[Abylite]

Hello...

I was just wondering what you felt about u/s. As some of you may have read a message I posted about seeing the heartbeat, I can tell you it relieved my mind and I do feel better- although there are no guarantees...

I don't want to do anything to harm the baby, but then I think my peace of mind and possibly decreases stress hormones are important too.

My MW offered me another u/s in a few weeks if I want, and I'm torn. After reading Mothering and the possible changes in fetal cells...I'm not so sure I want to do that.

:

Any opinions out there?

 

[liseux]

Hi! I had 2 pregnancies with no ultrasounds at all & then my 3rd, after a loss, I had a million. Actually, 2 early on & then one each week starting at 28 weeks. That was because of a separate complication that ended up OK. Anyway, it was hard for me b/c I had read so much about u/s, but my baby is now 18 months and is super happy, healthy & has met all of his milestones. I think you should listen to your instincts and do whatever makes YOU feel comfortable.

I think, I could be wrong about this, that early u/s are the ones that may change cells, most doctors don`t stay in there with the transvaginal thingy very long so its not that big of a deal. Maybe if it worries you next time, you could try going with just listening to the heartbeat instead of getting a visual, although doppler is u/s technology too. My worry was also that u/s was super loud, I read in Mothering ( I think) that it sounded as loud to the baby as a helicopter landing on your roof. Well, I don`t know if that`s true b/c my son slept right through 2 of them. And the ones he had at the end lasted as long as 15 minutes. Good luck to you whatever you decide, I think the benefits of peace of mind may possibly outweigh the risks, just my opinion.

 

[philomom]

Our first baby was stillborn close to term. My subsequent babies were scanned pretty well at the 20 week mark to make sure they were "ok in there". So just once each for 15-20 minutes. My two kids turned out bright and normal.

I would never scan just to find out the gender or some silly thing like that. Technology has its place and needs to be kept in that place, IMO.

 

[its_our_family]

If it keeps you sane...do it. It is hard when you are too early to feel mvmnt. I had one early to check dating and that baby was ding good (at 8 weeks) Then turned one down after hearing the hb even though I was bleeding.

If you are doing ok in a few weeks just give the babe a listen. Yeah, I know they say doppler is bad but in honesty I don't think 60 seconds is going to "bad" kwim?

Give yourself the few weeks to decide how you feel.

 

[Simply Nurtured]

I did not have any u/s with my first two. It was still very new at the time, and I was trying to gather all the facts. I said if there was a need, I would consider. Third pg, it confirmed my baby's death. Last pg, I had bleeding TWICE and I needed reasurrance, big time. And I told them NOT to tell me the sex. I like to be surprised about it.

I think if it is used as a tool to check on the baby and for reassurance, that is what it is there for. What I do not agree with, and cannot go along with, is one u/s after another, during a low-risk pregnancy, just to continue to see/have pictures, when it is not health related.

But for mama reasurrance, yes...

 

[Wildcrafter]

Personally, I hope not to have any us's this pregnancy. My first, I was pressured to have many because I was labeled "high risk" because I was over 35 and had a few small fibroids, which never caused me any problems. OB recommended u/s every month. I ended up having 4 during that pregnancy and felt it was way too many. Dr. was always giving me a hard time and using scare tactics to have more done.

I was uncomfortable with them physically and I could always feel the baby trying to "get away" from the doppler or hospital mega u/s. Based on that, I am choosing not to have any during this pregnancy. I am also having a homebirth. My midwife said that I would have symptoms (like pain) if the fibroids got bigger, and if that happened, I would have an us to check on the growth and location of the fibroids.

I'm in my 7th month and still haven't heard a heartbeat with the fetal scope, which is like a stethoscope. It's not unusual to not hear until late in pregancy. But I feel constant activity and feel really good. I agree that u/s has it's place but feel it is WAY overused and it's risks have not been determined. Too risky for me.

 

[JessicaS]

If I was currently pregnant I would prefer to have an u/s, I am rather paranoid about cord issues. While they are not always be picked up on u/s, I feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

 

[Abylite]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies. I'll see how I feel in a few weeks. All I can tell you is that I really am feeling better knowing that there is a live baby in there. I feel very pregnant...and hopefully no spotting now that I am on progesterone. I still have 3 HPTs that if I wake up a little paranoid, I can take them. I'm trying to trust

 

[berkeleyp]

Just wanted to add my .02. I had no u/s with Julianna but me and dh decided that we wanted one for reassurance with this new one. We're scheduled for a level II u/s this thursday. my mw is pretty anti-u/s when there is no medical indication but she always gives people the option. She is of the opinion that the regular ones are pretty useless and don't tell you much that a doppler couldn't tell you anyway unless you're interested in the sex. She says if you're going to expose the fetus to the unknown risks of u/s you might as well make it worth it and have a level II which gives a lot more information. U/s is very unstudied and is not recommended for routine use, however, your sanity is very important so i think if it really gives you a lot of peace of mind, go for it.

Also here are some other resources for you:

mdc thread concerning u/s safety

Also this was posted on another board i'm on

I found this:

Quote:Because of these new technologies, it is important to remind women that there are still safety concerns with ultrasounds, that routine ultrasounds have not been proven to have any medical benefit, and that new technologies may not have adequate safety testing yet to fully know their health implications. Because babies in utero are potentially so vulnerable, women should not to take ultrasound scans lightly.
In Kmom's opinion, women should also probably avoid the "home" baby heartbeat monitors, as this likely gives the baby a great deal of unnecessary exposure, and we simply don't know what the effects are of so much exposure. If a woman is determined to have one of these, she should probably use only very infrequently, just in case. Avoid the temptation to listen every day----but better yet, avoid them entirely. Limit your ultrasound exposure to only the medically necessary procedures.
Although ultrasounds have never been proven conclusively to be harmful, neither have they been proven to be harmless. They are simply a useful tool under some circumstances in pregnancy, but should not be abused through overuse since we have no proof of their lack of harm, nor of benefit to their routine use. At this time ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) and a National Institute of Health consensus development conference recommend ultrasound only for a specific medical indication; they do not recommend the routine use of ultrasound screening during pregnancy. Unfortunately, most doctors ignore this recommendation.

on this website:
www.plus-size-pregnancy.o...y%20Issues

 

[wilkers8]

I typically try to avoid these discussions as I am against the norm here and am completely for medical intervention and as a person that is having a biophysical scan done once a week now that I'm heading towards the end of the pregnancy. However, I wanted to note something based on berkeleyp's midwife's comments...u/s can provide much more information than a doppler can, such as fluid level, placenta location/issues, etc. This said, I'm obviously not indicating that these are for everyone. For me, there is a level of reassurance when I see that Sean is doing his breathing motions and he gets a score of 8 out of 8 every week.

 

[TappinMamma]

Wilkers8! You and I are exactly alike. I am all for all medical intervention. I have a quick ultrasound done at the ob's office EVERY visit, and I currently go in every two weeks. Then I've had one already at the hospital, and tomorrow I'm having a big one as well. Then I have a doppler for at home to check on baby. I can't help it. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't ask myself "I wonder if my baby is still alive." Hearing the heartbeat and seeing baby on US sure does give me more peace of mind.

 

[wilkers8]

I too check Sean often (at least once a day, just long enough to get a good heartbeat readout on that screen). I never want to have to be asked "when was the last time you felt the baby move" and not be able to really accurately answer when...this time, I'll know at least the day of if something happens. I know it wouldn't prevent it but the concept/idea of having "faith" that everything will be just fine is completely ridiculous to me now that Connor died. Who am I to think it wouldn't happen again?

Having one friend as an OB-GYN and another whose daughter had to be induced five weeks early due to her u/s results & stress testing (low fluid and baby was actually losing weight due to her mom's condition) and she has a beautiful smiling little 1 year old girl today. I will happily live under any false but preceived control that these regular visits provide me. I often wonder, had we been closely monitoring Connor...would we have known something was wrong (given his autopsy was the "no cause")? Maybe had my son died during labor, this monitoring wouldn't be as essential to me. I still feel like I missed some sign that could have saved him. If the unthinkable happens again, I don't want that doubt again. Because all of my tests have currently shown Sean is doing well and growth is excellent, my doctor is leaving me at one a week (instead of increasing them). This care is one of the few things that has brought me any peace during this pregnancy. That's what it ultimately comes down to for PAL...whatever you can find some comfort and peace in, go for it!

 

[Slackermom]

I found out with an ultrasound at 9 weeks that we'd had a missed miscarriage with our first pg. The image of our baby on the screen, with no heartbeat, not moving, will haunt me forever. An early ultrasound for our third pg confirmed that I had an ectopic pg, and was miscarrying. So to me, ultrasounds are things to be feared and dreaded. At the same time, ultrasounds offered me great peace of mind during my pg with DD. If we were able to conceive again, I would have another early ultrasound, and probably a couple more throughout the pregnancy, because the peace of mind is worth it to me. A mama who's worried and stressed isn't good for a babe, either.