Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Another Ultrasound - this time in 4D!

We went up to Madison four days after the diagnosis, Dr. Susan Davidson squeezed us into her schedule and she confirmed the diagnosis. My husband and I had prayed that somehow the better quality ultrasound would show something different, or that it was just because Jonah had a full stomach, so although we knew what to expect, it was difficult. On the plus side, we got to see Jonah in 3D (or 4D which is what they call it). The ultrasound tech took a photograph of his face in profile which is just amazing!

We met with a genetics counselor and she explained the diagnosis and what would happen. She explained the stay in the NICU and the chromosonal problems that are often associated with this birth defect, specifically, that there was a 1 in 3 chance that the baby has Down's Syndrome. She recommended an amniocentesis so the doctor's would know what, if any, other complications they were dealing with at birth. She wanted to do it at our next appointment but since it has a small chance of premature birth, we said we'd rather wait as long as possible so that if we did deliver the baby would be OK.

I regretfully told our close friends and family the news about the diagnosis but kept things pretty quiet, after all, we couldn't do anything at the moment and I didn't want to spoil the baby shower or get all weepy at work. I had done a lot of research on Duodenal Atresia and felt scared at the 5% mortality rate but had convinced myself we would be one of the lucky ones.

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