Reasons to get 18 week US - Page 2

[soso-lynn]

Originally Posted by mizznicole

Then I'm surprised that it isn't a requirement to have one at the birth center. Seems like it would place a huge liability on them.

The chance of finding something that would truly be problematic for a home/birth center birth is much, much smaller than the risk of finding something that looks like it might be wrong and turns out to be just fine. More babies die from unnecessary interventions caused by something being seen on ultrasounds than from undiagnosed conditions from not having ultrasounds. I have not had any ultrasounds with my first nor with this pregnancy and my midwife agrees that there is no evidence to support routine ultrasounds.

If you worry about the birth center's liability, perhaps you should consider what would happen if the ultrasound showed something wrong. They might have to transfer your care to an OB and a hospital birth for something that is not a real danger.

[virgo]

If you are very sentimental you might want it later for a memory book (your little one might want a copy too).

[AustinMom]

Originally Posted by soso-lynn

More babies die from unnecessary interventions caused by something being seen on ultrasounds than from undiagnosed conditions from not having ultrasounds.

While I agree that U/S should never be done "routinely" and all the major medical orgs. agree with us, can you show me some statistics on this? I'm curious. I can see how more babies have major health problems due to ECS in something that wasn't a cause for concern/"false positive" on the U/S, but death, I'm not to clear on. Email me if you don't want to post here, I would really like to see more info on this.

[kavamamakava]

Originally Posted by AustinMom

While I agree that U/S should never be done "routinely" and all the major medical orgs. agree with us, can you show me some statistics on this? I'm curious. I can see how more babies have major health problems due to ECS in something that wasn't a cause for concern/"false positive" on the U/S, but death, I'm not to clear on. Email me if you don't want to post here, I would really like to see more info on this.

I don't believe she is saying that the ultrasound directly caused a death. It's the intervention cascade that can begin with seeing something "wrong" on an ultrasound. I have a friend whose baby showed an abnormally large stomach on the ultrasound and she was concerned because she's "mature" and that could indicate Down Syndrome or other issues that would need to be addressed immediately at the time of birth. She went back for another U/S two weeks later and baby looked just fine. Or there are moms who are told their baby is waaaaaaay too big to birth vaginally and therefore they schedule a c-section which is a major surgery and does carry the risk of death.

[lunarlady]

Originally Posted by Sagesgirl

It's not something you have to have.
(On a side note, having been on this site nearly nine years, I don't think I will ever adjust to ultrasounds going from "have them only if you absolutely have to, as their safety isn't adequately proven" to "have 'em as often as you can, because something might be horribly wrong!")

I don't think you should have a ton of ultrasounds, or even "as often as you can," but there are a couple of conditions that warrant immediate care by trained natal specialists, and some that do mean c-section is safer. Yes, those conditions are rare! And yes, some of those conditions, like transverse presentation and placenta previa can be detected by a skilled midwife without an ultrasound. But I honestly do not think that all MW are created equal. I love my MW, but I find seeing and measuring the location of my placenta via u/s to be a fairly safe, non-invasive, and easy procedure that helps prevent major risks.

That being said, a good friend of mine birthed a baby with a heart defect that needed immediate open heart surgery. They actually went from birth, to airlifting the infant to a different hospital, to surgery within about 4 hours. That defect was NOT seen on her 19 week u/s. So u/s is not a sure fire screening for all issues. Like most medical tests, it is excellent at detecting the very rare, major issues, and okay at detecting the more common, subtle yet still serious health issues.

[honeybee]

Nope, not really. An u/s at 18 weeks won't be able to tell you if you'd rupture or not, which is really the only slightly miniscule higher risk a VBAC has compared to others. Even ACOG doesn't recommend routine u/s, even though just about every OB in the country ignores that recommendation.

I do homebirths and don't feel a need for a "security" u/s. Just my $.02.

[Loving1]

Baby wouldn't move into position to get a good view of her heart at the 20 week u/s so I had to return at 23 weeks and they discovered that I had lost my mucus plug & begun to dilate. I was wheeled from the doc appt to the hospital and had an emergency cerclage that probably saved my pregnancy.

[RedOakMomma]

I think most pregnancies and babies get along fine without an u/s. That said, if you're a worrier, for whatever reason, I think the u/s is a worthwhile step just for peace of mind.

In my first pregnancy, the mid-term anatomy scan showed tumors on baby B's heart. A few weeks later, they showed up on baby A's heart, too. Because of that, we suspected a certain genetic disorder. We were able to meet with doctors and prepare ourselves (as much as you can) for having children with this disorder. It's not something we expected....dh and I are not carriers. We were able to have a natural hospital birth, but NICU staff and cardiologists were standing by at the birth to make sure everything was okay. I am so thankful for that.

With the second and third pregnancies, we did a mid-term anatomy scan just for peace of mind, and to make sure the babies didn't have the same genetic disorder (long story short, even if dh or I aren't carriers, we have an increased risk of having a child with the disorder). The peace of mind is really, really valuable....for stress levels, for bonding, for anticipation, for everything.

So yeah...for me the 20-wk ultrasounds have been really important. In the first one they found a life-threatening heart defect, and in the second and third pregnancies it was the u/s that let me relax and enjoy the pregnancy more.

Best of luck in your decision!

[AustinMom]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

That being said, a good friend of mine birthed a baby with a heart defect that needed immediate open heart surgery. They actually went from birth, to airlifting the infant to a different hospital, to surgery within about 4 hours. That defect was NOT seen on her 19 week u/s. So u/s is not a sure fire screening for all issues. Like most medical tests, it is excellent at detecting the very rare, major issues, and okay at detecting the more common, subtle yet still serious health issues.

This is my tiff, some women are getting u/s by their OBs who are not trained (and I'm not sure any OB is, because that is not in their schooling, and if it was, it's not something they typically specialize in) to do U/S, so they miss things that ARE there, and identify things that ARE NOT there. So, if you get one, I'd go see a specialist.

[CorasMama]

Originally Posted by AustinMom

This is my tiff, some women are getting u/s by their OBs who are not trained (and I'm not sure any OB is, because that is not in their schooling, and if it was, it's not something they typically specialize in) to do U/S, so they miss things that ARE there, and identify things that ARE NOT there. So, if you get one, I'd go see a specialist.

Some OBs are trained to look at what the sonographer (ultrasound tech) and/or radiologist are pointing out. The vast majority of them are perinatologist (aka high-risk OBs or Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists). I would never have an ultrasound done any other way than by a sonographer, with a radiologist who consults, unless it was like when I had some sharp pains, and needed to make a quick stop at L&D to have them check out the placenta real quick.

And SOME reading of ultrasounds is part of the resident training of OBs. But it's limited, afaik, to things like measuring cervix length via transvag u/s, and checking for placental position or abruption. Not diagnosing serious structural issues.

[MaerynPearl]

The only time my doctor has performed an US on me rather than the tech was during labor with DS and she knew specifically what she was looking for, not checking for any abnormalities in the baby but rather looking at where my placenta had already torn to see that it was reattatched (it had happened 22 weeks earlier, but wanted to be safe)

That, I trusted her to do.

To check my babys heart for defects, not so much. I much more trust a sonographer who does this day in and day out and will be MUCH more likely to quickly spot something small that requires emergency attention after birth just as much as something large that is probably harmless.