Early U/S's?

[doulanichole]

I know it's not generally popular on MDC to have u/s's, but many of us do for various reasons. How many are having early u/s's? When are you having yours and why?

Mine is this Tuesday at 5 weeks, 6 days and I am so nervous that I don't know how I will sleep on Monday night (hoping the complete exhaustion helps). I am having mine more for reassurance than anything else as I have had more losses in the last year than I can count. The last big one I had was in March when I thought all was well only to find out I had a blighted ovum. I was devastated at the u/s they did at 8 weeks (again, because I had other m/c's I thought it would make me feel better). I really felt and thought I was pregnant. Since then I have requested more help and monitoring, but hopefully this u/s will set my mind at ease and I can begin to plan for this baby. I really don't anticipate any problems and feel like I may finally get my sticky baby, but still nervous!

How about you?

[Keeta]

Being pregnant for the first time, I am sooo confused about u/s! When does one *typically* have them? Any links to pros and cons would be welcome, because I'm not sure why they're unpopular here, other than being a form of intervention.

DH and I totally want to find out gender when the time comes. How long do we have to wait for that again? Is it like at 20 wks? Earlier?

Thanks in advance to all you more knowledgeable mamas!

doulanichole, I can't wait to hear how yours goes on Tuesday! I have my first doc appointment that day, and I can't wait, either.

[Twilight]

Wanted to give lots of (((hugs))) and healthy baby vibes to you Nichole. Let us know how the u/s goes! I totally understand your wanting one.

I have no opinion on whether early or a lot of ultrasounds are good, bad, or ugly. Some OB's like to do a routine ultrasound at around 8 weeks to be sure baby is implanted in the right place, some don't. If you were dealing with infertility, a history of losses, multiples, etc... your doc will prescribe more ultrasounds, maybe even one each month or one each visit.

If all is healthy and no reason to suspect anything is wrong, most practices do one ultrasound at 20 weeks to screen for any abnormalities you should be prepared for.... and at that time you can ask for the gender if you wish, of course

[Amys1st]

Doulamama- I wish you the best. I think in your situation, you should get u/s.

A few of my friends had them every month. One was an ivf prgncy and she was carrying twins. They did them every month to check how things were progressing. My sil had her first prgncy at age 37 so her OB did them almost every month.

Last time I had two early on. One at my first appt and then the OB did not like how things looked so she did another one two weeks later and it was awesome to see the heart beating. I was on cloud nine. Then I did not have one until 22 weeks. That would have been my last one but I had some complications so they did one to make sure my amenoitc fluids were ok at 28 weeks. That was at the hospital.

Honestly, I think some practices are u/s happy. They use it as a toy and not to make sure things are ok. I do know one friend of mine talked her Dr into doing one so she could try to see the sex of the baby. It sounds like its not abnormal for that to happen. In these situations, it a waste of time, money, and resources. The insurance a majority of the time is paying for this so now the prices will rise and then everyone pays. Also, there are so many other things the Dr can be doing for the Mother or another Mother.

I know there was an article a few years back in the magazine about what u/s can do to a fetus incl making people left handed. Being a southpaw, I do not have a problem w that but it was a good article anyway
this might be it:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pr...und-risks.html
or there are others near it.

[Satori]

I will have my 1st u/s at 7 weeks if I ever get off my butt and schedule it. I have a history of m/c so they will be checking for a hb.

[chiromama]

Nichole, US may not be popular on this board, but neither is 'un-natural conception' and I already did that Honestly, I think that if I had been lucky enough not to need IVF, I wouldn't want or need this upcoming US (at 6 weeks 1 day). The only reason I'm doing it, is to see how many babies I'm growing. After that, I plan on only having another if the RE sees it necessary before releasing me from care, or if there is some medical necessity later in the pregnancy. As i said on the other thread, after such a high tech conception, I really want a low tech pregnancy and birth.
I don't have any desire (ok well some) to know the sex of the child(ren). It seems like a surprise I'm willing to wait for.

Nichole, I hope this US gives you some peace.

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by Keeta

Being pregnant for the first time, I am sooo confused about u/s! When does one *typically* have them? Any links to pros and cons would be welcome, because I'm not sure why they're unpopular here, other than being a form of intervention.

Ultrasound is a military radar application that some doc decided to use on a pregnant woman with no research done at all into what it could do to a developing fetus. Still to this day there has been little to no research into its effects on the developing fetus.

Ultrasound has the ability to literally raise the temperature and "cook" cells, so God knows what else it can do. As a matter of fact, Doppler radar (the one they listen to the heartbeat with) is an even higher dose of radiation than an u/s. I think it is especially foolish and unwise that docs overuse it the way they do. Oh, and you give the baby an even bigger dose of radiation with the vaginal probe that they use in early pregnancy.

As far as I'm concerned, it just isn't worth the risk. What exactly are you going to find out? That you may have a blighted ovum? Well, your body will let you know that soon enough anyway. That you have a low-lying placenta? Chances are it will move up as the baby grows, and if it didn't there's nothing you can do about it anyway. Check your amniotic fluid level? It is notoriously incorrect and unreliable for guaging that.

I only had a Doppler for hb once at 13 weeks, and I did not have an u/s until 24 weeks purposefully because that is the point at which all organs are developed and from that point on it is mainly growth for the fetus, so I figured there would be little chance of harm. I must add that all the nurses thought I was weird for refusing Doppler, and my o/b threatned to fire me as a patient because he had to try and use a fetoscope once and couldn't hear anything.

I'l see if I can find some articles as I did some research on this some time ago...

Ok, here you go...

Ultrasound: Weighing The Propaganda Against The Facts

A Short History Of The Development Of Ultrasound

The History Of Doppler Radar

[mimid]

I conceived on injectible fertility meds and an IUI so we are getting an u/s at 7 weeks to check that everything is normal and that I don't have a little coming. After that, it will depend on what the doc thinks is necessary and what isn't and we'll make our minds up then.

DH and I pretty much don't want to do a lot because there isn't much that could show up that would make us change what we are doing.

[bohemama]

My OB has scheduled me for an u/s at 7 weeks because of the spotting I have been experiencing. I go in for a beta tomorrow and if everything looks good and normal I'm planning on refusing the u/s. With my last two pregnancies they were IVF and we had tons of u/s. I'm looking forward to a very non-invasive pregnancy this time!


Nichole~ I can totally understand your reasoning for early u/s. Good luck to you!

[chiromama]

Sarah, did you have many us with your IVF because they were twins, or because they were IVF babies? Did the parents of the children you were surrogating (is that even a word?) want the US more than you did? One last questiion... were they vag or c-sect twins? (i'm just getting myself prepared for what may come on thursday )

[seekermage]

ultrasounds are fine with me!

Well Im in the I dont mind the ultrasounds club as well. Im having one too at about 8 weeks (Oct 20th to be exact). I had a lot of movement issues with my first because she was so big and laid back....I had NSTs three to four times a week and towards the end weekly ultrasounds and biweekly extended ultrasounds.(cant remember the name of them but they take over an hour and measure movement etc) There were several times they could not find her heartbeat and twice I got send to the hospital for extra monitoring....given the choice and even with any "information" out there...I would gladly do it again! I would hate the thought that there might have been something I could have "caught in time". Call me over cautious, but Im all for the ultrasounds and dobblers etc. Especially since I am in the high risk category....(overweight and high blood pressure...bad mommy!) As much as I would like to trust my body, some bodies are just not that good at making babies.

Nichole, I hope everything goes well. Im glad you have a dr who is working with you and doing everything to stay on top of your problems. Hang in there...lost of sticky big healthy baby vibes for you!

[MyLittleWonders]

I had one about 8 weeks with ds#1 because of spotting. I went on and had about 4 more because of low-lying placenta issues (the last one to confirm it had moved up so we could proceed with vaginal birth). I had one the first time I went in when pregnant with ds#2 because I had a m/c between my two boys. I'm glad we did that one because I found out I was a month further along than we thought. I will probably have one around 10 1/2 weeks this time (unless the n.p does one at 7 1/2 weeks) to confirm dates and make sure all looks okay. I'm of the camp that one or two are fine unless medically needed (as the case for my first pregnancy). We don't find out the gender, so there's no need for one past the mid-point u/s unless for some reason the baby doesn't turn at the end, etc. My friend is pregnant with twins, so they are monitoring her 1x month to check growth of both babies.

[doulanichole]

As someone who has had a homebirth and completely trusts the process of pregnancy and birth I still find u/s necessary at times. Although my body would take care of a blighted ovum, poorly developing baby, etc. on it's own....I've been down that road enough times to know for certain that I would rather have some inkling that it was coming rather than wake up one morning and be bleeding. Each of my 3 children were very easy, very uncomplicated pregnancies, but they were all before the m/c's. And while I would have refused early u/s's after the first m/c, I cannot do it anymore. Gone are the days of assuming all will be well. I certainly do miss the days of naivety and hope that nobody else has to lose theirs. But if I am to sleep and eat well (which are both nightmares for me right now as I am filled with anxiety), the reassurance of an early u/s is what I need to keep me and this pregnancy healthy.

As for u/s raising the temp of the amniotic fluid, that is u/s's that are done for longer periods of time, not the listening by doppler for 2 secs that are normally done at OB appt.'s and the quick scans they do to check the vital organs (normally 20 minutes or less). Please don't be confused, I am not a huge lover of u/s and often advise clients against the ridiculous amounts of u/s's they want "just to peek," including the 4D u/s. But I will have at least one early u/s for reassurance and another at about 20 weeks (most are done between 18-22) to check organ function, etc. so that I know homebirth is the safest option for me and my baby.

Thank you all for your support - what a great group of mamas!

[Leakyboobs]

I'm of the opinion that healthy women grow and deliver babies all the time. I don't do u/s, don't do dopplers, don't do most of the tests offered. Even when I was really unsure about my due date I decided against a dating u/s since babies just come when they do anyway. If, however, at ANY point in this pregnancy (or any other) I feel like something is wrong, or I'm bleeding or having premature labor cramps I'll be the first one in line at the u/s machine. For me the routine ones are too much, but when medically indicated I'm all for them.

As far as finding the sex-- it is NOT always accurate. :LOL My sister had TWO u/s and both said (80% and then 100%) she was having another girl. The nursery was painted, the matching outfits bought, washed and hung up... and then she had a boy. Really. So even when they are sure, be wary.

[bohemama]

Nichole~ Sorry I didn't respond to your question earlier. I had a lot of u/s for a mix of reasons. Early on it was because IVF and they were making sure how many babies were in there and then making sure that they were thriving. Later in the pregnancy I had a lot of u/s because I was carrying twins and my Perinatologist liked to do an u/s at every visit. Neither set of IPs (intended parents) complained about the amounts of u/s. In fact I think they liked that I was having so many. If they were my babies I don't think I would have oked so many, but in that situation you kind of have to respect the IPs wishes.

[chiromama]

That was me who asked, Thanks for responding Sarah!
If I am having twins, I hope that they don't want that many US.. cause I'd rather not.
but we'll see....

[doulanichole]

chiromama- yours is tomorrow, right? Good luck and I can't wait to hear how many are in there! I'll be thinking about you so post when you can.

[chiromama]

Yeah, mine is tomorrow morning. Just had a local friend go in for a 9 week US and there was no heartbeat. I'm feeling a little fragile now.

[augustmom]

chiromama, that's really hard to hear and so sad. I'm hoping for the best outcome for you. try to stay positive.

I have one tomorrow, too. Though it's scheduled to check out a cyst.

B

[wildflower621]

My OB routinely does u/s's at the first appointment (between 6-12 weeks), and then once more at 18-20 weeks. Actually, the first one is at the office (the transvaginal u/s), but I have to go elsewhere for the major u/s.
He does the first u/s to confirm how far along I am and to check for the yolk sac etc.. I'm especially anxious to have the early u/s this time, b/c my last pregnancy ended in a m/c and I just want to see that everything is okay so far. Also, I've only had AF 3 times since last January and I'm not completely positive how far a long I am.