If you are 20 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound can be made to take a detailed look at all the baby's organs. The ultrasound can detect serious congenital abnormalities and less serious abnormalities. It is checked, among other things, whether the back and skull are closed and whether there is any cleft lip or club feet. Finally, we check the growth of the baby and the amount of amniotic fluid. This ultrasound is highly reliable and there are no risks involved for you as a mother or the baby.

If the result is good, does that mean my baby is completely healthy?
The ultrasound does not rule out 100% that your child has a condition, because not all conditions are discovered before birth. So realize that there is always a small chance that your child may still have an abnormality, even if the ultrasound results are good.
An abnormal result
If an abnormality is found on the ultrasound, we do not always know whether this abnormality will have consequences for the child. Therefore, further research is needed.
You can choose whether you want to have follow-up research done, but this is not mandatory. The only exception to this is if you decide to terminate the pregnancy based on the results. In this case, you are obliged to first undergo follow-up examination in order to receive a definitive diagnosis.
Follow-up research

The follow-up examination consists of an extensive ultrasound performed by a gynecologist. Sometimes an amniocentesis or blood test is also done in a specialized hospital.

Risks of follow-up research
With an amniocentesis there is a small chance of an miscarriage, namely 1 in 1000. If you have a chorionic villus sampling performed, this risk is 1 in 500.
Deviation confirmed after follow-up examination
If follow-up examination shows that your baby indeed has a serious condition, you will always be interviewed by one or more doctors. You will be guided in making the choice whether you want to carry the pregnancy to term or terminate it.

Do you have any questions regarding this information? You can find more information at www.pns.nl but you can always call us if you have any questions.