Is there a danger in Vag U/S??

[alisaparrent]

I don't really like to get ultra sounds as the research is up in the air, but I MC with our last baby and ended up with one at 12 weeks to determine the MC. Now that I find myself pregnant, I keep thinking about getting one to help ease my worries. Well, I've read on a lot of posts that women don't want a vag U/S. Is there a reason? Can it jeopardize the pregnancy?? I'm 8 weeks, but I have a retroverted uterus, so even at 12 weeks they had to do a vaginal U/S last time, so I'm guessing if I went in they would do one.

Help! Any info is greatly appreciated. Or maybe just the reassurance not to get one~ I'm so confused! I didn't really think I wanted one, but now I'm thinking it's out of fear and can't help but want to see my little one.

Anyone else with a previous MC find yourself stalking the pregnancy loss forum. I want to scold myself everytime, but can't help it. That was me just a few months ago....not fun and I really don't want to be there again~

Thanks for listening~
Alisa

[Ruthla]

Yes, there are potential risks to any u/s, whether vaginal or abdominal. I don't think there's any conclusive proof yet that u/s are dangerous- nor is there conclusive proof that they're completely safe. It's still a big unknown.

So, you need to weigh the potential risks of u/s with the potential benefits of the u/s. The benefits include your piece of mind, having dealt with a prior loss.

[doulanichole]

Yeah, what Ruthla said. And I think Karen, 1Plus2, may have something to add to this topic as well. Having had a prior loss, you have to weigh the risks and benefits. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of another vag u/s and the potential issues it could cause, esp being so close to the cervix. I have heard stories of women and vag u/s and how the u/s was done....very rough resulting in m/c.

Admittedly I'm not sure why you would need a vag u/s at 12 weeks. I also have a tipped/tilted uterus and have never had a vag u/s past 8 weeks. Did they try to get it abdominally first?

It is always hard after a loss - hang in there!

[1Plus2]

I had an ultrasound at 9-weeks when I found out I was pg with my twins. They could see both babies clearly with the external ultrasound but did a vaginal one when they saw two babies (we were not suspecting twins). I became pg again in early 2005 and had a vaginal ultrasound at 8-weeks to date the pregnancy and to check for twins again. We saw a strong hb and a baby who was on target for growth. At 12-weeks I m/c that baby. The ultrasound showed the baby had died at approximately 8w2d. Did the ultrasound do it? I don't know for sure but I will never be able to fully dismiss it. I will probably have an ultrasound with this pregnancy to be sure of my date (I conceived while in the pill) but it will not be vaginal.

I don't want to come off as doom and gloom but for me in my situation and experience I would not have another vaginal ultrasound. I am so sorry that you lost your little one and I'm sending you lots of sticky baby vibes (send some mine way too!).

[JasonsMom]

I'm another one who won't opt for a vaginal u/s this time. Over the years, I've had a ton of them due to infertility issues and only really experienced pain with it when I was undergoing daily hormonal injections and had too many follicles developing. But when I had one with my last pg., it hurt and I had to tell the tech to stop. I started spotting after that and eventually m/c at home. I will never know if that is what caused the loss of my baby, and it lingers with me always. So therefore, I don't want to take any unnecessary chances with this pregnancy.

[ELKMama]

Wow - thanks for sharing your stories, JasonsMom and 1Plus2. I have had about 15 vaginal u/s in the last few months with infertility treatment with no pain at all. So I was just assuming that I'd go ahead with the u/s (not sure if it is going to be vaginal) scheduled for 7/27. Now I'll be sure to ask about risks and about other options before going ahead...

[alisaparrent]

Thanks so much for all the input.....it really helps. I had never really thought twice about them, but after reading a few posts I was getting the hint that there could be something more than just the worry of an U/S in general. I guess I assumed it would be fine, since you can have sex and not worry~ TMI I know~

They did try an abdominal one first, but couldn't see my uterus at 12 weeks, so went ahead with the Vag. I didn't MC from it, but I guess I could see the correlation if everything was fine and then turned bad. It is possible that they couldn't see it, because it had stopped growing at 8weeks.

Well, I think I will wait then and maybe just do my blood work early instead. Thanks for the sticky vibes, sending them your way as well!!

[proudmamanow]

It's such a hard & personal decision. In my case, the u/s with my 2nd pg revealed a blighted ovum, so I'm glad that I had it because I didn't m/c on my own until 2.5 weeks later and I'm glad I wasn't still thinking I was pg, yk?
With Annie, I had 2 vag u/s at about 7 and 10 wks and a 20 week u/s, which, while we did think about the possible consequences, seemed like the right decision at the time for reassurance. In our case, our fertility doc does vag u/s for IUI timing purposes and is very experienced and gentle, so I never really felt concerned about it. I do know that there is concern about the effects but I think the panic I was feeling at the time with my previous history outweighed that in my mind. But again, a hard & personal call to make.

[ELKMama]

Jesse - Sounds like there are similarities in our experiences: my u/s at 10 weeks last time revealed blighted ovum and I didn't m/c for 4 more weeks. While the wait was hard, I am really glad I knew that the preg was over before the m/c itself started. And I've had lots of u/s with the IUI cycles in the past few months.

And I've been meaning to write you and say your sidebar line about Canadians cracks me up. I'm sure there's an interesting back story there...

[JasonsMom]

I should add, that I too, wouldn't have the hesitancy to have one, if I was closer to our Univerisity Hospital that has an infertility clinic and more specialized/trained technicians and current equipment. I think that makes the world of difference.
Where I am now, it's an old hospital with out-dated equipment, unfortunately. Proof of this came when even with u/s's done late into my pregnancy with ds, they still did not detect his clubfoot. When I asked how could this possibly have been missed, they admitted it was due to their equipment :
And I feel alot has to do with the technician's expertise as when ungoing daily u/s's for fertility treatment, that again, was not at a specialized clinic, there was only one tech who I came to demand only do my scans, that was so very gentle and never hurt me, even when I had hyperstimulation of the ovaries.
So personally, I feel alot has to do with your confidence level of your medical care providers and the hospital/clinic.

[1Plus2]

The vaginal u/s I got with my twins wasn't uncomfortable at all. The one I got when I m/c was a tad uncomfortable but didn't hurt. I don't think it was any sort of "roughness" by the tech that may have caused it (certainly far less then what having sex would be anyway). For me there was just too much irony in that we saw a strong hb at 8 weeks and that the u/s we got after I started bleeding (at 12 weeks) showed that the baby had stopped growing at around 8w2d. Is that solid evidence? No but it's enough for me not to be comfortable having one again no matter how many worries I have.

[jillybeans]

I too have had many, and I think the experience of the doctor plays the biggest role. With my dd we had one at 6, 7, 11, and 20 weeks. The first one was with an awful doctor, and it hurt. The other three was because we didn't know if her twin was going to make it (it didn't).

With my last pregnancy I had three. One at 6, one at 7 (hb issues, and sac issues) and then one when I started bleeding at 11.5 weeks. This last one was done by a very new doctor, and it hurt so much. If my I hadn't known my baby was already dead, I wouldn't have let her near me.

This time I will have one at 7 weeks again, to determine twins again or not, and to check for viability(i've already had 3 m/c) then again at 20 weeks. Maybe sooner, and I'm not ashamed to say that. I've seen a hb before and lost babies, so I may need that peace of mind. But it will be abdominal.

[Romana]

I would not get a vaginal u/s. With an abdominal u/s, the abdominal wall shields the growing baby, but there is no such protective layer with a vaginal ultrasound.

Also, I don't believe there have ever been any scientific studies done on the safety of vaginal ultrasound, or vaginal ultrasound as compared to abdominal ultrasound (please correct me and post a study if you know of one). The only studies I have found are using vaginal ultrasound to diagnose placenta previa at >20 wks gestation - and that's not when I would consider transvaginal ultrasound to be of greatest risk to the fetus. Ultrasound is regulated differently from medication/drugs, so changes can be made to the technology without requiring studies to prove safety.

IMO, the benefits are not worth the risks. It's a decision you have to make yourself, though.

Julia