Bhubaneswar Fetal Medicine Centre provides medical services to the pregnant women overseen by doctors who are trained in ultrasound scanning. Fetal medicine is a part of medicine offering care for the fetus and mother. The treatment procedure involves the analysis of fetal growth, diagnosis, management of fetal disorders, counseling and related supporting care. NT scan services given at Bhubaneswar Fetal Medicine Centre are of highest quality.
What is NT Scan?
When a woman gets pregnant, she has to go through several tests and screenings until the child’s birth. Prenatal screenings will detect pregnant woman’s health problems like anemia or gestational diabetes. These screenings can also identify a baby’s growth inside the womb and even help in exploring chromosomal abnormalities if any.
Pregnancy screenings take place during 1st (0-13 Weeks), 2nd Trimester (14-26 Weeks), and 3rd Trimester (27-40 Weeks). The 1st Trimester screening provides the doctor initial information about the baby’s health, mainly the baby’s risk of having chromosome abnormalities. What else! The 20 week ultrasound scan is also done to check baby development in detail during pregnancy.
The nuchal translucency (NT) scan explores associated abnormalities in a baby within the womb. It is a common screening test to measure the size of the clear tissue called the nuchal translucency that is present at the back of the baby’s neck. It is normal for a fetus to have fluid or clear space at the back of the neck, but too much clear space is indicative of Down syndrome or may refer to another chromosome abnormality such as Patau syndrome or Edwards syndrome.
The body cells have several parts including the nucleus. The nucleus holds the human being’s genetic material. The nucleus normally has 23 pairs of chromosomes that are inherited equally from both parents. The babies born with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21. This problem can’t be cured and could hinder bodily growth and irregular physical characteristics such as small stature-dwarf, eyes with an upward slant, or low muscle tone.
How is an NT scan performed?
During this screening process, the doctor or the technician will perform an abdominal ultrasound. Alternatively, a transvaginal test is done where an ultrasound probe will be inserted inside the vagina.
In ultrasound, the high-frequency sound waves are used to reveal the imagery of the interior of the body. From this image, the doctor or technician will measure the translucency or clear space in the baby’s neck. They will feed the age or date of birth in the computer program to calculate the risk of having an abnormality.
