PAPP-A and meeting the obstetric consultant
Friday 20th March to Thursday 16th April 2015
12 to 16 weeks pregnant
12 to 16 weeks pregnant
We'd had our first midwife appointment at home just after our 11-week scan, on 20th March. It had been fairly standard, with no concerns. I'd asked about whooping cough vaccine and the midwife Mollie had promised me a leaflet. I'd also admitted to some anxiety about how things were going and Mollie assured us that 'everything would be okay'. After the nuchal scan showed the low PAPP-A, my anxiety had triggered me into frantic googling and I'd discovered that low PAPP-A (exactly what was considered to be low varied) was associated with poor fetal growth. I'd also been doing a course on customised growth charts at work which happened to mention that low PAPP-A was linked to a seven-fold increase in the risk of stillbirth.