Anyone NOT getting a scan/ultrasound?

[ktmama]

OK, I've had two pgs and two homebirths and never had any kind of scan/ultrasound/or amnio. My thinking is that I wouldn't terminate the pg if they "found" anything and I'm not that concerned about the EDD - the baby will come when it's ready, right? Anyone else not getting a scan?

[deymm]

We didn't get any ultrasounds last time and not sure if we will this time or not. We'll figure that out once we find someone to attend our birth and see what they think.

[starparticle]

I fully agree with and understand not getting any scans. We'll be having one at week 14 or 15 to clear us of the condition DD#1 had, but after and before that I just don't think they are neccesary.

We didn't have any with her, and she had a lethal condition that *could* maybe have been detected. I'm so glad we didn't know before we did (around week 35, I started having complications and then we did have a U/S) and I would tell anyone who doesn't have any risk factors to NOT have uneccessary U/S. They just create stress and don't have any affect on actual outcomes.

[SunnyKat]

I don't understand the connection between ultrasounds and the assumption of termination. I plan to have one ultrasound, but that doesn't mean I would terminate if the baby was less then perfect. I see it as just a way to prepare for certain things.

[ComaWhite]

I got one done with my first baby, it was a long hour of hell as the tech pushed down very hard on my uterus the entire time and I actually BRUISED from it. My dd was so stressed from the us, that she kicked he so hard and flipped out the entire time and made it difficult for the tech to do proper measurements. The hospital had a no-revealing-the-sex policy, so we didn't even get to take a peek and the monitor was hidden from us.
I didnt get one done with my 2nd pg and wont get one done this time with my 3rd.

Originally Posted by SunnyKat

I see it as just a way to prepare for certain things.

Because of how inaccurate ultrasound diagnostics are, a woman I know spent 22 weeks of her pregnancy worrying, researching, 'preparing' and getting additional ultrasounds to check up on her ds, who was mistakenly diagnosed with a heart defect. He was rushed away from her at birth into NICU and underwent many unnecessary tests, before he was returned to her hours later at which time they told her that HOORAY! nothing actually appeared wrong with his heart. The numerous ultrasounds were wrong. Oh well, heres your traumatized baby. Needless to say, she did NOT get an ultrasound done with her next pregnancy. Stories like these are NOT uncommon!!!

[frontierpsych]

I'm on the fence about one, because DH sees it as a way to bond with the baby before he/she is born. I might go to get a 3D u/s for that because they are non-diagnostic so I won't have to worry about the whole misdiagnosis scenario. Before he brought it up, however, I was not planning one. I'm just going to leave it alone for now and if it comes up again we can go from there.

[SunnyKat]

Isn't it more the person who is reading the U/S that is the diagnostic problem?

[erin_brycesmom]

I'm not sure yet. If we have one, it will be to find out the sex. I am conflicted on that though.

[Alcyone]

Originally Posted by SunnyKat

Isn't it more the person who is reading the U/S that is the diagnostic problem?

That was my thought too. I have no problems getting an U/S. This is the #2 best country in the world to give birth in (behind Sweden) and the midwife program here is THE hardest professional program to get into in the country. Maybe I'd feel differently somewhere else, but yes I am definitely getting an U/S.

[MissWorld]

Originally Posted by erin_brycesmom

I'm not sure yet. If we have one, it will be to find out the sex. I am conflicted on that though.

I'm on the fence for this reason as well. I actually do want to find out the sex...

[starparticle]

Originally Posted by SunnyKat

I don't understand the connection between ultrasounds and the assumption of termination. I plan to have one ultrasound, but that doesn't mean I would terminate if the baby was less then perfect. I see it as just a way to prepare for certain things.

If you were told that your baby had a 95% chance of dying at birth, how would that affect the rest of your pregnancy? I've been there, and I can say without a doubt that I was happy I didn't go through half of my pregnancy knowing that. I just can't imagine anything more scary.

Now that we know we have a risk of a lethal condition, we would terminate at 20 weeks. This is seriously scary for me, since we have a 25% of it coming up. But there is no way I would put another newborn through being born at full term and the trauma of dying in the operating room. Not to mention me and my family's trauma.

If I knew that we wouldn't terminate, there is no way I would ever have an ultrasound. If we didn't have this crap going on, there is no way we would be having an ultrasound. I just feel like it creates either A) a false sense of security or B) a false sense of something being wrong. They are just so dang inaccurate!

All that being said, I can respect someone's choice either way - I know that for some people that little peek puts lots of fears to rest and can help bond with the baby. Anything that reduces stress, I'm all for. Just for me and for others U/S creates more stress than needs be.

[Isfahel]

I had an u/c done for my first one just because I didn't know any better and that's what they told me to do, they being the mainstream doctors AR law said I had to see twice during my pregnancy. The rest was done by a midwife. The u/c tech took over 1/2 an hour and it was hell, I was 20 weeks and lying on my back hurt so bad. All that for a due date which I already knew because I was an expert charter and knew pretty much the day I conceived. So I havn't and will not get one with this pregnancy, I am going to go with an unlicensed mw mainly because I don't want to have to do the two doc visits. Also having done some research about u/c and knowing that they do cause damage, even if it's not discernable at this time.

[GentleBirth]

We won't be having one this time. I didn't have one my last pregnancy either. I had one my first pregnancy and it was useless. Then I had one with my son 3D/4D to rule out twins and to see him with the 3D, I hated it I cried as soon as we left, the pictures were great and clear the problem was it took all of the suprise and mystery out of it. I was heartbroken and felt awful for a few weeks aftewards, I would never reccomend one just because of that. That said there is no reason for me to have one so we will be avoiding it. I also don't plan on using a doppler to her the hb anytime either.

[freestyler]

This is our fifth baby and our fifth ultrasound-free pregnancy!

[SunnyKat]

Before I even got pregnant I knew my baby was going to be born with a risk of terminal problems. Our best case scenario is that the baby will be born a carrier of what my husband has. Our worst case is that I am a carrier because I have a ethic backing for it and our child will be born with end stage liver failure.
I would love to be able to shield my baby from even pain of life, but sometimes all you can do is hold their hand and allow them to fight.
I wouldn't put my 90 year old grandfather through the fight, but I would go as far as I could for a baby.
Selfish, maybe. There really is no right answer.
In my opinion an U/S is a way to get a running jump start.
I guess we just make the best choices we can, and wouldn't life be boring if we made the same choices.

[11yrsNoKid]

I had an ultra sound yesterday, and It freaked me out. Im sitting here stressing out, (trying not to)

I thought I was end of 6 or early 7 weeks. The ultra sound showed only a sac there, nothing else. The dr told me that either I am only 5 weeks or my baby isnt growing. I have to go back in two weeks, to see if baby is growing. So now i am uncontrollably freaked out for two weeks till i see the dr again. She said that one week can make a major difference and not to worry. Im 28 and this is my first pregnancy. I've been on fertility treatments for two year and finally got pg after giving up. I stopped charting and paying attention to my cycle, then got pg. Go figure. So this could be my mistake on the first day of my last period. I told dr that it was nov 16th. Dh said that it couldnt be cause our anniversary was on the 17th. He said that he remembers me saying a week later that I got my period, while having a discussion about possibly being pregnant then. That went like this, "I can't be pregnant cause I just got my period." lol. So anyway, can anyone ease my fears.... Has anyone had an U/S that early and saw only a sac???

[starparticle]

SunnyKat - It sounds like you have plenty reason for getting an U/S. It can be very scary knowing something like that could be lurking.

11yrsNoKid - A number of things could be contributing to your scan...Your dates could be off, or sometimes being overweight or having a tiltled uterus can make those really early ultrasounds inaccurate. I'm so sorry you have to wait 2 weeks to find out what is going on! Did your doc over to monitor your HCG levels or anything? Not to hijack - maybe we should make this it's own thread

Hang in there!

[crunchymomof2]

We're not planning on one right now. Barring any intuition that might tell me to get one. I have had one in each other pregnancy. The last because i was measuring 10 weeks ahead consistently. Although if i had waited about 4 more weeks my belly stoped growing and caught up with my weeks.

[sarah2881]

I have not decided yet, I would like to avoid it though.

[Alcyone]

11yrs - I'm sorry to hear you are going through that. It sounds quite likely that the dates are just off though, so it's almost certainly nothing. Even if your LMP date is right, that's not an accurate way to tell how far along you are since it doesn't actually tell you when you conceived. Personally, under "normal" conditions, I ovulate three weeks after my LMP, and all due date calculations are based on it happening two weeks after. If I'm under stress before ovulation, it would be even later. So it's probably just as simple as that. Good luck to you!!!