anyone not do ultrasounds?

[HRJ]

If so, what was your reasoning? When I was PG w/ DS 6 yrs ago, we declined routine ultrasounds (if I had had a medical emergency or great cause for concern, we would have had one). I'm 14 weeks PG and toying w/ the idea of doing it this time around.

[babyjelly]

I have not had one with this pregnancy, nor did I with my last. I figure that it's a medical procedure with some risk to the baby which we would be doing just for fun. Yes, there are things that are looked for in the routine scan (which ACOG does not recommend actually, BTW), but I am not in a high or even moderate risk for any of them, so we pass.
I was in a high risk category for neural tube defects with my girls, and had multiple U/S with them. Between looking at her spinal cord and measuring my cervix (PTL/incompetent cervix), I had upwards of thirty scans in my lat trimester alone.

[nova22]

My reasoning when I didn't do them was that I was healthy, it was a low-risk pregnancy, and there was no reason to think that there was something wrong with the baby. Aside from that, I dislike having ultrasounds. It's always a long wait in a tiny room, then if I get unlucky and have a tech who's having a long day or is just grouchy in general, it ruins the experience for me even more. I have to find a sitter for the kids and it takes a huge chunk out of my day.

In my first pregnancy I had ultrasounds because of a suspected miscarriage (turned out to be the miscarriage of one twin but the other survived). In my second, I had one to determine dates and one to make sure the baby's legs were growing properly (there was reason to suspect otherwise). In my third, I had one at 12 weeks because I was having cramps and the OB couldn't find a heartbeat; in my fourth, I had one at about 16 weeks when the midwife thought I might be having twins. In my fifth, I had not a single ultrasound. I had a perfect textbook pregnancy and I was healthier than I had been in a good five years, pregnant or not. As it happened, an ultrasound would have been very helpful, because a placenta problem led to an early emergency c-section and a preemie in the NICU. Naturally that is not always the case (in fact I'm sure it's very seldom the case) but because of that experience, I am having ultrasounds this time around.

[gemasita]

We went back and forth on this. It didn't sound like our homebirth midwife or family practice (neither of whom recommend routine u/s) had any reason for us to have one but after talking with them more, it seems that my age did give me a medical indication to have one. I could tell that our midwife didn't want to influence us so when she said a few times that we had a medical indication, I took that to mean that she wouldn't *mind* having access to the information that we could gain from the u/s but that it was up to us.

So we decided to have it and while it was wonderful to see the baby, I really don't think it was necessary. Granted, that is a lot easier to say in retrospect when all checks out as aparently normal but still. Not sure if I would do it again. It did sort of feel like we had it done for the fun of it and I really didn't want one just for that reason. Plus, like someone in my DDC mentioned, it does feel a little bit like you are invading the LO's privacy!

The doctor who did ours was good about not saying anything negative about our homebirth but did talk a lot about problems that could occur with the baby, reasons to have an amnio, etc. That made for a very "medical-feeling" appointment, which I didn't enjoy nearly as much as my midwife visits!

[happythistle]

We had no u/s with DS and felt confident that however he was born, he was still ours. With this one, we had a twin vibe so did an u/s at 14 weeks. Only one baby present and we haven't had any u/s since. I think it's nice when the mom gets to make the choice.

[dex_millie]

I also haven't had any and I am on my 3rd. Unless something medical comes up or I find out I am having twins(which will be very rare for me, not in my genes at all or DH) then I wouldn't be getting one for this baby eighter.

[Twinklefae]

I didn't with DS, but was delivering in a hospital with a level III NICU. This time I am planning a homebirth and will get one to locate the placenta and have a quick anatomy scan to identify if there are any major issues that would indicate a hospital birth.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by babyjelly

Yes, there are things that are looked for in the routine scan (which ACOG does not recommend actually, BTW),

No, that's not true. The ACOG says that a routine anatomy scan between 18-20 weeks is "medically appropriate." (Which is not to say they *recommend* that *all* women have one, but that if you and your HCP choose to, it's an appropriate usage of u/s technology). What they recommend against is u/s, at any point in pregnancy, "just for fun" (i.e. 3D/4D u/s just to learn the sex, or just to see the baby).

[outlier]

This is my first pregnancy and I haven't had any. We decided early on we'd do one if it was medically indicated, but fortunately this has been a pretty textbook easy pregnancy so far. My main reason is that I wanted to keep the stress of this whole experience to a minimum and didn't feel I could do that with one or more scans where someone spends a good amount of time looking for something to be wrong or at least non-average. There are some conditions this little one could have that scare me, and it would certainly be nice to know that he/she doesn't have any of those, but I don't know that getting horrible news months before birth would be any less devastating than finding out at birth.

FWIW, I'm going to deliver in a hospital that can handle almost any problem that may come up. If I was going to homebirth, I would seriously consider getting an abbreviated version of the 20 week scan to look for major problems.

[kalamos23]

My sister was born with a not compatible with life without surgery congenital heart defect. She had surgery and is fine now. Because of this, I will always get the anatomy u/s. They are hard to catch after birth, so if you plan on not getting an u/s, at least ask for a pulse oximetry test 24-48 hours after birth - the number should not be under 95.

[MrsBone]

we decided to do one with DS The midwives I see recommend doing one at 20 weeks just to make sure everything's growing properly and all that. As a bonus, we were able to find out he was a boy at that time. We will do the same thing with the next one