To have ultrasound or not?!

[ChickyMama]

Hello,
I am having a homebirth for my second baby due at the end of October. With my first I just went with the mainstream on pretty much everything but this time is way different and I have realized everything is pretty much my choice. This has left my a little :. I originally decided to avoid dopplers and ultrasounds except when completely necessary. I had a few dopplers and one ultrasound at the beginning because they couldnt detect the heartbeat at first. Since then none and have yet to hear the heartbeat on the fetoscope and am starting to wish I was going to have an ultrasound just to see my baby and know everything looks good. I am trying to avoid additional stress from possible false positives with any tests but in some ways I feel like I might relieve some stress by just seeing the baby on u/s. Any thoughts?

[purplevega]

I only had a us at 10 weeks for dating purposes. Sometimes I think I would like to know if something was not right with my baby. I also know that I trust in God that everything will workout the way it is suppose to.

Kim

[Upside]

Wow, it's like you read my mind. I am also halfway through my second pregnancy and have not had many tests or an ultrasound. With my daughter, aside from having a midwife in the hospital, my prenatal care was very conventional. This time around we are planning a homebirth and have skipped everything except blood counts and thyroid tests (I have a preexisting thyroid condition) and I have had serious bouts of insecurity.

I was on the fence a long time and had an ultrasound scheduled and to be completely honest, the cost was a factor. An ultrasound here was just shy of $600 and I finally decided to trust my body and cancel. We have to remember that ultrasounds weren't even routine until the 90's and studies I read about show that routine ultrasounds don't improve outcome. When I finally got off the fence I started to feel better about my decision. It's hard sometimes because no one I know here has taken the low-tech route. I know it's right for me though, it just took some time.

Good luck with your decision!

[PiePie]

i had the nuchal screen at 13 weeks but skipped the 20 week one. if there were a positive, i would have to have an amnio or drive myself crazy with worry. given the rates of false positives, i decided not to go there.

[rozzie'sma]

i think US gives a false sense of security. My son has four heart defects and I had skipped US and felt guilty until his cardiologist told me that less than 20% of heart defects are found on US and it is the most common birth defect (about 1 in 125). So lots of people and docs assume the baby is fine because all looked well on US and they don't find the defect until it is too late.

[mykidsmom776]

I'm nearly done baking this baby myself and haven't had an ultrasound at all. My mw makes the doppler available at our visits and I do choose to listen. It is reassuring to me.

[impromptukiss]

we didn't have one last time. still not sure abotu one this time. i have the number of someone my mw recommended if i feel the need. the number may be enough to make me feel better, lol. i'm a little paranoid after having a early m/c after ethan .... but things are already much further along this time.

[Nan'sMom]

I did not for either child, although with my first, my mw (against my previously stated wishes) used a doptone during labor for an hour or so. My feeling was that there was possible harm and no real benefit...perhaps it would ease my mind right then, but what about 5 minutes, 1 hour, 4 days later? I also know of a few people who have had "problems" detected via U/S that turned out to be nothing but caused lots of stress during pregnancy. I know of other people who were reassured by the U/S though too. I think it's a very personal and possibly difficult decision.

[alegna]

We don't do u/s without medical reason. It's not a risk I'm comfortable with.

-Angela

[velcromom]

We have opted for no u/s and I am happy with that choice... my take on it is not only am I unconvinced of its safety, but by planning my pregnancy in the first place, I have already accepted the idea that I may or may not be the mother of a perfect child... I don't need a u/s to reassure me things are "perfectly normal" or to tell me what gender the baby is. I do understand why it may seem reassuring to some, I just feel differently.

[cristeen]

If the ultrasound were to show something was "abnormal", what would you do with the information? More tests? Stress for another 20 weeks?

If an abnormal test isn't going to change the outcome for you, then why have it?

[yogamama2]

We're currently ttc #3 and I had ultrasounds at 20 weeks with both my girls - never even questioned that I would have at least one. I don't plan on having any ultrasounds with the next one unless my midwife finds it medically necessary (haven't decided yet on the doppler!). I found that even though I thought I was excited for both US, they caused me tons of stress. Plus I know way too many people who have had false "horrible" results that had perfectly healthy babies but weeks or even months of terrible stress and worry. We decided it would not be worth it again - even though I loved finding out the sex, it just doesn't seem worth the stress or risk.

[Lady Lilya]

I had the 20wk one.

I am doing everything in such a non-mainstream way, and I know it is hard on our mainstream families. This is the first baby on either side in decades, and everyone has so much invested in him. Even though I know he technically belongs to me, I can't help but feel he belongs to the whole family.

Since I skipped most of what is normally done for mainstream care, if something were to happen to the baby, everyone would be furious at me for being in some way neglectful or selfish. I wanted to take precautions against that. I don't think I could stand to have everyone upset at me for killing their baby over something they see as hippie-like fad-following to make myself feel good.

So, I did enough tests that I think everyone would be satisfied that I took appropriate measures to ensure that everything was OK.

Even though I know logically that the tests don't improve the outcomes or health, I realize that for the rest of the family this isn't something happening on a solely logical level. There is a huge emotional component too, that wouldn't be comforted with studies showing the uselessness of testing.

[ChickyMama]

Originally Posted by cristeen

If the ultrasound were to show something was "abnormal", what would you do with the information? More tests? Stress for another 20 weeks?

If an abnormal test isn't going to change the outcome for you, then why have it?

My thinking is that something could be detected on ultrasound that could be treated following the birth if necessary. I would not have further tests such as amnio done.

[babymakesthree]

I had an us with #1 but didn't find out the sex. I was just spazzing and wanted to "see" her and we also didn't know when she was conceived, so we wanted to get a due date. When/if we have #2 I won't do an us. I did love hearing the heartbeat at each visit so I will still do that.

[RedHen4]

I choose to have the 20 wk ultrasound. I would not have any additional tests if a problem showed up--and I will frankly admit that I like to "peek" and see which gender I'm getting. I think a surprise at 20 weeks is just as nice as a surprise at 40 weeks! I know there is some discussion on whether ultrasounds are safe or not, but this is one where I have not been at all convinced that there is a risk. So I ignore every other test, but I feel good about doing this one because I *want* to.

Korrie
baby #6 due 12/12

[noah's mom]

I had one at 8wks but only b/c I had an early m/c with my previous pg. I've used the doppler at my last 2 mw appointments b/c I've just been OBSESSED with hearing the hb (again b/c of my previous loss), but from my next one on (which will be my 20wk) will likely use only fetoscope. I'm starting to feel a bit of movement now so that will be enough reassurance for me!

I don't plan to have a 20wk u/s unless something comes up between now and then to warrant it. And I'd have to arrange it myself through my family doc, since my mw's don't do that, so don't really want to deal with the hassle...

[jmhammond]

I had a really hard time with this decision also. In the end, my DH really wanted to have one and the midwife pointed out it is a way that he gets to bond with the baby; we get the kicks, sickness, belly, etc. Him getting to see the baby was special to him.

I was nervous about the u/s; after a missed miscarriage, an u/s was how I found out the baby had died. Being in that bed again, dimly lit room; it was a bit unnerving.

In hindsight, I think DH & I both agree that we could have skipped it and been okay. Who knows in the future.

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by yogamama2

We're currently ttc #3 and I had ultrasounds at 20 weeks with both my girls - never even questioned that I would have at least one. I don't plan on having any ultrasounds with the next one unless my midwife finds it medically necessary (haven't decided yet on the doppler!). I found that even though I thought I was excited for both US, they caused me tons of stress. Plus I know way too many people who have had false "horrible" results that had perfectly healthy babies but weeks or even months of terrible stress and worry. We decided it would not be worth it again - even though I loved finding out the sex, it just doesn't seem worth the stress or risk.

: I thought I had a good reason for having a U/S, potentially genetic condition DH and his great grandfather only had one kidney, I don't think they are worth it anymore. All I have found out after FOUR ultrasounds that one kidney is slightly enlarged but they don't think it makes a difference. They just want to keep looking at it. Why? What is the point? No one can tell me why they feel the need to keep screening (skipped the screening that was scheduled for today BTW). It is annoying and stressful. Also I have had to go in for repeat U/S with DD because they measured something wrong. If I have any future children I am not doing an ultrasound. If I want to see how many kidney's there are I will consider it after birth.

[Romana]

I'm struggling with this question myself. First, I know that routine u/s in otherwise healthy/low-risk pregnancies does not improve outcomes. However, I like the idea of having some preparation for a problem with the baby. I would feel terrible if we could have done something if we'd caught a problem earlier on. But I know this isn't reflected in the numbers.

And then there's how dd reacted to the u/s and doppler. She was a pretty mellow baby - not a really active baby in utero. The one time she did crazy backflips and all kinds of wacky stuff was during the u/s. It was long, and somehow, it felt wrong and bad. Dd was actually asleep when the u/s started, and then quickly woke up and was so active it wasn't possible to count her fingers and toes.

Also, she avoided the doppler as long as she could. The nurse would always "lose" dd on the doppler because she'd move - so the nurse would move the doppler until she found dd again and could get a # for the h/b.

I know I'll want to hear a h/b on doppler at 10 or 11 weeks, but I also know that I don't want to expose dd to it. Based on my research, I'd actually be more comfortable with a very brief transabdominal u/s to check for a h/b at 10-11 wks than a doppler.

I'm considering asking for a quicker u/s at 20 wks, but then I ask myself, what's the point if it's just a quick look to make sure there's a baby in there (YKWIM)?

For those who feel the doppler and u/s are too risky, could you share some of your info with me? I've done research in the past, but was not satisfied that there was enough going in either direction to settle my mind. Thanks.