Skipping 1st or both ultrasounds?

[monica82]

We have diff insurance this time around-a health sav acct. The insurance only covers 1 ultrasound. If weget 1st one done we can get a 40% discount for paying up front-which we can. DH thinks we shouldn't get it done unless need be. I don't care as much about a pic, but I want to know that everything looks alright. If we skip it-will hearing the heartbeat make me feel less stressed about the healthy/safety of baby? I'm having more symptoms this time around including some cramps or sharp pains here/there.

[crunchynerd]

I am not having ANY ultrasounds this time, unless at some point my midwife hears or feels something that concerns her enough to recommend one. Reason being, for one thing, like cell phones, ultrasounds have become seen as some sort of necessity, despite the fact that people got on fine without them just 30 years ago, and like cell phones, they are generally regarded as safe, but the proof is still not there.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if I skip the ultrasound, I opt out of any possible risk that some doctor is going to shave off 2 weeks or more, from my LMP dates, which only matters if in my state, a midwife has no choice but to transfer me back to the medpros if I go past however many weeks the medpros on the licensing board have decided I am allowed to go... I am going to find out if she is bound by such limitations, and what the wrongly inflicted legal cutoff is, and if she is, I intend to pad my LMP date, so that even if I am a 44 week cooker this time, it will still fall within the strictures pressed upon us against our wills.

I happen to know there are plenty of women here who give birth at 44 weeks and later, and have to make sure I don't get tossed to the lions if I go past 42 weeks.

You can always wait to hear the heartbeat the old fashioned way, and I think it will be every bit as wonderful as some ultrasound. Cramps and sharp pains are normal. Even brown spotting is normal. Bright red spotting is the one to watch out for.

I sympathize, because this is my 3rd, and I still get to be a nervous wreck each time, in the first trimester, when I am cramping and having pains daily. I swear, you'd think I would learn to relax, but each time, I cry, and get all doom and gloom thinking something must be wrong. I finally found my old diaries from the last two times, and was astonished at how each time, I didn't remember that it was just like that last time, too.

We all do it!

My DH would like me to have an ultrasound, because he enjoys the picture... but this time, short of some real, midwife-suspected concern, we aren't doing it. Just to be on the safe side of the long arm of the law.

[TLK]

I had 1 ultrasound at 20 weeks with my first. I chose not to have any ultrasounds with my other 3 and this time will be the same.

I have chosen to forgo ultasounds as I don't truly know if they are innocuous. I do know that cells act erratically after use of ultarsound technology (which include scan, doptone, electronic fetal monitor, internal electronic monitor.) Also, the false positives associated with ultrasounds are rampant. I know there is much good that can come from ultrasounds but I believe they must be used wisely and with great care. I also see it as a money making factor.

[StrongBeliever]

No ultrasounds here. Not necessary, IMO. I am not afraid of surprises.

CrunchyNerd... Way to take the sitch into your own hands. I am an overbaker... My babies seem to like well-done. My mom was a patent overbaker as well. If I were dealing with the medical community I'd pad my dates too. What's in a bunch of number's anyway? I don't think babies are concerned with counting.

[HopefulJo]

I'm also on and HSA, and we're just going to do the 20-week ultrasound. Neither ultrasound is required with my midwife as far as I can tell, but the 20-week one is at least offered- the early ultrasound hasn't even been mentioned.

[monica82]

I mentioned not doing one at all & you'd think I had 5 eyes the way my husband looked at me. I think we'll skip it, but probably do the 2nd one.

I'm an overbaker-so far. I was 8 days late w/ DS. Both of our mothers were very late when we were born. Some people thought I was crazy & I could have talked my dr into inducing early. But I went into labor same day he was going to induce. I do believe for the most part-they will come out when they r ready.

[MPsSweetie]

I would love to skip the ultrasounds, but I am also nervous... I hate how I have become reliant on all this technology when I know my body knows what to do! I feel like I HAVE to know everything thats going on in there, lol.

[Pirogi]

Originally Posted by MPsSweetie

I would love to skip the ultrasounds, but I am also nervous... I hate how I have become reliant on all this technology when I know my body knows what to do! I feel like I HAVE to know everything thats going on in there, lol.

I was thinking about this last night. Without besmirching the OP or anyone else, I think it is a sad state of affairs that pregnant women (and others, presumably) feel obligated to use technology of questionable usefulness or even questionable safety, just because it is available and/or covered by insurance. And with the ideal of healthcare "rights," many people lose sight of the fact that any care practice or procedure should be scrutinized for safety and efficacy before it is performed. More and more people feel, "It's available, and it's my right to have it." Nobody - doctors, public health officials, consumers - is asking the important questions. Or at least, nobody waits for the answers before pushing the next technological advancement.

[theboysmama]

we won't be having one either unless something comes up that makes the use of one necessary.
For us it is not just the concern of the safety of the u/s but the actual procedure that sets the ball rolling. such as too much space in one area or the other leads to this concern and that test, etc. when in the end everything turns out just fine.

[KistheMum]

Did not do any ultrasounds with first child, and not anticipating any with this pregnancy.

That being said, if there is a legitimate medical reason, I would do it.

[Tithonia]

We chose not to do any ultrasounds the first time around, and plan to do the same this time unless there is some clear reason that the midwife gives us to do one. My reasons not to do ultrasounds are as follows:

1. I strongly feel that pregnancy is a special thing, shrouded in mystery and wonder. To me it feels like a violation of my baby to look at him/her while he/she is hidden and growing inside me.
2. Safety concerns, as others have mentioned.
3. Our midwives for our first child (in Toronto) gave us quite a bit of information about how often ultrasounds actually give people misinformation. This not only refers to issues of due dates and sizes, but to the amazingly high percentage of "problems" identified by ultrasounds that are not actually there when the baby is born. I don't remember the exact numbers anymore, but I do remember how shocked I was at how high the numbers were.

That being said, I totally hear your concern about wanting to "know" that your baby is okay. I spent most of my first pregnancy worrying that I wouldn't have a healthy baby, and hearing the heartbeat at appointments was wonderfully soothing for me. This time around I find myself much less nervous, perhaps because I've proved to myself that I can grow a healthy baby, so to speak. If you do choose not to get any ultrasounds, hearing the heartbeat might satisfy your need for reassurance, at least temporarily. I guess I feel like I should respect the visual barrier, but since my baby can hear me it's okay for me to hear him/her too.

All the best with whatever you decide!