Shouldn't the ultrasound have showed this...?

Question

My daughter suffered the stillbirth of her baby on August 9th.The baby was at week 29 of the pregnancy.Pathology results showed several deformities caused the baby's death,including the bladder being outside of her body,no r****m,etc.For 29 weeks my daughter was told all was well with the pregnancy and the fetus.There were many ultrasounds done--shouldn't the doctor have picked up on the abnormalities??

Answer 1

Possibly, but it isn't at all surprising that they didn't. In medical testing, we're always talking about sensitivity and specificity. When you test, there are always four possibilities: you have an abnormality and the test says you do, you have an abnormality and the test says you don't, you don't have an abnormality but the test says you do, or you don't have an abnormality and the test says you don't. Sensitive tests are positive for nearly all the people who have a problem but may also be positive for many who don't have the problem. Specific tests are generally only positive in those who really have the problem, but may not be sensitive. Ultrasound is generally highly specific but poorly sensitive.

Answer 2

Yes, I Have Done Them, the U/S Should Have Revealed the Heartbeat.