PSA: ask for a 12 week ultrasound

This wasn’t offered in my prenatal care (at an academic medical center in a major US city), but there are some major anatomical defects that can be caught at that point, and it’s even more crushing to find out that a fetus isn’t compatible with life at 20 weeks.

For example, I know 2 people who had babies with limb wall body defects, and this can’t be caught with NIPT screening but it can be caught at the 12 week ultrasound. The chance of this is 1 in 15,000 pregnancies, but it does happen. Especially in states where reproductive care is limited, it can be really important to get an early diagnosis.