Do I need to hold my urine during NT examination?

During pregnancy, women need to cooperate with many different types of tests at different stages. These tests will detect the development of the fetus at different stages and whether it is within the normal range. At the same time, they also need to observe the changes in their own body. No matter what kind of test, it is to ensure the health of pregnant women and fetuses. So, do pregnant women need to hold their urine for NT examination?

Do pregnant women need to hold their urine during NT examination? Do pregnant women need to hold their urine during NT examination?

1. NT (nuchal translucency scanner) is a B-ultrasound examination item. It does not require blood tests and does not require special preparation in advance. Eating and drinking water will not affect the test results. You can eat breakfast. Because it is an abdominal color ultrasound examination, there is no need to hold your urine.

2. However, if the baby does not cooperate and the part is not good, it cannot be seen. The doctor will usually let the expectant mother go out for a walk before going home. Sometimes the doctor will continue to press the expectant mother's abdomen very hard. This is usually because the child is sleeping and in a bad position, and the doctor will wake him up and ask him to turn over. The whole test takes about 10-20 minutes, and it may be shorter if the baby cooperates well.

3. Because the fetus is too small to observe the nuchal translucency before 11 weeks of pregnancy, and the fetus gradually grows and develops after 14 weeks of pregnancy, it may absorb unnecessary blood from the nuchal translucency and affect the test results. Therefore, it is best for pregnant women to do NT within 11-14 weeks of pregnancy to avoid inaccurate test results.

4. It is best to book the NT test in advance. You can start making an appointment with the hospital before 11 weeks of pregnancy to facilitate the schedule. Do not make a reservation after 13 weeks of pregnancy to avoid long queues. Exceeding the pregnancy week will affect the accuracy of the test results.

How to do NT test

1. First, the brachiocephalic diameter (CRL) and biparietal diameter of the fetus are measured to determine the ultrasound gestational age. Then the fetal structure is checked in sequence, and some important indicators such as fetal heartbeat, fetal movement, the connection position of the umbilical cord and the fetus, the growth of the fetal limbs, the choroid plexus of the brain, etc., as well as fetal abnormalities such as holoprosencephaly, choroid plexus cyst, umbilical hernia and other growth and development abnormalities are observed.

2. The thickness of the nuchal translucency is measured in the short-axis sagittal cross-section of the fetus, and the fetal head and spine are in a straight line during the measurement. Adjust the magnification so that the fetus' body occupies about 3/4 of the screen size. The measuring points were placed at the inner edges of two high-echo lines for measurement. The two high-echo lines represent the skin echo and the spinal surface soft tissue echo, respectively. The middle part is the nuchal translucency.

3. Take a short-axis sagittal cross-section of the fetus, with the embryo in a naturally flexed position, and accurately measure the thickest position of the echo-free transparent layer of the subcutaneous tissue in the fetus's neck, from the inner edge of the skin layer to the edge of the subcutaneous tissue. Measure accurately three times and take the thickest value.

4. If the thickness of the fetal nuchal translucency is measured to be ≥3mm (or ≥2.5mm and the gestational age calculated based on the fetal head arm diameter is <12 weeks), the pregnant woman is advised to undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling for fetal chromosome karyotype analysis.

NT is an ultrasound examination performed by women during pregnancy to check the development of certain parts of the fetus. The purpose of this examination is to observe whether the development of certain parts of the fetus is healthy. However, the NT examination requires the cooperation of the fetus. Therefore, during the entire examination process, the mother will be required to increase exercise or other methods to allow the fetus to cooperate with the examination.