwich and come back. The doctor scans me again and tells me a sandwich is not enough energy to get the baby to move; I need to have something sweet. I go to the canteen and eat a chocolate pastry all the while praying that my nausea doesn't choose to act up now. By now we have informed our managers that reaching office today does not seem probable.
The doctor scans me again and tells me that though the baby has moved, even the new position is not right. She keeps prodding my lower abdomen, but the baby doesn't budge. She started talking to the baby, asking why he/she was troubling mamma so much who has been patiently waiting for one scan since morning. She even tried prodding the baby by inserting a scanner into my vagina. Tears came from my eyes, but baby refused to budge. That doctor was the first person to call Eric stubborn and after he was born with every passing day we realize just how right she was :) By now it is time for the doctor to leave, but she feels sorry for us and tells her colleague who has just arrived to get the NT scan done instead of her.
The drama continues. The cycle repeats itself multiple times. The doctor scans, prods the baby, doesn't get the required position, send me out to eat/drink something and come back. I call my colleague to vent out my frustration and she googles and suggests I drink orange juice to get the baby to move. Though the baby used to move, he was never in the elusive "right position". By 6 pm, it is time to shut down the ultrasound centre for the day and the doctor tries one last time. My husband and I hope with all our hearts, but we were disappointed yet again. At 6:30 pm, we finally left after spending one whole day fruitlessly at the hospital.
NTS appointments were given only on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I went to the hospital again on 12 April 2012 for my NTS. My husband had a full day training and hence couldn't accompany me. This time though I was prepared. I had my laptop, data card, fully charged phone, newspaper and told my manager that I will definitely be late. The doctors tried scanning me multiple times but to no avail. After 2 full days in the hospital the doctors finally said enough is enough.
Later on I realized, there is a screening for Downs syndrome that is done in the later weeks called the Quadruple Test. The test was fortunately negative. In any case as both my mom and MIL told me, what would I have done even if the test was positive. The test is only an assessment of risk and not capable of accurately assessing whether the baby has Downs syndrome or not. Other than giving me one more thing to worry about, the test would've resulted in nothing. In fact my brother-in-law's wife who has 2 healthy kids now was telling me how when she went for NTS for her first baby, the doctor commented that the risk was high after the scan. Since it was in December before the Christmas shutdown, she had to wait for a torturous 2 weeks to get the results which were ultimately negative. I fail to understand why doctors don't understand the impact a simple comment from them has on an anxious pregnant mother's psyche. In fact when she was pregnant with her second baby she flat out refused to get the NTS done. Her husband didn't understand why she was fussing especially since this expensive test was covered by their comprehensive insurance but I completely agree with her.
Anyway cut to my 2nd pregnancy when the gynec told us to get the NTS done, I told her how I took around 16 scans when I was pregnant with my son and still didn't get the reading so I was not very keen on doing it. She asked me to get it done by Dr. Aparna Kulkarni who is supposedly the best ultrasound doctor in Pune city. Either due to Dr. Kulkarni's skill or the fact that I just had lunch and was drinking Sprite and Minute Maid's orange juice instead of plain water or maybe baby number 2 is not as stubborn as his/her brother we got the "right position" and reading at the second attempt itself :)
