To ultrasound or not - I've changed my mind. - Page 2

[kalamos23]

I'm sorry - I came off a little strong - I've been a nervous wreck most of this weekend because our u/s is scheduled for Tuesday and frankly, I haven't had a good u/s all year - so I'm really on edge.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by kalamos23

I'm sorry - I came off a little strong - I've been a nervous wreck most of this weekend because our u/s is scheduled for Tuesday and frankly, I haven't had a good u/s all year - so I'm really on edge.

You don't have to be sorry!! I should probably always preface these type threads that I really, really don't have individuals in mind when I'm reading and talking about studies so I think I may come off as b!tchy.



I just happen to kind of like to read journal articles and think the subject of how we apply them to our lives is fascinating. I'm sorry if it comes off as dry or insensitive - especially to mamas who are emotional because of how an ultrasound has helped someone they love. That is certainly not a small thing!!

I had a miscarriage earlier this year and was empowered by my choice to stay miscarry at home without intervention. That said, if I have a second -- I'm going to become a medical intervention freak! I've already made that deal with myself.

For the record, I am not in the least bit worried about having even a few ultrasounds - for whatever reason. In my mind there is a huge distinction between what one person chooses to do and and sort of the medical trends and norms, yk? For instance, one person choosing an elective cesarean - no big deal. 30% cesarean rate - not ok.

I hope you have a good ultrasound tomorrow!!

At the risk of towing more info out into the world...this site has potential:

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/P...%20Ultrasounds

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshel...96&part=A14038

http://www.jultrasoundmed.org/cgi/content/full/21/7/713

[xtara2003x]

I have been watching this thread and find it really really fascinating.

With DD....we had 2 US's.....a 20 week anatomy scan and a 18 week gender US...the 3D no less (I would never do a 3d one knowing what I do now).

I'm in the same boat with kalamos23 in that I've had two miscarriages this year. I am *REALLY* struggling with whether to get an early US or not. I honestly just don't know what to do.

On one hand, to me, getting one this early when I *KNOW* when I conceived seems odd. The first time I had a miscarriage, I had a US and we saw the heartbeat and everything looked great, and the baby died shortly after the US....which also adds an aspect of if they told me everything was fine...would I really TRULY believe them anyway? Would my anxiety go away? Would I even feel better? Last time they said everything looked great. It wasn't. And then two weeks later a US told me my baby died in which the tech had to sit there emotionless without saying anything to me even know I KNEW.

The other thought for me, is that the US isn't going to CHANGE what will happen, aside from adding a possible risk of the doppler going into my baby's cells....yk? If I am going to miscarry, the US can't stop that from happening in the first trimester.

HOWEVER..

I am feeling incredibly anxious this week. This is my 5th week of this pregnancy, and the last two times this year, I started spotting in the 5th week, and with the last pregnancy, I miscarried at 5 weeks 4 days (which is what I am tomorrow). I've been shaking lately..and I think it might be fear coming out because of this being my 5th week. Getting to see my baby and see a heart beating WOULD make me smile, make me feel more hopeful, make me happy, and relieve SOME fear even if it wouldn't be all of it.

My other thought is....the doctor would order a 7 week US....but 2 or 3 weeks after that I could hear the HB on my own doppler that we bought....so what's another few weeks (though it really seems like FOREVER in early pregnancy!).


I have one friend who is very very anti US...and I think her opinions are what have been making the decision to get an early US even that much harder on me. I wish I could just KNOW what to do...lol.

Anyway..it's just really interesting how we all have to base our decisions off of our own experiences and emotions. I truly don't believe there is one "right" answer as everyone's life experiences has lead them to feel differently about this kind of thing.

For example....for me, I could never get the screening for down syndrome. My mom had it done, and it was a false positive and my mom waited on pins and needles for weeks and weeks of her pregnancy thinking her baby would have downs. I don't want to experience that kind of fear...so I simply could never do that test! I know what it's like to wonder for weeks on end if your baby is okay...and I wouldn't ever wish that on anyone.

[othersomethings]

Thanks, mamas, for weighing in. I appreciate the different perspectives offered.

I just want to clarify that I started this thread for the sole purpose of sharing where I was and where I'm at now. I share a lot of the ideals common on these boards, less intervention=better outcome and so forth.

I believe the vast majority of the women here strongly believe in making WELL INFORMED choices. I've met women who claimed to believe in making informed choices only to find out their source of information was, say, "what to expect when you're expecting" or "the information their doctor gave them." I've had to carefully gauge how to respond.

Here, I feel very thankful that not only are these boards a refreshing source of well informed women, but that the information you share is valuable to me in introducing me to new schools of thought and new resources to study.

Every one of us can say our goal is to take the best care of our charges (children, loved ones, pets, the environment, etc.) that we possibly can.

My change of ideals on the subject of ultrasound LARGELY stems from seeing first hand the other side of the coin that I've up til now been happy to ignore. I've read the anti-U/S information til I'm glassy-eyed. But I've happily ignored mainstream ideas on it, because I've assumed what they say and I've assumed that I know better than to drink the koolaid, and so forth.

Still not a fan of the koolaid. But as I've looked around me and seen that the numbers reported in cold statistics are reflected in the people I actually know (how often does that happen? never!) I've realized it's time to be as informed about the pros as I am about the cons. And I need to find the balance in my crunchy lifestyle that will reflect the best parenting I can offer my children.

For me, this means I'll be getting the mid-gestation ultrasound.

Thanks for listening

[Maine Mama Doula]

I had 2 u/s with my DD1, many u/s with DS, and two u/s with DD2. With DS, I had a high AFP result and the did an u/s to explore his spinal development. What they found was his left kidney was multicystic. They followed it with prenatal u/s monthly after that. He had much testing done after he was born, an u/s and a kidney reflux study where they filled his bladder with a radioactive dye. It was not fun and in the end, he has one healthy functioning kidney and no lifelong problems. The bad kidney was absorbed by his body.

DD2 had a life-threatening congenital heart defect. It was NOT and could NOT have been detected with u/s. However, it could have been detected at her newborn well-check, when she was slow to gain weight and had no femoral or weak femoral pulses. After being misdiagnosed for many months (9), they finally discovered it on accident and she had immediate, emergency surgery.

So I am really torn personally with the u/s issue. I have them because of our history of congenital defects, but on the other hand, they have never truly helped. I feel that one u/s is good and u/s is warranted if there is bleeding or other problems during pregnancy.

[kalamos23]

Nina, that is really interesting - do you think the CHD might have been picked up at a 24hour post birth pulse oximetry test? Also, if you don't mind me asking, what CHD was it?

[Maine Mama Doula]

Originally Posted by kalamos23

Nina, that is really interesting - do you think the CHD might have been picked up at a 24hour post birth pulse oximetry test? Also, if you don't mind me asking, what CHD was it?

I'm not sure if a pulse ox would have picked it up. I am fairly certain that her femoral pulses were not checked at any of her well visits. I think that it probably had to do with her temperment - she would scream anytime anyone besides me would get near her. When they sedated her at 9 months for a better echo, they felt for femoral pulses, and she had none.

She had an aortic coarctation. Almost a year later and she is still suffering from poor heart function / cardiomyopathy. They plan to do a balloon catheterization soon if healing doesn't pick up pace. I'll know more on Friday.

Sorry to hijack...

[MamaH2]

I just read this article today: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0...broken-hearts/
it's about routine pulse oximetry after birth.
The doctor who wrote it said only about 1/4 of all CHDs are found via ultrasound but 3/4 can be detected via pulse oximetry.
I wonder if after having a home birth I can get my family doctor to order this test at the hospital after birth.
(although taking my newborn to the hospital after birth is just as scary as giving birth in the hospital to me...soo many germs!)

This is something that has been concerning me because I wasn't planning this pregnancy and haven't been taking my folic acid like I should...I'm not a big fan of pills.

~lizzy

-oh and just for your knowledge, my #2 baby was born with a congenital skin condition that would not be visible via ultrasound, however, it isn't life threatening, just life altering.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Great article, Lizzy!! Definitely of interest to those worried about CHD!

[Maine Mama Doula]

Thanks Lizzy. That was hard for me to read, especially since my baby had all the symptoms - bluish, cool skin, no lower pulses, stopped breathing, and was still misdiagnosed. Pulse ox is really easy and uninvasive. We use it all the time on animals that are either having difficulty breathing or undergoing an anesthetic procedure where I work. I guess if I have another baby, I could go to the animal hospital and check her pulse ox

[MamaH2]

I never thought about the vet's! perhaps it would be cheaper there than going to the hospital...we have goats so perhaps we could get a house call from a vet conveniently around the time of the baby's birth...
~lizzy

[alireb]

I'm not anti u/s but I do know that not all heart defects are picked up by fetal ultrasound. My SIL had many u/s during her last pregnancy b/c she is type 1 diabetic and over 40 and very high risk. They even did a fetal echo since there is a greater possibility of heart defects and nothing showed up. However her son was born and after hearing a heart murmur, they followed it up with another echo and found out that he had tetralogy of fallot. He had heart surgery at 2 months old because of it.

I am definitely sure that the anatomy scan does save lives, especially for babies that need immediate assistance after birth but it may not pick up everything. A good newborn check will hopefully pick up anything that was missed.

[daisyem]

Ultrasounds are a bit scary to me too, but so is not knowing that everything looks good. For this reason I always do JUST ONE ultrasound. At 20 weeks. It's always hard to know what is best isn't it?