Struggling with ultrasound decision

[3 little birds]

This is my 5th pregnancy and sixth child. With each of the previous pregnancies I have had the 20 week anatomy scan. With my first (twins) I also had monthly level 2's from the 5th month on, per the OB.

I do not find the ultrasound magical or special. I spend the entire time wishing the tech would hurry and get it over with. The pictures do not mean anything to me. I choose to save doppler use for labor (no monthly heartbeat checks).

Originally, I had planned to skip the u/s this pregnancy, but ended up reading a bunch of scary stories early in the pregnancy and became concerned about anencephaly, omphalocele and similar conditions. This will be my fourth HBAC, so I am also concerned about knowing if the baby has a condition that would require immediate care. My midwife informed me that this u/s would be a level 2 due to my advanced maternal age (I am 35, 36 by the time baby is born). This bothers me because it means a longer u/s.

I have almost cancelled the u/s many times and felt tremendous relief. It is scheduled to take place at 18 weeks 2 days (about 2 1/2 weeks from now).
Then after the tremendous relief, I feel worry. Worry that I won't know baby needs to be at the hospital for birth, worry that I won't be prepared to deal with an ill baby, etc. Of course, I know that u/s doesn't pick up everything and I could end up with a false sense of security. I also know that there are moms that found out about conditions that were treatable before birth.

Has anyone else struggled with this decision? I have read other u/s threads and usually people seem to come down directly on one side or another-perfectly secure in their decision to skip it or convinced of u/s safety and no problem with it. Has anyone ever asked the tech to only check for life threatening issues and skip the rest?

Thank you for letting me get this out. It has been weighing on me.

[MaerynPearl]

The chances that you get an ultrasound that does not pick up something that requires baby to be born in the hospital is much much lower than the chance that you don't get an ultrasound and something ends up being wrong.

You said yourself, knowing everything is most likely fine will make you feel better. I say go for it!

[laughymama]

I am all about doing what gives me a greater sense of peace. For me with this pregnancy, I didn't feel an ultrasound was necessary to make me feel better about things or lessen any worries.
Who knows though, I may want one with a future pregnancy.

If I were anxious though and feeling a sense of unease over it, I would not hesitate to go ahead and have the tech. check for life threatening issues.

I say go for it if it will ease your mind and heart a bit.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by 3 little birds

Has anyone ever asked the tech to only check for life threatening issues and skip the rest?

Well, it doesn't really work that way. Sure, some problems are very obvious and can be seen like that, but there's a reason they do all those measurements and stuff. It's because many conditions AREN'T immediately noticeable. If you want to do the u/s to rule out serious problems, then you need to do the full anatomy scan.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by CherryBomb

Well, it doesn't really work that way. Sure, some problems are very obvious and can be seen like that, but there's a reason they do all those measurements and stuff. It's because many conditions AREN'T immediately noticeable. If you want to do the u/s to rule out serious problems, then you need to do the full anatomy scan.

for example down syndrome... one of the markers (just one) can be short femurs. Obviously thats not life threatening but it is indeed life changing and most women I know would want to know ahead of time to prepare for what that means for their baby.

Also... while doing mine, my tech sat and explained not only what she was looking at/measuring but why.

Granted I asked first, explaining it was my third pregnancy and Im just really curious (seriously if you have been around the boards i know I probably come off as nosy but im really just curious I swear! LOL)

It was really neat to have her explain what could be wrong if the brain was not developing right, if the kidneys were too small, etc.

She also told me (at my request) that my placenta was partially previa and confirmed what I already suspected... that it was anterior (then I had to explain to my mom who had no clue what that meant that it wasnt anything bad for baby just for mommy who loves to feel every tiny little movement)

[momtoalex]

I also struggled with the decision of whether or not to get an ultrasound. I went back and forth with it but ended up getting one two days ago. Fortunately, everything is great with the baby, and I felt tremendous joy after the ultrasound. But yesterday, my midwife called me to say that I have marginal placenta previa. Even though I know that it is likely that it will move up, I still keep thinking about it. I regret knowing that there is an issue, that I can't do anything about it, that I will need to get another ultrasound at 28 weeks. With my next pregnancy, I think I will wait until I am further along than I am now (22 weeks) to get an ultrasound to check for placenta. So in a way, although I am really happy knowing that the baby is fine, I would rather not have known about the previa at this point.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by momtoalex

I also struggled with the decision of whether or not to get an ultrasound. I went back and forth with it but ended up getting one two days ago. Fortunately, everything is great with the baby, and I felt tremendous joy after the ultrasound. But yesterday, my midwife called me to say that I have marginal placenta previa. Even though I know that it is likely that it will move up, I still keep thinking about it. I regret knowing that there is an issue, that I can't do anything about it, that I will need to get another ultrasound at 28 weeks. With my next pregnancy, I think I will wait until I am further along than I am now (22 weeks) to get an ultrasound to check for placenta. So in a way, although I am really happy knowing that the baby is fine, I would rather not have known about the previa at this point.

does she require the 28 week ultrasound? both my doctor and my midwife said if it would make me feel better I could do one but neither of them make it routine for marginal/partial previa (as such, Im not doing one. I trust my body... and actually because its anterior it seems like I can actually feel it moving up by where I feel her kicks)

[3 little birds]

Actually, the midwife mentioned that I could request that the tech only look at the brain, heart, kidneys and one other thing that my pregnancy brain can't recall right now. She said to offer to sign a release saying that I wouldn't sue if the baby had a problem that wasn't revealed during the u/s and offer to listen to the counseling of taking such a step. Down syndrome is not something that I feel the need to know ahead of time. A heart problem related to DS, yes. I will also be counseled after the u/s on why an amnio would be a good idea due to AMA. I don't really want measurements of the femur, etc. making them more adamant about additional u/s or amnio.

I also keep going back to the fact that I wouldn't even be offered the u/s if I didn't have insurance and that u/s isn't even recommended unless a problem is suspected. And, u/s has not been proven safe.

I guess I am just trying to find a middle ground or a place of acceptance and peace in opting out of the scan.

[morgainesmama]

Of course, only you can know if the ultrasound is right for you.

Bear in mind that ultrasounds can have many effects -- they can diagnose conditions that may/may not require hospital care, then can miss those same conditions, and they can also cause diagnoses to be made that are completely wrong.

Babies have been diagnosed with things like having no kidneys, having horrible club foot, even (this is friend-of-a-friend) having no arms or legs, when actually, nothing at all is wrong.

Then again, an unclosed spine, detected before 21ish weeks, is fixable in utero.

With my third, I read an article about in-womb surgery to close the neural tube and became obsessed with it, and finally had an ultrasound to ease my mind.

With this baby, I haven't had that anxiety, and decided the harm of ultrasound outweight its benefits. I had all the information with my third pregnancy, but the harm of my anxiety outweighed the risk of US for me with that one.

Good luck finding a decision you are at peace with!

[birthangeldoula]

I've always opted for the anatomy scan, particularly because my first child was born with a heart defect. They were able to detect it in-utero and we were able to give birth at a hospital equipped to deal with his condition at birth.

[sweeetpea]

With my third, I chose to have u/s for two reasons. One was stupid, one was more rational.

the stupid reason was that I had u/s with my first two and had pictures of them in utero, and wouldn't #3 feel bad when he is older if he sees that they have them and he doesn't. I know, stupid.

the other reason was that I was 38 (elderly, right? ) but refusing ALL other testing. I wanted to know if there was some gross physical abnormality that I should be prepared for, but that was pretty much it. I had no plans to terminate the pregnancy under any circumstances or to change my home birth plans, but did want to know about major heart or system issues to the extent that they could be picked up on u/s.

If you feel more peaceful with the knowledge, go have it. If you feel more peaceful without it, don't.

[momtoalex]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

does she require the 28 week ultrasound? both my doctor and my midwife said if it would make me feel better I could do one but neither of them make it routine for marginal/partial previa (as such, Im not doing one. I trust my body... and actually because its anterior it seems like I can actually feel it moving up by where I feel her kicks)

Hi MaerynPearl,

I don't know if it's "required" but I suspect that for insurance reasons, the birth center would require me to do it to rule out any liability on their part if something goes wrong. I don't have another appoitment until June 10 and will discuss it more then but when I talked to them over the phone, the midwife specifically told me that I would not be able to deliver there unless the placenta was 2 cm away but she did say that she was not concerned at all and that in most cases, they do move up.

[phoebemommy]

I didn't do an ultrasound for this pregnancy, and I'm homebirthing (34, also, close to your age). I understand all the things it would be wise to catch and prepare for, but for me I've found a lot of peace not knowing, and just accepting what life brings, including the small chance that it could be less than optimal. I did a little freaking out at first about, for example, the fact that I took some Chinese herbs when I was just a few weeks pregnant, stuff like that, but now that I'm sitting here at 41 weeks after a very nice pregnancy I feel like it's been healthy for me to learn to release control of something that's really out of my control anyway, in the grander scheme of things.

My primary reason I didn't want it isn't even the radiation issue -- I just found the whole process intrusive and technocratic with my first pregnancy, and knowing that it statistically doesn't improve outcomes just makes it all the more something I didn't want to do.

[VillageMom6]

Originally Posted by morgainesmama

Then again, an unclosed spine, detected before 21ish weeks, is fixable in utero.

I know that Spina Bifida does not happen all that often, but I met a toddler who was diagnosed at the 20 week ultrasound. His mother had the surgery during pregnancy.

There he was... running around the library with little braces on his legs, visible only because he had on shorts. If he had been wearing long pants, you'd never know that anything was "wrong" with him.

Meeting him and his mother moved me to tears. Had she not known, he would have been born with a very serious handicap which could have required a wheelchair all of his life.

I understand the concerns about ultrasounds but when I've contemplated skipping them, I remember that dear little boy. I could not live with myself if I missed the opportunity to alleviate a major birth defect out of a hypothetical concern about ultrasounds.

[LovelyBella]

My sister-in-law didn't want to have ultrasound as well, but we always tell her that even though you feel nothing and you feel everything is okay and normal, it's better to have ultrasound to make sure that the baby is okay.

Just like what the other said here, whatever decision you feel most at peace at, you should do it.

[voicegrrl]

It's sticky for me. I don't want ultrasounds. I had so many with my first dd, was wrongly diagnosed and was so fed up I finally switched to a HB midwife around 27 weeks to go on and have a healthy 10 pound baby girl. After the frustration of the first pregnancy I wasn't planning to have any medical intervention for the next pregnancy, but realized I was carrying twins half way through and had an U/S at 23 weeks to confirm. The U/S was still wrong or the tech was. They said the girls were identical, they were fraternal. Either way it didn't matter. They were born at home at 39 weeks. I'm now onto my second pregnancy after fraternal twins which means I always have the risk of having twins again. Even though I figured it out I was carrying multiples on my own without medical intervention, it takes a while and I feel like I need a little more time to prepare. Last time I went to a CNM as early as I could to see if there was more than 1, it gave me a lot of relief to see that there as only 1 baby. That was the only scan or medical visit I had that pregnancy. There isn't much else I worry about that I feel like I have to be prepared for. I'm back at that point again and am hopefully having the only U/S I'll have this pregnancy in the morning. This time it's not only the multiples issue but I had a M/C the cycle before I got pregnant and want to see if my dates are a month off. Yes, I could wait a couple of months and see how I'm measuring but with 4 children already our lives are crazy and I have a lot of planning to do for the next year.

Maybe if you can narrow it down to one or two things that you feel like you can't live without knowing, it will help make your decision easier. If you feel like there's nothing you really need to know then don't get it.

[3 little birds]

I want to thank everyone for their responses so far. I really appreciate the time you took to respond, especially the responses that dealt with a struggle to make this decision that so many make with confidence. I know that it probably seems silly to many to even be this concerned about it, to many people.

I also wanted to clarify that I am concerned about the effects of ultrasound on babies. It is not that I am just not affected by seeing the baby. I find the whole process very intrusive and am concerned for the well being of baby over anything else(none of mine have ever seemed to like it and they all hated the doppler-evidenced by extremely violent kicking). My identical twins are both lefties (very unusual) which I have wondered if it was a result of all the level 2's. Also, my 2.5 yr old is speech delayed for no apparent reason which has also been linked to only one u/s. Of course there could be many different reasons for this as well. It does give me pause, though.

Again, thank you for your responses. I am very grateful.

I have been reading the articles here and have found them very enlightening.
http://www.squidoo.com/noultrasound

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by 3 little birds

My identical twins are both lefties (very unusual)

thats neither unusual nor caused by the ultrasounds...

especially if they were laying front-to-back rather than facing each other earlier on.

[3 little birds]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

thats neither unusual nor caused by the ultrasounds...

especially if they were laying front-to-back rather than facing each other earlier on.

I agree that I probably could have left out the "very" and used "unusual" or "less likely". Both fraternal and identical twins are more likely to differ in hand preference, probably because they usually lie in opposite directions. My twins are mirror image twins, who would be even more likely to have different handedness than both be the same. However, I am not claiming that this is a result of the u/s's-just that it concerns me because at least one study has shown a higher rate of left handedness in children who were scanned. At this point, I don't believe that one could say it is impossible, either. Left handedness is not my biggest concern, though. Sort of in the same way that autism is not my only/biggest concern regarding vaccines.

I did not start this thread to debate u/s safety (there are plenty of other threads for that). I simply asked if those who also debated this decision would share their experience.

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

thats neither unusual nor caused by the ultrasounds...

especially if they were laying front-to-back rather than facing each other earlier on.

what does this mean? (Im not familiar with twins) if they face each other they have a high chance of being right handed, or different from one another? why in the world would that be?