Any one thinking of doing the 3D ultrasound?

[lisab82]

Just curious if anyone has decided to see their baby in "3D' ultrasounds. I have booked mine for my 28th week which is the end of February. I'm so excited I can't wait :-), This is baby number 1 so I am really curious to see who my baby looks like right now...my side or my DH

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

i have one booked for the 4th of march i'll be 30 weeks

[gummibears]

No, we didn't have those when DS was born and this one won't have it unless my midwife orders one. The closest 3D place is geez. Around 2 hours one way from here. So, combining the cost of gas to/from there and the cost of the u/s we'll pass and just see who she looks like in May. :P

[tzs]

i wouldn't if i didn;t have to...i try to avoid ultrasounds unless medically necessary. 

that said, i do a 20 week scan because of a medication i take and have it done at the perinatologist where he can switch to 3D. personally, i would skip it. it is really not all that cute at that point so if you're doing it to see what your baby looks like you're not going to get a good idea at all. maybe 10 weeks later it's different, i dunno, but at 20 weeks both dd and this one looked like a mummy alien. i even remember dh saying that he hoped it would be a boy "cause that's one ugly girl!" he wasn't exagerating, but she was a doll at birth. just the other day i pulled out her 3d pic to try to see any semblance and really didn't see anything. 

also keep in mind that 3d ultrasounds are way stronger than regular ultrasounds so if you;re at all concerned about cell damage from U/S than skip the 3D by all means.

[sosurreal09]

The FDA does warn about unnecessary ultra sounds.

[poopzmom]

I had one at 20 weeks. I decline the first trimeseter screening so the midwife said if I wanted to I could have the level 2 with a peri so I did it. I had the 3 d with my twins. We were able to see one of them really good. When she came out she looked EXACTLY like the 20 week ultrasound pic. It was really neat to see this one. She looks just like my 3rd daughter. Can't wait to compare pics when she is born!

[Kristynwy]

3D's are standard for the big ultrasound at my clinic. Although they make you wait till 23-26 weeks. Now I know why though as some mentioned how the baby looks at 19, 20 weeks ect.

My 3D is scheduled for Feb 10th, I will be 24 weeks a few days along by then. So just a few more weeks. This will be my first experience with one.

I had a few 2d's early on, because of bleeding issues.

[dayiscoming2006]

I wouldn't want to do a 3D as I've read those are even stronger waves than the 2D - so potentially more hazardous to the kiddos health. I'm having a 2D tomorrow morning.

[tzs]

Originally Posted by Kristynwy 

3D's are standard for the big ultrasound at my clinic. Although they make you wait till 23-26 weeks. Now I know why though as some mentioned how the baby looks at 19, 20 weeks ect.

My 3D is scheduled for Feb 10th, I will be 24 weeks a few days along by then. So just a few more weeks. This will be my first experience with one.

I had a few 2d's early on, because of bleeding issues.

that seems really strange. i had my biggie with the perinatologist and although he had 3d capability on the same machine it was 2d all the way. i don;t even see how they could do the measurements with a 3d.....interesting....

[Kristynwy]

Originally Posted by tzs 

Originally Posted by Kristynwy 

3D's are standard for the big ultrasound at my clinic. Although they make you wait till 23-26 weeks. Now I know why though as some mentioned how the baby looks at 19, 20 weeks ect.

My 3D is scheduled for Feb 10th, I will be 24 weeks a few days along by then. So just a few more weeks. This will be my first experience with one.

I had a few 2d's early on, because of bleeding issues.

that seems really strange. i had my biggie with the perinatologist and although he had 3d capability on the same machine it was 2d all the way. i don;t even see how they could do the measurements with a 3d.....interesting....

I am not sure they may use both 3D and 2D, I know the machine does both. I guess I will have to see when I get there...

[poopzmom]

When I had mine done it was 2d, they flipped a switch to make it 3d snapped a shot for me and went back to 2d.

[tzs]

Originally Posted by poopzmom 

When I had mine done it was 2d, they flipped a switch to make it 3d snapped a shot for me and went back to 2d.

this was how it was at ours as well. i should have just told him to skip it because he didn't need it at all and i didn't necessarily want it.

[danilouwho]

Originally Posted by tzs 

Originally Posted by poopzmom 

When I had mine done it was 2d, they flipped a switch to make it 3d snapped a shot for me and went back to 2d.

this was how it was at ours as well. i should have just told him to skip it because he didn't need it at all and i didn't necessarily want it.

Ours too. 
I was so in the moment with everything that I didn't think about it when she did it. She was very skilled and it's a cute little shot that she grabbed, even for only 18 weeks (I have to say, this lady was very professional and very skilled, and I was happy she was doing our ultrasound). But I just don't think I would ever do the entire 3d session that they offered.
I honestly wouldn't have gone in for this one, if it weren't for peace of mind!
 

[LacieD]

We're probably going to do one in the next couple of weeks - I really liked seeing DS2 in 3D (the perinatologist I was seeing offered it) and I really want another look at the gender as well.  :)

[Cavimom]

 Hello,

 I have to disagree with you.  If  too many ultrasounds are dangerous then why do HIGH Risk pregnancies receive SO many?  Also, if the 3D ultrasound is stronger and not good for you then why does the doctors office and the ultrasound at the hospitals who have them show you your baby in 3d? How on earth would the ultrasound companies SELL 3D and 4D ultrasound machines if it weren't safe?  I had WEEKLY ultrasounds during my first pregnancy because I was high risk.  My Doctor A OK"d a 3D ultrasound and I would think he would know..

The 3D and 4D Ultrasounds are very safe and you shouldnt be concerned as long as the machines are regulated and serviced and maintained.  It actually can strengthen the bond for mom and dad to baby and encourgae better health habits of momma to be.

Just my opinion though.. I had one done and it was AMAZING!

[Nutter]

CaviMom - If you do a search for terms like "ultrasound safety" here at MDC, you'll find all sorts of threads which outline the pros & cons; studies/lack of studies; opinions for & against.....which might shed some light for you on why many believe ultrasounds to be unsafe, despite their prevalence in modern pregnancy culture & their purported safety by the medical community.

[tzs]

it's not that ultrasounds are inherently super duper dangerous, it's that they do have a risk and there are plenty of real deal medical studies that have shown cellular damage etc... my friend just finished his OB rotation in med school and they DID go over the studies that show that ultrasounds are not risk free.

but like anything medical that has a small risk you have to weigh this against the benefits. so for a high-risk pregnancy, the benefits of diagnosis may outweigh the risks even to a huge extent. that's why they would do so many. but it's also the reason that even the AMA cautions about not doing ultrasounds unless medically necessary, meaning specifically, as they say, not solely for gender identification and not for routine purposes. they also caution against going to outside mall-type ultrasound places. 

now why some OB's still do so many routine ultrasounds is a big question. mine is one if them, he would do one every visit if you let him (and does, with most of his patients, that i assume go along with it) i think part of it is that he has teh machine in his office and can therefore bill for it and another part of it is to "cover his ass" which he has straight up told me is the big reason he does alot of the testing he does. that way if he is faced with litigation, he can say he did everything in his means.

so yeah. that's my semi-uneducated view on ultrasounds. also, keep in mind that they used to do x-rays routinely on pregnant women for diagnosis which they now know is dangerous. 

[clutterbug]

I have a friend who's an OB/GYN and we were talking about 3D.  She is uncomfortable with it being used routinely (here in Canada it is not used as often by doctors as it is in the US, I think), something about the increase of temperature in tissues 'receiving' 3D ultrasound is significantly higher than that of 2D ultrasound.  As tzs went on to say in her post, it's about weighing the benefits versus the risks, and using it prudently.  That said, if people are aware of the potential effects and are willing to take the likely very small risk of that exposure, then that's fine...it would just be nice for them to be a little more up front that ultrasound does indeed have some effect on the tissues it's used to examine, and that it's not fully defined what those effects might be on fetal development etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tzs 

it's not that ultrasounds are inherently super duper dangerous, it's that they do have a risk and there are plenty of real deal medical studies that have shown cellular damage etc... my friend just finished his OB rotation in med school and they DID go over the studies that show that ultrasounds are not risk free.

[BeanieC]

I am not planning on doing anymore ultrasounds unless my midwife group feels its necessary, I had one at 12 weeks and one at 20 weeks.  They believe in doing as few as possible as they said that (this isn't proven) it could affect the hearing of the baby.  When I told my midwife that I rented a fetal doppler she made me send it back right away.  She said better to stay away from sound waves.  She also said that in most cases, when the ultrasound probe is put on the mother's tummy that the baby tends to move away from it, some even turn around because of the loud sound.  Now this is nothing that has been proven, just sharing what her experiences have been.  She prefers to leave the baby alone and let it be unless otherwise needed.  Thought I'd share.

[SGVaughn]

my understanding of 3d ultrasound is that it takes all of the slices and then the image is computer generated...not that its stronger but uses different software

I know its considered helpful in some cases of diagnoses...for instance spina bifida

that said...the peri did a 2d of our baby for spina bifida (and a detailed anatomy scan) and seemed very satisfied...the entire scan was literally under 6 minutes...the tech was ultrafast, great at getting exactly what images she wanted immediately