Anyone not getting ultrasounds?

[dachshund mom]

While I'm mostly sure they're safe, I'm not completely sure, and I'm debating what to do. They cause heat and bubbles, and babies move away from them so that must mean something is going on. I'm not even sure about getting a doppler.

My RE is going to want to do one next week, but the transvaginal one used in early pregnancy sounds like the most dangerous.

Anyone else? Have any info or opinions?

[vanessab23]

That's funny you took the other side of the "unsure of the safety issue"-- I was going to say I'm pretty sure they're not safe
And, yes, I had a friend say her baby immediately covered up her ears whenever they did an u/s. :

There really isn't any conclusive studies to say that u/s are safe in pregnancy. Personally I'd want to see a long term study done proving the safety of 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester u/s before I would ever consider doing one on a healthy mom with no issues. I'm not fully against them-- in fact there are many reasons that women do them-- but for me, being in good health, I'd rather watch (and have my midwife watch) my other signs to know when it was indicated to get an u/s.

It's like x-rays and DES (anti nausea pill-- google it)-- we used those things routinely before we knew whether they were safe on growing babies or not. Turns out tons of babies put through this without any solid evidence that they were safe. I'd hate to hear in 50 years that babies subjected to u/s (especially repeat) are more likely to___________. I guess I just need to more evidence to feel good about it. But-- do your research and then follow your gut.

And what about BF???? There are several generations that were told formula feeding was just as good as BF, until we found out that the rates of asthma, diabetes, etc etc are so much higher for FF babies. You never know what future evidence will tell us.....

There are many different sides to this story, and I'm interested to hear from those who have more info, as well.

From what I know about babies, and their delicate development, the first trimester is such a friggin crucial time for them, that it seems, to me, so weird that this is when "routine" u/s is done. I didn't have one done with DS (altho some days I was dying to know the gender!) and didn't use a doppler on myself until after 12 weeks just to be sure. If I definetly wanted to have one during my pregnancy, I'd at least wait until the 2nd trimester-- but that's just me.

And I don't plan on having a u/s this pregnancy unless there's a medical reason for me to do so. Let's hope not!

[liberal_chick]

We are declining any first trimester u/s, but will have one done at 18-20 weeks. I'd be lying if finding out the gender wasn't a teensy tiny reason for that, but in all honesty, I'm much more concerned about her checking his heart, lungs, etc. I don't want to be blindsighted by anything on d-day.

[ilovejeff]

We'll be doing one in the second trimester, but only plan to have one unless it's medically necessary.

[cyrusmama]

We will probably have one second trimester. I really don't care about learning gender, not sure I even want to know. With Cy I had two. My BP ran really high and it was another way besides the urine tests to make sure he was doing well, and keep me calm. I will not ever have another transvaginal one. They did it at the ER last pregnancy. It just added more stress to my already stressed spirit.

[Devaskyla]

I absolutely refuse to have on in the first trimester due to the dangers. I'm kind of surprised/disturbed that they've become so common, even here.

I haven't decided if I want one around 20 weeks or not. I did with both ds1 & ds2. Although with ds2, it was mostly because I wanted to know where the placenta was due to planning a UBAC. I really regret not just requesting that & having them skip the rest of it because they took so long trying to look at his spine (he kept trying to move away from it) that I was in there an hour. And he has speech delays, which are one of the few things they admit may be caused by ultrasound.

I'm just happy I never had a doppler during pregnancy with him (they actually use more ultrasound waves then having an ultrasound done). I'm really disturbed that dopplers aren't regulated far, far more than they are. Even when I was pregnant with ds1 & didn't know as much about the dangers of ultrasounds, I was horrified that the nurses thought the babies trying to escape from the continuous monitoring was funny.

So, I don't know. I'd really like to find out gender & placental position, but I don't know if I can do that without the other bs and the risk that this baby would be damaged too.

[AKmoose]

I've never had one, through three complete pgs. I will not have one this time either.

FWIW, the exposure of the doppler for ascertaining heart tones is actually MORE U/S exposure than baby would get in an U/S. So...if you are using a doppler during pg, and safety is the only reason you wouldn't do U/S, you may as well...

However, if you have other reasons for avoiding (like there's no need unless medical indication, i.e. unexplained bleeding), then by all means, don't have one!

[baileyandmikey]

we are getting it done, with ds we had major complications, had a high risk dr and many many many ultrasounds. I had amniotic banding syndrome, and it was scary. we are doing the mw though, and if all is clear... we will not be doing very many ultrasounds.

[Fiestabeth]

I had the 8wk and 20wk ultrasounds with both girls, and one in the third trimester with my 2nd due to decreased fetal movement (for several hours).

I'm not sure with this one. Guess I need to do some research. I have to say the 8wk one is always reassuring to me, just to see that little heartbeat. But of course if it's harmful, of course I don't want to do it.

I did have a c-sec last time, though, and I am currently having pretty strong cramping just on the right side. I may need to have one to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. But I've always had trouble with the right side of my incision, so maybe it has something to do with that.

[dachshund mom]

It's so funny that I hadn't even considered NOT doing u/s until a few weeks ago. I'll definitely not get any first trimester and will decide about doing one second tri. It might make me feel more comfortable doing a home birth if we've checked a few things out. I actually don't want to know the gender, so it would suck if they accidently told us.

[mylittleone]

Does anyone have any links regarding u/s in very early pg? I have one scheduled for next week (July 9) when I will be at 5.5w. I knew of the risks in later pregnancy, but didn't realize that there were risks in early pregnancy. My understanding is that this u/s is to date the baby, which I don't really need to do, since I know when I ovulated as I was charting. I do NOT want this u/s if it is dangerous. If you have any links for me - please let me know!!!

(With my first, I had one at 9w b/c I thought I was miscarrying, and then the "big" one and that was it. The 9w one wasn't transvaginal though. My DS is fine).

[mylittleone]

OK - I called the fertility clinic to ask them what the purpose was of such an early u/s (and yes, it's transvaginal) and they said it was to confirm that the pregnancy is in the uterus and not ectopic, and also to confirm the heartbeat. (So, I was wrong that it's to date the baby). I just wanted to add that info.

OK, so if anyone has any info or links for me....much appreciated.

[dachshund mom]

My understanding is the early stages u/s can cause cellular damage, and the transvaginal is closer to the baby with less buffering tissue. It's pretty new technology and hasn't been studied much. Is there anything to suggest an eptopic? Pain, bleeding, low beta numbers? My RE wants to do one, but I'm opting to go in for frequent blood work to make sure my numbers are increasing properly. Haven't had the guts to tell him yet though.

I haven't found any specific articles yet, but here's one. The increase in both ultrasound use and autism is interesting.

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...undrodgers.asp

[mylittleone]

Oh my. What to do....what to do. We are going on vaca in 2 weeks (abroad - where I really, really don't want anything bad to happen!) and I'd love to know that all is OK with my pregnancy, but gosh, this is very distressing.

[Devaskyla]

Can't find anything specifically for early ultrasound atm. Will try again later when I have more time.

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/2001/...e19dec01.shtml
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/P...l%20Ultrasound

[cyrusmama]

Fwiw, I had a transvaginal u/s when I found out I was m/c last year. Well, they couldn't get a heartbeat, so they did one. Anyway, I would not do it again. I thought it was kind of painful. The male tech who did it kept apologizing and saying that one of the female OBs said that a womans body can handle the pain (which really me). It wasn't unbearable but it was grit your teeth bad.

[Kessed]

I'll get 1 - around 18 to 20 weeks.

U/S can't "fix" anything - but it was reassuring last time to know that DD didn't have any risk factors.

Primarily - I want to know, to prepare mentally, if there is anything wrong with the baby. And I think that U/S is less invasive than an amnio. So - I would rather start there as a basic screen.

[baturay]

I did u/s with my first and as a result had a very stressful pregnancy. They thought they saw a growth and long story short, thought she could die from it. Long story short...it was a false reading. Had more than one u/s and they had were false readings. She was fine and there was no growth on the placenta.

So, had no u/s with my second at all and had a blissful pregnancy. Loved it!

With this one, I had conceived via IVF (tubes were blocked) so I'll do an u/s to see how many there are and then if a singleton, I don't plan on doing any other u/s. If twins, then I may do one more.

[JERENAUD]

Originally Posted by mylittleone

Does anyone have any links regarding u/s in very early pg? I have one scheduled for next week (July 9) when I will be at 5.5w. I knew of the risks in later pregnancy, but didn't realize that there were risks in early pregnancy. My understanding is that this u/s is to date the baby, which I don't really need to do, since I know when I ovulated as I was charting. I do NOT want this u/s if it is dangerous. If you have any links for me - please let me know!!!

(With my first, I had one at 9w b/c I thought I was miscarrying, and then the "big" one and that was it. The 9w one wasn't transvaginal though. My DS is fine).

Totally off topic - but 5.5 weeks is awfully early to see the heartbeat, I think. There seem to have been a lot of stories on this site of women going in before 6-7 weeks, not seeing the heartbeat, and worrying for a further week or two.

Erica

[blessedonce]

From what I was told, you won't see a heartbeat until 6 weeks on an U/S, the only reason I have them is to rule out ectopic in the first trimester.

With ds I had one every 3 weeks or so because I was having some pretty gnarly complications. I was also given an x-ray and ctscan in my 8th month due to a serious and possibly life threatening problem. Ds is fine Happy, healthy, hyper 2 year old lol!!

~Liz