Alternatives to HPTs, blood tests & ultrasounds to confirm a possible pregnancy

[Pegasus]

if you dont want to have a blood test, or an ultrasound or an internal there is not much more they can do, unless like you said you wait until 13-15 weeks to try and find the hb on a doppler, or you wait 8 months and see if a baby pops out. A simple blood test would be highly unlikely to cause a miscarriage, and an external ultrasound again would be highly unlikely to cause a miscarriage...even an amniocentsis only carries a miscarriage risk of 0.5%. If you really do think you are pregnant you are better off going to talk to your GP or obstetrician who can give you some answers. Yes there are people around that dont get positive HPT's and late HPT's but they usually go in and have a beta done to confirm pregancy

Hi Mummame, thanks for replying! Yes, I might have to wait longer to try the doppler heart beat method.

As for ultrasounds, I read that they potentially carry risks
As for seeing an obstetrician, I'd like to bypass that option and only see a midwife/ doula. I'm planning a natural birth as I'm into natural health.

Re the blood test, it was too much of coincidence to rule out it induced a miscarriage, especially since I took it far too early (maybe week 3-6?), thinking also it could not induce a miscarriage (but I did start to bleed the afternoon I took the blood test - so the potential correlation of a cause-effect is there, also, I've read on other forums that women have miscarried on the day they took an ultrasound that confirmed their just pregnancy. So I think it is possible that any unnatural medical intervention can cause a miscarriage, that's why it's not traditionally medically advisable to take a blood test if there are no compelling medical reasons for it. That's why I'm so upset about taking the blood test & feel that the doctor perhaps was not properly informed/ educated of the possible risk of miscarriage risks so early in a pregnancy. In hindsight, the doctor should have told me to go home and wait longer i.e. wait until two missed periods etc. I am now much better informed, and hope doctors in future will also understand the hazards of unecessary medical intervention. But still, I'm no expert and eager to be better educated on such matters by others such yourself


Cheers