Week 20 - Cervical Insufficiency

This term is used to describe a cervix that is shorter than your OB would like. Typically 3.5 cm or more of tissue separates your baby from entry to the outside world, and when that length is shorter, OBs worry about preterm labor. A very worrisome length is 2.5 cm or less and I fall in the less worrisome, but nonetheless "watchful" category of 3.1 cm. The measurement of your cervix is done by an ultrasound technician at 20 weeks.

Cervical Insufficiency can lead to preterm labor. If doctors catch it early enough (13- 16 weeks), your cervix gets a stitch called a cerclage and you go on bedrest. Not sure how they catch it early if they routinely measure for it at 20 weeks.

Week 20 - Ultrasound... It's a Boy!

A lengthy diagnostic ultrasound is performed at 20 weeks, although many people (myself included) think of it as the ultrasound that will reveal the baby's sex. The technician will spend a lot of time looking at organs and taking measurements. Most of the time we had no idea what body parts we were seeing, and some of the exam was a little dull. The technician will be looking to view and capture the entire spine, all four chambers of the heart, both kidneys, the brain, and the placenta.

Baby dressed up as "Skeletor" for Halloween. Check out the bones of the forearm and hand-



I think we all know what this is...



His body is kind of twisted here, the feet are facing forward, but the head is turned. The white blob above his belly is an elbow.

Week 16 - The Kid Can Boogie

We were in Sears buying tires for my VW Passat this weekend, waiting for the salesperson to ring us up, and I was kind of slumped over the counter when I felt a little wiggle.

According to Babycenter, 16 weeks is the earliest a woman can feel the sensation of her baby moving, and this is the end of my 16th week. I'm nothing if not predictable. I wouldn't equivocate the sensation with a kick per se, I would describe it more like that last few seconds of popcorn popping in the microwave. When I lie on my back, it tickles.

Week 16 - Refusing the Quad Screen

The Quad Screen is an optional prenatal screening for Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and Neural Tube Defects (spina bifida) performed at 15-20 weeks. It has an insanely high panic-inducing false positive rate. The results are presented as odds, such as your odds for a Down's baby are 1:200.

3-5% of all multiple marker screens performed carry false positive results, and only 10% of those false positives are actual positives.

If you generate a positive result (higher than normal odds) from this test you may be referred to genetic counselor, have an amniocentesis performed, or a level 2 ultrasound ordered to gather more information.

In addition to the high instance of inaccuracy, we refused this test because what some people call "preparing" I call "worrying myself into a state of crazy". If this child is physically or mentally deficient in some way, I really don't think there is anything I can do or think of over the next few months will be productive in any way. Conversely, not knowing allows me to be blissfully drunk for the next few months over the prospect of having a fat and healthy baby.