Who is NOT having a sono?

[AngelaB]

I am just so torn over this. I am having a homebirth and my mw says the decision is up to me whether or not to have a sonogram done. She says she can order one for 20 weeks and that the medical card will cover one. For a couple of weeks I felt really good about not having one and now I am waivering.

I didnt have one with my last pregnancy and felt fine about it but this time I kinda want one for my own piece of mind. Maybe its because of a homebirth but I feel safe having the baby at home so I dont think thats the reason I feel wishy washy about this.

I know that there is no proof that sonos are dangerous but there is no proof that their not either. I do have the doppler to check the hb but only for like 10 seconds so sheryl can get a number for the heartrate. A level 2 sono would be like 45 minutes long. Can you get one that is shorter? SOmething to just check for heart problems or whatnot.

When I think of the likelyhood of having problems I am reassured because the likelyhood is pretty low......but still.

What have you all decided?
Angela

[kati_kati]

I'm leaning towards not getting it. And I've decided that if I do get one, I will wait until later than 20 weeks. A radiologist friend told me that organ development isn't over at 20 weeks and they can see more of the heart etc if you wait till later. If that's true then I figure it's better to wait until much later to also find out things that might be useful during delivery (like placenta/cord/orientation info? not sure). For me there has to be something actionable that could be done with the information, especially given all the unknowns about ultrasound safety (the machines are 10 times more powerful than they were 20 years ago and there have been no safety studies done on any machines since 1990). If they really can tell if there's a heart defect and prepare better for surgery immediately after birth, then maybe that's a reason to do one. I'm not convinced yet though, because they can apparently only catch 40% of heart defects and of those I don't know how many they can't just diagnose after birth or what the urgency would be for surgery.

[Peacemamalove]

I am NOT getting one this time. For me it has nothing to do with my home birth if I was in the hospital I wouldn't be having one either. I am not finding out the sex and even if something did show up on it that would not effect my outlook on this pregnancy.

Plus both of my previous pregnancies my babes hated the ultrasound they moved all around trying to get away from the horrible noise.

I just don't want to put this babe through that as well.

[bryonyvaughn]

Well I'll only agree to a medically indicated U/S and half-way through my eighth pregnancy I've never had an U/S.

Originally Posted by AngelaB

I am just so torn over this. I am having a homebirth and my mw says the decision is up to me whether or not to have a sonogram done. She says she can order one for 20 weeks and that the medical card will cover one.

It sounds like your MW agrees there's no medical indication for you to get an U/S. With the high laboratory established (and higher yet in "the real world") false positive rate, I'd be very leery of getting a non-medically indicated U/S to assuage vague fears just because insurance will cover it. If you have some sort of intuition going on so that you'd be willing to pay out of pocket for an U/S I'd take the concern more seriously.

I didnt have one with my last pregnancy and felt fine about it but this time I kinda want one for my own piece of mind.

Are you concerned about a specific condition that is most reliably diagnosed via U/S or is more of a vague but pervasive fear encroach on your mind type of thing?

I know that there is no proof that sonos are dangerous but there is no proof that their not either. I do have the doppler to check the hb but only for like 10 seconds so sheryl can get a number for the heartrate. A level 2 sono would be like 45 minutes long. Can you get one that is shorter? SOmething to just check for heart problems or whatnot.

Do you have any reason to suspect a heart deformity? A genetic disorder, crash dieting that extended into the first trimester, an MMR shot first trimester, taking Lithium, mercury fillings added or removed during or a few month prior to pregnancy?

When I think of the likelyhood of having problems I am reassured because the likelyhood is pretty low......but still.

Have you read any Henci Goer books? The reason I ask is I really don't have a feel if it's your intuition that's trying to tell you something or fears that can be dispelled by facts. Henci Goer is really good at explaining different medical testing, and the false positive and false negative rates for particular tests as well as association rates.

My now 1 1/2 year old was born with a single umbilical artery (SUA.) It is associated with a variety of severe birth defects and is more common in twin than singleton pregnancies. If I'd an U/S which diagnosed a SUA, I'd have felt obliged to go through further testing to learn the nature of the birth defects or that it was an anomaly. I'm a pretty grounded practical person when it comes to medical testing and evaluating risks *but* I honestly think if the SUA was discovered without a defect I'd have gone through the pregnancy with a heavy "what if" burden. As it turned out the SUA wasn't discovered until we examined the cord and placenta after the birth and, like the majority of children with SUAs, my son had no problems. I'm pretty good at researching stuff on the net but had a *very* difficult time learning about the "normalcy rates" of children with SUAs.

What have you all decided?
Angela

My rule of thumb is to only accept medically indicated testing (balancing least invasive and most effective methods) and then only if the diagnosis would make a difference in our course of action.

To answer your question more specifically, this is my eighth pregnancy and I've yet to have a medical indication for U/S.

~BV

[Stacymama]

I'm not having an U/S this time either. This is #3 for me. I didn't have one last pregnany either. No reason for it. The way I look at it, if something wasn't right with the pregnancy or the baby, then what am I to do about it at 20 weeks? Nothing. It is what it is and there is a reason for it. (whatever that may be) Some things are out of our control. My midwife is actually very happy that I am so grounded on this. She said almost everyone is having a U/S now. This will be my 3rd homebirth. I have so much trust and faith that EVERYTHING will be fine.
For me, the only reason I would have an U/S would be if it were medically indicated.

[AngelaB]

I dont have any medical indications for the ultrasound.Thats the thing I dont medicaly need one. I just have this nagging worry and not a particular one either.

I have read and researched and I know that I would rather not know about a potential problem than be scared by some false positive. I think the real issue with me is beleiving in my body and baby and knowing that everything is going to be just fine. It is a vague but pervasive fear encroach on my mind type of thing. I just have to let go of the fear. Even if there was something wrong there isnt anything I could do about it now anyways nor would I choose to terminate the pregnancy if it came down to that.

My mw did say that the families she sees that choose an ultrasound do so to find out the sex which is not a reason for me to have one.

I have been thinking alot about this and I am not going to have one done which was my inital inclination in the first place. I just cant go against all that I have read and what makes sense to me. I would dissapoint and resent myself for caving to fear and then I would worry what the affects of the ultrasound on the baby were. Its like I could never choose to go to the hospital and have an epi for the pain. It would feel like I was betraying my reasoning and logic for comfort and thats just not who I am.
My middle ds has autism and we chose to stop giving any vaccinations to any of our children after he stopped talking at 13 months and lost eye contact after his last round of shots. Since I dont know what caused the genetic suseptibility I need to rule out everything unnecessary in the other children as well. Thats a big reason there to not have a sono done or any other medical procedures that have the potential to harm.

I guess I just needed to hear about other people that think the same things I do and hope their confidence rubbs off on me
Angela

[Stacymama]

AngelaB, God made your body to birth babies. Have faith in your body to do what it's designed to do. Visualize the entire process start to finish. (Labor and delivery) DOn't stop to focus on anything but a healthy happy outcome for everyone. This is what I do and it helps. I also remember that I'm not the 1st nor the last to ever have a baby it's been happening for 100's of years. Not until recently have we had the technology to even do U/S. I don't think all those mom's even thought half the stuff we worry about today. Good thoughts only. :

[bobandjess99]

I'm not getting one, but it's more about cost than anything else, we have no insurance. Also, my midwife (CNM) HIGHLY recommends against them, althouhg of course she respects parental choice, but she said that in her experience, they always find just ONE little thing "wrong" and it scares parents into all sorts of other unecesary stuff, even making them decide out of homebirth because of it. for this reason, she also recommends against most prenatal tests as well. She HATES the GD test for that reason also. She says the only transfers she has had in over 4 years have been parents who chose to take the GTT, failed, and then frightened themselves into thinking they could not birth their "large" baby.

[Spirulina&Sage]

not me. no doppler either. so far i havnt seen anyone and dont really plan to.. my baby is just fine as it is

[ShannaW]

Just popped in to say that you definately don't have to have a 45 minute one if you don't want to!! I had one w/ dc#1 and two w/ dc#2. All three were very quick (5 minutes to 15 minutes max). The bambinos didn't seem to mind mine, either.

eta. I can see how some Mama's don't want them/need them, etc, but just wanted to lyk it's not necessarily a huge long u/s or nothing.

[mama-doo]

I'm not having an u/s this time and I spent a lot of time researching it as well.
I found Sarah Buckley's new book "Gentle Mothering, Gentle Birthing" (and website) very helpful. She has an article specific to risks of u/s and delves into research to back it up. www.midwiferytoday.com has tons of articles that were very good---you probably have read the one discussing autism and u/s.... I had false positives which led to further testing w/ my now 2 yo son, ended up w/ 5 total ultrasounds which I very much regret. We also have genetic vulnerability for autism and autoimmune conditions. We didn't vaccinate---my son has mild sensory issues but no autism...

For any of you out there doing a hospital birth and are reluctant to getting u/s----

I am doing a hospital birth w/ midwife care and overseeing OB has agreed to no u/s if not medically indcated. We provided a letter and they seemed to appreciate it in writing.

So glad to hear there are other mamas out there not going high tech---I was feeling alone on this!

Sherry

[AngelaB]

mama-doo, We have autism on dps side of the family and my family has neurological dissorders like MS so I just cant bring myself to put my children at any more risk especially if its not an emergency. I wish that I knew what I know now when I was pregnant with my first son.

So far my youngest ds is developing just fine but he has had no U/S or shots and is still nursing where as I stopped nursing my older 2 at a year.

This thread is making me feel so much better!
Angela

[impromptukiss]

i didn't get one last time, with ethan. i felt fine about it up until he was just about due and i was DYING to know the gender, lol.... but we held out, and he was just fine.

this time i'm getting one (boy was it a hassle to try & find someone to do it!), because i've had this weird feeling telling me to. i'm not sure if it's because i had a m/c last time or what, but i feel like i need some reassurance this time. ?

good luck with your decision. i'm not 100% against ultrasound. but i am aaginst those keepsake places & doctors who do them at every apt. to check the hb. @@

eta - i think another reason i feel the necessity this time is because of a friend who recenly had a tri-13 baby. she found out at an ultrasound, and they knew her baby wouldn't be coming home with her. she did continue the pregnancy and deliver her naturally at the end ... while it most lileky did not make the mourning any easier, personally, having a house full of baby "stuff" ready to go would have made it a hundred times worse for me.

but like i said .. i didn't have one last time, and didn't feel the need. this time i'm going to have one quickie for peace of mind. we're paying out of pocket & driving over an hour away... so it's not super convienient, but will hopefully make me breathe a little easier.

irrational? maybe. but it works for us at the moment.

[Fishie Kisses]

Originally Posted by zahirakids

I am NOT getting one this time. For me it has nothing to do with my home birth if I was in the hospital I wouldn't be having one either. I am not finding out the sex and even if something did show up on it that would not effect my outlook on this pregnancy.

Plus both of my previous pregnancies my babes hated the ultrasound they moved all around trying to get away from the horrible noise.

I just don't want to put this babe through that as well.

I will be quick since I definitely don't belong in this thread (I've already had 3)

I just wanted to say that during the 2 most recent (12 weeks & 17 weeks) he moved SO much we could hardly see anything! Now I know why. He also kept covering his eyes, both times.

My choice to have one has more to do with not trusting my own body. It couldn't function to GET pregnant on it's own, how do I know it can function enough to BE pregnant on its own? Plus, being my first pregnancy ever I just really want to know everything is ok....and see baby as much as possible!!

[happymomma]

We were not planning to do any this time....but I have graves disease (hyperthyroid) and they want to make sure babe does not develop goiters that was cause problems during delivery. So we will actually do 3 very quick, look see ones.

[pampered_mom]

I don't really want one...already had two this pg b/c I was seeing an RE at the time for secondary infertility due to PCOS. The hbmw that I'm seeing likes all her VBAC mams to have one later in pregnancy to check placenta location in relation to her scar. I need to find out from her if that's literally the *only* thing they'll go in and check. I don't want the "standard" 20 wk u/s around here that does measurements and checks everything. I'm having a hard time believing that I'll literally be able to go in, have them check the location of the placenta and then get out of there.

I don't want to know the sex, don't care how "big" baby is, etc. Plus, we will likely have to pay for the u/s out of pocket and money is tight right now. So...put me in the rather not have one camp.

[tyisrrs]

Not that you need anymore support, from what I see above, but here I am to pipe in and say that I too will not submit to a non-medically indicated US, nor doppler (although midwives may use one in labor if they can't find a heartbeat with the fetoscope and sense problems).

My biggest reasons are: unknown short and long term effects, and also because US in many cases lead to other interventions and testing.

[MrsAprilMay]

You know, we've been thinking about this alot. I have a friend who was 2 weeks ahead of me. Around 13/14 weeks, she had an u/s because she had 2 previous m/c. It turns out her baby had a small head (I'm sure there's a medical name for it) and she was told that the best case senerio was that her baby would die right after birth. So they urged her to end her pregnancy. I would never want to make that choice. If I found out something was "wrong" with my baby, I wouldn't want to have to decide whether or not to keep it. No mother should have to decide that. So that is a huge factor in opting out of the u/s this time around.
Well, that and I don't have a doctor.

[AngelaB]

MrsAprilMay, that is awful about your friend. The US is so often wrong about size by quite a bit why are they so sure about the head size now. What did your friend decide? Why would it be better to terminate anyways, is it better for her physically? I would think it would be pretty hard on her on so many levels.

I think I would want baby to live out its life in the safety and warmth surrounded by my love inside me and have a peaceful passing if that is what I was faced with but the stress and sadness of knowing would about kill me.I would rather be blissfully ignorant. Im just not good at waiting!!! But I am working on that and feel much better about my decision not to have an us.
Angela

[Peacemamalove]

Originally Posted by MrsAprilMay

You know, we've been thinking about this alot. I have a friend who was 2 weeks ahead of me. Around 13/14 weeks, she had an u/s because she had 2 previous m/c. It turns out her baby had a small head (I'm sure there's a medical name for it) and she was told that the best case senerio was that her baby would die right after birth. So they urged her to end her pregnancy. I would never want to make that choice. If I found out something was "wrong" with my baby, I wouldn't want to have to decide whether or not to keep it. No mother should have to decide that. So that is a huge factor in opting out of the u/s this time around.
Well, that and I don't have a doctor.

I had a friend go through almost the same thing...She was told that she should end the pregnancy as well.....

The US is so often wrong about size by quite a bit why are they so sure about the head size now. What did your friend decide? Why would it be better to terminate anyways, is it better for her physically? I would think it would be pretty hard on her on so many levels.

I think I would want baby to live out its life in the safety and warmth surrounded by my love inside me and have a peaceful passing if that is what I was faced with but the stress and sadness of knowing would about kill me.I would rather be blissfully ignorant. Im just not good at waiting!!! But I am working on that and feel much better about my decision not to have an us.

She decided not to end the pregnancy and had a a perfectly healthy baby with out any problems.