Understanding Potential Fetal Disabilities: A Guide for First-Time Parents

Question
I am actaullyasking a question for a friend. She is 15 and it is her first pregnancy. She went to the doctor and had an ultrasound and they said they want her to go to a specialist for another one because they think the baby may have a physicial disability. She is about 11 weeks pregnant. Do you know what kind of disability it could be? Or what caused it? she dosent drink or do drugs or smoke and she has been taking care of herself since she found out she was pregnant. Following everything her doctors tell her. Thank you so much.

Answer
A sonogram taken at 11 weeks gestation does not tell us much about the anatomy or development of the fetus. However, sometimes "soft" signs of an abnormality can be seen, such as "nuchal transluscency" or some odd echoes in the heart of the baby. These can sometimes indicate the presence of some chromosomal abnormality such as Down's syndrome (Trisomy 21) or some other chromosome disorder. An amniocentesis or alphafetoprotein test may need to be done, but she needs an evaluation by a perinatologist. As I said, these are only "soft" signs and are, most definitely, NOT diagnostic. Just follow the instructions of her doctors and see what the specialist says.