Pregnancy week 11: the NT scan window opens

A three-week window

Most pregnancy tests can shift a little. One cannot — the NT scan, possible only between week eleven and 13 weeks 6 days, because the membrane it measures dissolves afterwards.

NT — nuchal translucency — is a thin fluid layer at the back of every baby's neck at this age. Its thickness, a blood test (the double marker), and your age combine into an estimate of chromosomal risk (Down syndrome among them).

Note the word — estimate, not diagnosis. This test says whether further testing is worth it. For most families its result is a single sentence: low risk, and a long exhale.

Your baby this week

The baby is lemon-sized — about five centimetres, seven-eight grams. The head is still large; the body is catching up fast.

Fingers are fully free and growing nails; twenty tooth buds are seated in the gums. The skin is still glass-clear, veins visible beneath.

Movement is now free and constant — rolls, kicks, even hiccups; all on scan, none felt. The diaphragm is forming and breathing practice is beginning — underwater, as lung exercise.

Changes in your body

For most women this stretch is the turn — nausea's grip loosening, appetite hinting at return. If yours hasn't turned yet, weeks twelve-fourteen remain the commonest relief point.

The extra blood is starting to show — a flush for some, warmth and sweat for others. Bleeding gums and a stuffy nose ride the same tide.

A slight lower-belly curve may appear — especially in second pregnancies. Nothing showing in a first is exactly as normal.

What to do this week

NT scan + double marker, inside the window — date fixed today if not already. If told to arrive with a full bladder, comply; it sharpens the picture.

File every scan paper — each next visit asks for the previous ones. Dates onto the MCP card as they happen.

As nausea lifts, rebuild food gently — the first week light. Lead the comeback with iron and calcium: dal, greens, curd, gud-chana.

Settle into an exercise rhythm now — the daily thirty-minute walk is the easiest. A pregnancy-yoga class works too — taught by someone actually trained in pregnancy.

Week 11 at a glance

The week's essentials in one place. Your doctor may adjust these for your situation.

When to see a doctor at once

Bleeding or worsening pain — the standing same-day rule. Fever, urinary burning, nothing staying down — same list.

If the NT result reads 'high risk', hold the first fact hard: it is not a diagnosis. Further tests (NIPT or amniocentesis) clarify, and that decision is made calmly with the doctor — not in panic.

This article is general information only and no substitute for personal medical advice. The person who can advise you knowing your health, your medicines and your previous pregnancies is your obstetrician, or the doctor at your nearest health centre.

Work out your due date

Enter the first day of your last period and your cycle length — your estimated due date, this week's count and the anomaly scan window all appear right here.

It is only an estimate — most babies aren't born on the exact date. A first-trimester scan dates a pregnancy more accurately; in the end, your doctor's date is the one that counts.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Is the NT scan compulsory? — It's a consent-based choice — but one that must be made this week, because the window doesn't reopen. Most doctors advise taking it.

Q: Why the blood test too — isn't the scan enough? — Together they compute the estimate; alone, each is half a picture.

Q: The scan showed the baby bouncing, but I feel nothing — why? — The baby is too small and too cushioned for its movements to reach the wall yet. First movements are felt at eighteen-twenty weeks on average.

Q: My nausea never left — when's my turn? — Some women carry it to fourteen-sixteen weeks, a few beyond. If water stays down and weight holds, it's exhausting but not dangerous. If not — the doctor; medicine exists.