To U/S or not U/S, that is the question... - Page 2

[mum2tori]

I just had a u/s for this pregnancy last week. We wanted to have a more accurate due date than... my last period was "uuuh before christmas some time". :LOL I wasn't keeping a close watch on when my periods were having only had a couple since the birth of my DS last March. And it was a bonus to find out the gender. Not a requirement but a nice bonus. The u/s changed my due date by 2 weeks sooner so we might do another one later check progression.

I had several with my DD. I had a false positive on my triple screen (found out later that it was done too late and that commonly gives a false positive ) so they did a level 2 u/s (one time in your life you are estatic to have your child be prefectly "average" ) and they also monitored my Placenta Pervia and my constant contractions from 28 weeks on. (She was prefect at birth and came on her due date. :LOL) We had one with my son. Just to check due date and basics (and placenta placement). He was kind enough to do a full on flash too. :LOL

We have read a lot of research pros and cons and we made the decision that was right for us.

[Aura_Kitten]

i decided on no u/s this time around. then when i had to go to the ER for bleeding, they did a quick one to check and make sure everything was ok (which it was). i was ok with that... except that the techs and dr's were all incompetent, so i had to have all the tests repeated by my regular dr., one of which being another quick u/s. everything is fine, so i have no problems with refusing any future ones.

my feeling is that as long as everything is fine, there's no reason to do any sort of interventions (u/s included)... but if something is wrong, nothing should stop you from checking to make sure mama and baby are ok.

[laurata]

I will, but not to see the baby

I have a large ovarian cyst that needs to be checked out, and possibly removed. So I'll probably need to be seen sometime next week (10 wks lmp) to see if it's shrunk at all, and if not, I'll most likely need laprscopic surgery. :-( If it weren't for that issue, I would NOT have an ultrasound done without medical indication, and then only if I thought the info provided would be helpful to me.

[Mom2baldie]

I am not planning on having a sono unless there is a medical reason for it, although I dont feel that the risks of having *1* sonogram are high or are even there at all. I just dont really need any medical tests/intervention with this pregnancy. I really want to just rely on my own intuition this time.

HOWEVER, I did have a sonogram at 10 weeks because I had been bleeding every day for a whole month and I thought that my body was trying to miscarry again, but not being very successful... I think thats a pretty darn good reason, but it was kindof crappy because although it showed my baby to be alive and well (YAY!) we werent able to figure out what was causng the blood loss so that was stressful. Anyways, Im glad that I had that one. I needed it for my own peace of mind after a miscarriage a few months before.

[KoalaMommy]

I had one at 8 weeks to date the pregnancy, with a cycle that would have been 37 days, but known date of ovulation, my MW came up with dates 3 weeks apart for my due date and wasn't comfortable with that spread. It turned out that I was right according to the U/S. I have to say, that as a first time mom, it was an incredible relief to see that the baby was where it should be (in the uterus rather than ectopic) and to see that little heart beat. At every cramp or ache I had up until that moment I was convinced it was ectopic and that my tube was going to rupture and I'd never be able to have a child. Plus my symptoms have been relatively mild (I think I'll scream if anyone else tells me that nausea is a good sign, I hardly ever feel sick!) I don't think I'm alone among first time moms who really want this little miracle to happen so much but are afraid something is wrong. and I think that my worries and stress were probably more toxic to the baby than the few minutes of exposure to the U/S. We will have one more later on to check for problems and gender.

I don't, however, support novelty U/S. There is a huge difference between clinical use which exposes the baby for a few minutes for diagnostic purposes and novelty use which can expose the baby for half an hour or more just so you can see it. My aunt reminded me recently that they used to have X-ray machines in shoe stores so you could see if the shoes actually fit, and that the kids would play with them when it wasn't their turn to try on shoes, I kind of think of the novelty 3d or 4d U/S along those lines: it might be safe for limited exposure in the hands of a well trained professional, but it's not something to play with!

[Mamid]

I had one at 8 weeks to accurately "date" it because my LMP and O date were way off and I had a miscarriage during my last AF. I wasn't impressed with the tech nor the photocopy of a single pic I got from the hospital.

Then there was the strike last week. No way was I going to cross the line.

And of course, my midwife still wants me to have one. Why? I dunno. She said it was "routine" but so is GD and I don't want that test because its dangerous, nevermind the fact that I have two little lives dependant on mine and who knows what it could do to me after last time's test where I nearly threw up.

So, I'm not planning on another one. The midwife and I will discuss it. Loudly of course.

[Snowy Owl]

Mamid, that's strange that your midwife would pressure you to have one. When I chose not to with my first pg, I said I wasn't interested and that was the end of the discussion. As it was this time around when I refused GD testing. What I was cajoled into was all the blood tests and swabs, because, well, it's a good idea....though mostly I can't stand any of it.
I've noticed with some midwives I've talked to you have to be really firm about what you want, to show you actually know what you want.
But I don't know what your situation is....

[Mamid]

The Midwives in BC are working on a barely legal basis. Sure they are regulated, etc etc, but in order to stay regulated, they have to make sure the patient submits to various tests. I'm already having problems with the GBS one, the GD one is one I don't want to have because I am nursing, but the Ultrasound might be a sticky one.

I don't want it, but she might require it because by the time I found her, all the other tests she could have done on me were well past the possible time to do them - u no - afp etc.

With the strike last week, I wasn't going to mention it if it was still happening this week other than telling her that I won't cross a picket line (unless life and limb etc etc) and an ultrasound test isn't. Besides that, this hospital here is a catholic one and they won't tell you the sex even if you ask, so I'd have to travel for an hour (min) to the next one for that. And I'd only allow an ultrasound if I was going to learn the sex at the end of it.

Besides, unless Big Bro is around, Bun is very active and happily kicks. I've felt hiccups - DS never had them - and I know I have an anterior placenta because my belly button isn't being used for a punching bag. My cervix and tailbone however.... :

[Snowy Owl]

I had my first baby in 1999 with The Midwifery Group in Vancouver.
Part of the province's Home Birth Demonstration Project...I didn't get the impression that it was barely legal, just that there were certain guidelines.
And that in no way required a normal pregnancy to have an ultrasound against the mother's wishes!
I didn't do the GBS test either.
I would say that if you aren't sure about the US, don't have one, midwifery is about informed choice!

[Mamid]

Well, the impression I've had for 4 years about the midwives in BC is that they are barely legal and so they are all about ass protecting not actually giving their clientelle an informed choice. If they don't do XYor Z test and something goes wrong, the specific midwife could loose her license, and that could also mean the end of midwives in the province. As it is, there are too few midwives actually working to serve the populace of this province. There should be at least triple, but their requirements are too stringent to even enter their midwifery program at UBC, let alone get the license. I've heard horror stories from women who are legally trained and licensed in other jurisdictions (like the UK) who failed the BC tests.

And with their hate on for any non-licensed birth attendants, they aren't going to get more licensed midwives except in dribs and drabs.

[Snowy Owl]

Well, finding a midwife who clicks is always a challenge, I gather, from the many posts on that topic around here. Or a doctor/obstetrician.
As I said before, I don't agree with anyone feeling pressured into tests such as U/S. I loved the experience of having one with this pregnancy, but it was on my own terms. I can't stand being pressured into things I am not sure about. That's why I'm birthin' at home!

And about BC, it is too bad because there is such demand for midwives there.

[WindyMoments04]

I had a level 2 u/s with my son, and he is left-handed. I wonder if that (the u/s) had anything to do with it?
How can you tell if someone has brain damage?

My son seems perfectly normal...

[Trishy]

Originally Posted by WindyMoments04

I had a level 2 u/s with my son, and he is left-handed. I wonder if that (the u/s) had anything to do with it?
How can you tell if someone has brain damage?

My son seems perfectly normal...

Are you trying to say that left handed people are brain damaged?

My ds is left handed and I didn't have an u/s with him until 3 days before his birth. I don't think that made him left handed.

There is nothing wrong with being left handed if that is what you are trying to imply.

[Lucysmama]

Trish -

I think she was referring to my reference about left-handedness being much more common in babies who were exposed to ultrasound.

Left-handedness can be a marker for damage to the developing brain. As I said before, this doesn't mean ALL left-handed children were brain damaged in utero.

[Pam_and_Abigail]

I had 3 u/s with my dd. I'm not sure what I'll do for the next one. In canada, there's a routine one at 18-20 weeks, but I also had one at 8 weeks (I sprained my ankle then had mild cramping. After having a m/c at 6 weeks with the previous this was done as a precaution). I also had one at 24 weeks, when I noticed a decrease in fetal mov't. I think I'll be less paranoid next time, now that I've carried a baby the whole way through. I'm also hopingto have a midwife and homebirth this time, if we can afford it.

[Lucysmama]

Kimber-

Very well put.

[Past_VNE]

Absolutely not.

[mirthfulmum]

T
Wow Mamid, where is your midwife? I'm in Vancouver and have a great midwife. When pregnant with my son, I was not required to undergo any tests, procedures etc. I was free to choose what I felt worked for me and my pregnancy. I didn't even have an internal until I was 41 and a half weeks. And that was really an attempt to get out of the induction, it worked by the way, labour began about 6 hours later. I have a different midwife with this pregancy but at the same pratice. Every time I refuse a test, procedure etc. I just have to sign a form stating that I have refused blah blah blah and that is that. Oh, and my the way, both of my midwives are from New Zealand, both schooled and trained there, and had only moved to BC within the last 3 years.

I am sorry that your midwife is being so rigid. It is so hard when your care giver is not meeting your needs. I too wish that there were more midwives to meet the huge need/demand here in BC. Are there any other clinics where you are that you can get on the waiting list for?

[Mamid]

:LOL :

I'm lucky to have found her. She doesn't even live in my community! I have to drive for almost an hour to get to her! Out of 12 midwives we called, she was the only one who said "yes" without any other justifiers like - unless you can find someone closer. The next closest ones are over an hour away.

The ones that are _in_ my community are "booked up" so they say. So I wrote a letter to the college and complained about how these women who supposedly serve not only my city and the two around it, but also all the way up to the Queen Charlottes and maybe instead of serving women that far away, they should concentrate on the closer ones first.

Never did get a reply.

[mirthfulmum]

It has been so interesting to read all of your comments. It has really broadened my understanding of the "no" argument in the ultrasound debate. That being said I'm still going to have my ~20 week ultrasound. I guess you could say that when it comes to pregnancy I am a worrier. Maybe it's because I've had two miscarriages or maybe not. I know in my heart of hearts that my baby if healthy and happy and what I look for in an u/s is simple confirmation. I sleep easier with the knowledge that all is well. And if there is a problem... I don't know. Frankly, my mind can't even go there.