20 weeks detailed anomaly scan

Went for my 20 weeks detailed scanning, and also signed the antenatal package with Dr Henry Cheng, which consists of all scheduled gynae appointments, ultrasounds and prenatal vitamins. The gynae visits will be more frequent towards the end of the pregnancy, but for the second trimester, it will still be once every 4 weeks.

This scanning took almost 40 minutes, as multiple fetal functions and anatomy have to be assessed. For example, our gynae pointed out the 4 chambers of the heart, and also how the blood flow towards and away from the heart! Fascinating!

This time, I was given 4 ultrasound photos of both hands, both feet, her female parts (3 lines, confirmed 100% girl) and her face.

Btw, I asked my hubby to film the ultrasound with his iphone, this is because we regretted not filming when we did our 12 weeks detailed scan (16 weeks scan was a short one). Our baby was moving alot and we missed watching her. Our gynae saw us doing it and kindly recorded the entire ultrasound for us in a CD-ROM heh! Now we can see our baby anytime we want.

Btw, one thing I was slightly worried about is that at 12 weeks, my placenta was anterior low. Although most of the time it will move upwards as pregnancy progress, I was still happy to find out that it is now anterior high. This is important as I would like a natural delivery.

The report generated is really detailed:

Happy that everything is fine with our little princess!

 

Total damage for this visit: $850 package + $280 detailed anomaly scan (all before GST).

That would bring my total prenatal bill size of $2100 as of now -_- I think it is on the high side.

 

Delivery charges for my gynae are as follows:

Normal $1-1.5k

Assisted $1.6-1.8k

C-section $2.2-2.8k

Ward round charges are $500 or more depending on number of visits.

xoxo,

16 weeks gender reveal!

 

Went for our routine 16 weeks checkup and scan. Typically during the second trimester without complications, we will see the gynae once a month. I can’t wait to see my baby each time, but I have to trust that my baby is developing well in my uterus and stop worrying.

My gynae refused to tell us the gender at 12 weeks, as he says that the genitals are swollen in both boys and girls, and could go either way. His practice is not to give false hope/buy the wrong color of baby apparels/tell everyone the wrong gender, until he can be relatively sure. Therefore, even though my hubby was very keen to know at our last visit, we decided to wait it out.

Fast forward to our 16 weeks checkup, immediately we see a hyperactive kicking baby in my uterus lying on his/her back. The gynae did a quick measurement of the head circumference, as the CRL is no longer accurate for measurement with the baby curled up in the small space. Everything measures fine, and baby is growing well.

Then the gynae asked whether we want to know the gender, is there any preference, is it a sensitive issue etc, haha.

Before I was pregnant, I have been telling my hubby that I want a boy. And my hubby was jokingly saying that if we got a girl, he would ‘bao to’ me to our child that I didn’t want her. But when I am really pregnant, and everything is now so real, I don’t even care. All I want is a healthy baby!

And then we look in between the legs..

Drumroll.. It’s a GIRL!

I was so overwhelmed and bursting with joy. She’s so cute and I didn’t realise I could love another being so much even before I see her.

Gynae is 90% sure, and he is one experienced gynae. So I am gonna take his word for it.

Time to go shopping for all the girly stuff! 🙂

xoxo,

What to expect at the first trimester screening and OSCAR test

I went for my first trimester detailed scan and OSCAR test at 12+ weeks pregnant. This test is meant to be done from the 11th-14th weeks of pregnancy.

This is also the first appointment with a new gynae that my sister-in-law and forum recommended-Dr Henry Cheng. My previous gynae was Dr Adrian Woodworth, which for some reasons, I decided not to continue to see him.

Dr Henry Cheng has 2 clinics: Mount E Novena, and Bishan. For this visit, it will be at novena, but the subsequent ones will be at Bishan, closer to our place.

We had a rather long ultrasound session, and our gynae was really patient showing us all the body parts of our baby. Since this is my hubby’s first time seeing the baby, he was very fascinated. Baby was also doing all sorts of movements like rolling over, waving the hands and bouncing.. No way it can get any cuter heehee!

A breakdown of our ultrasound photo:

Row 1: heartbeat (L) skull (R)

Row 2: face (L) hands/feet (R)

Row 3: overall CRL measurement (L) measurement of NT/skin (R)

For the OSCAR test, it is made up of several components. My gynae took the time to explain what the test is about, and how it predicts risk of down syndrome (DS). As I am only 26, my risk of having a DS child is presumably low.

It comprises:

NT measurement

If NT is high, means the skin is thick, higher risk of DS. And the thicker, the more likely to be DS.

Maternal serum markers

Fetal anatomy

My gynae mentioned that some DS fetus do not show a stomach at early scan.

 

And you can see the generated report.

For my age, the background risk, which means the average risk of having a DS is 1 in 1216 pregnancies. Any ratio that is above, means 1:1217 and above, means your risk of having a DS child is lower than your age group=hooray for you!

And my risk is 1 in 24329, which means it is almost impossible for my child to have DS.

What a great relief!

I just want my child to be a healthy baby 🙂

xoxo,

Duphaston for threatened miscarriage?

Had a high fever yesterday, brought about by my sore throat. And I had a sore throat because I was so emotional (I blame it on the pregnancy hormones) and was yelling at my hubby. So whose fault?

Then, I started mild spotting/having brown discharge the next day. Of course I gan jiong la, I thought my fever is harming my fetus. I have been doing my research on OB/GYN reviews, so I decided to visit one of the gynaes that I shortlisted- Dr Adrian  B. Woodworth’s clinic at Seng Kang MRT, Thomson Women’s Clinic. Do note the opening hours of his clinic since it is different every day. This gynae has so many degrees, like quite pro.

They don’t do appointments, so it is basically like normal clinic where you walk-in and register on the spot. I waited for almost an hour, and the clinic was so cramped there is no place to sit. So kinda a bad experience. Can’t imagine when I’m in my third trimester, have to visit the gynae every 1-2 weeks, so much time is wasted on waiting right… 😦

Finally its my turn to see the gynae. I waited for an hour for a consultation that lasts 10 minutes. He did a quick ultrasound and confirmed everything was fine with the baby, then prescribed 2 boxes of Duphaston, which is a progesterone pill. Also reminded me to refrain from tea/coffee, intercourse and have as much bed rest as possible. Since having spotting could be a sign of miscarriage or unstable pregnancy. *Now I’m worried*

And the bill for that consultation was about $260 (for consultation, scan and medicine). Quite expensive in my opinion, but at least I had a peace of mind that my baby is ok. Actually I was a little apprehensive about taking the pills, since there is a warning sign saying ‘poison’.

So, I did some reading on Duphaston, and this was what I found:

Progesterone is a vital hormone to maintain a pregnancy, and if the mother is producing low levels of it, the womb cannot maintain the fetus. So, in cases of threatened miscarriage or previous miscarriage experience, doctors would prescribe this synthetic progesterone pill to keep the pregnancy viable.

 

I followed his instructions, and my spotting stopped after 2 days. Later, when I mentioned to my colleague, who is a mother of 1 and currently also pregnant with #2, she told me that spotting is common during pregnancy as long as no bright red bleeding and sharp pains. Anyways.

One side effect from these pills though is that my morning sickness got worst. But I read online that it is common, and will go away once I’m off medication. So, I actually only took half a box and stopped.

 

Anyways, I decided not to continue seeing this gynae for the following personal reasons:

-Long waiting time

-He speaks too fast, I feel like I am missing out some information esp with my pregnancy brain

-This is my first pregnancy, was looking at a more detailed gynae who would give advice and encouragement

xoxo,

Early Dating Scan experience @ KKH

After I found out that I am pregnant with the home pregnancy test (HPT) kits, I wanted to confirm my pregnancy before announcing to our family and to do an early dating scan since my menstrual cycles can be somewhat irregular (it ranges from 30-34 days). And since I have not done my research on the gynae and the hospital to deliver in, I decided to go KKH instead for the scan.

My experience with KKH is the long waiting time even with appointment, however, my ultrasound technician was very experienced, and the costs were fairly reasonable (I think it was S$60 or S$80). The scan took merely 15-20 mins.

I remember how nervous I felt while waiting for my turn, as I have read on forum how women with a positive HPT ended up with a sac with no fetus, or a fetus without heartbeat. Or an ectopic pregnancy, i.e. the embryo implanted outside of the womb, and baby will not be able to survive eventually. Just the thought of it makes my heart ache. And of course there were women who were pleasantly surprised with more than 1 embryo.

What they measured during my dating/viability scan:

CRL(length from crown to rump): 7mm, which equates to about 6.6 weeks pregnant

Size of the gestational sac (which holds the fetus): 24 X 26 X 16mm

Number of sacs: 1 (no twins for me!)

Shape: Normal

Fetal pole: Yes

Cardiac activity: Yes (Very important! If heartbeat is detected, the rate of miscarriage in first trimester drops)

And a disclaimer saying that “Dating is inaccurate if CRL gestation is below 8 weeks”

Which is true for me, since my subsequent measurements of the CRL (during 12 weeks) or head circumference measurements (during 16 weeks) suggested that my dating scan is off by about 4-6 days.

And the technician noted a right ovary cyst of size 30 X 30 X 22mm, and I was advised to monitor whether the cyst has gone away at my next scan. Although such cysts may not affect the fetus and the pregnancy, it could cause damage to the ovary and bleeding complications.

Luckily, during my first trimester screening at 12 weeks, my gynae could not see the cyst anymore, so that was a normal corpus luteum which regressed by itself by the end of the first trimester. Now I know that my baby was an egg released from my right ovary heehee.

Here is a photo of the ultrasound done at KKH:

And when I did another ultrasound 1 week later with a private gynae (another story), I realized the poor quality of the ultrasound photo from KKH (maybe because of the zoom-in?).

Here is a photo of the ultrasound done at private gynae:

The yolk sac is almost as large as my fetus haha.

xoxo,