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Originally Posted by citizenfong  A lot of people don't know that the Doppler is an u/s, and that it is more powerful then a regular 2-D scan. Just a few minutes with the Doppler is equivalent to a 20-minute abdominal scan.
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This is definitely something to keep in mind. With my son I expressed a desire to have the dr use a fetoscope instead of a doppler and I was told they don't actually have one. This time I have my own, and I'll take it to appointments with me if it keeps the Doppler away from me. Not only is the Doppler U/S, but so is the Electronic Fetal Monitor used during NSTs, and during labor in most hospitals.
My general advice is that if you're considering U/S, a very serious discussion needs to happen between you and your partner. If the U/S shows a life-threatening defect, do you carry the pregnancy to term? Yes, that's a controversial subject, but you and your partner need to be on the same page. If you have not established the answer to that question between the two of you, I would not recommend ever having an U/S. Everyone is so happy to be pg, and just wants to see the baby and find out the sex, but forgets that in fact U/S can find some serious defects, and it may in fact wind up being one of the worst days of your life, rather than one of the best. Emotionally you as mother are so tied up into this being, that you need to know going in what you will do if that scan shows something, because making the decision after the fact is extremely difficult. If going in, you have established between you what you agree to and want to have happen, then you have ground rules, and neither of you are liable to feel pressured into making a decision. Feeling pressured to make a decision can destroy your relationship right at the time when you need it to be strong.
Now, if the answer is that you'll do nothing about it if the scan shows something life threatening, then why are you having the scan? So you can spend the next 4 months stressing about it? Worrying? The baby feels every emotion you do and making your pregnancy stressful is not good for you or the baby. If the mama is determined to carry the pregnancy to term regardless of the outcome of the scans, then I would never recommend she have a scan, the risks are not worth it.
If the answer is that you'll terminate the pregnancy if there's something life threatening, then go ahead and have the scan. Yes, there are risks involved, but it is still safer than amnio and can tell you things amnio can't. It can be reassuring, but you need to be prepared for the possibility that you will not like the outcome. In this instance, the scan will determine what path your life will take. Never go alone to an U/S - if your partner can't make it, take a friend.
I'm stalking those forums, regularly! 
