u/s if you had your time again..would you?

[maz]

As the title says...if you could have your time again..would you go through the numerous u/s' that are done whilst pg?

When my SIL first found out she was pg I asked her in conversation if she would be having a 12 week u/s to which she replied no as she has no fears of having a child with downs and that her baby is already loved no matter what shape. I smiled when I heard it and cried at the same time.

She has lived with having a younger sister with CP, epilepsy and multipul other complicatoins form her birth yet she didnt care what a 12 week scan would say. I cried because I didnt have the strength she did at the time to say no.

Me..personally. No. My experiences all varied with all 4 children. Each one placed completely different and sometimes unneccessary stress on me...they didnt bring any peace or forwarning of complications that did occur, during the pg and at birth.

Im not starting this to start a huge argeument...Id just love to know if you had your time again...would you still do it? What benefit do you see off having your u/s'?

[AnyDream]

Yep I would, I was fully informed at the time and had each US for a specific reason.

For us, the 12 week US and nuchal screen was appropriate because of my age, I wanted to know what lay in store & if we were going to have a downs baby then I wanted time to prepare myself for it. As it was I had a very high score and opted to have a CVS but again it was important to me to find out as early as possible, esp since my DH was going o/seas for several months in the middle of my pregnancy. I didn't want to be finding out about potential problems without him there for support.

Having said all that, with DD1 I only had one US at 18 weeks and then one at 34 weeks (when there was a question mark over decreased activity). That was before nuchal fold screening and IMO was plenty of information for the average uncomplicated pregnancy.

[~Hestia~]

I would. I respect the reasons why people don't have U/S during pregnancy & completely understand. But I could not go through an entire pregnancy without "seeing" my baby. I would love any baby I was blessed with but this would just make me too anxious.

[ElleJay]

Yeah, I'd still have all mine

[Kazbah]

I have to admit that I'm missing having had scans already, and am counting down to my scan date ...

I did have a scan today though - to find out the state of my thyroid! Very funky!!!!!!

[Trillian]

I never had a lot of scans with any of mine.
With DS1 I had 3 - I had a dating scan because it was an unplanned pg and I had no idea of dates. Then the morphology scan and then one at 28wks due to decreased movement (turns out he was having a long sleep)
DD1, I had 3 - I had a scan at 9wks to check for twins because if there were twins then I would have had to change my pg care plan as my hospital did not accept twin pgs. Then I had the NT scan booked because the Dr needed to fill his quota LOL, but the week before that scan I had a major bleed so I was terrified I lost her so the timing of the NT scan was good. Then just the morphology scan.
DD2 I had 2 - one at 9wks to check for twins and then the mophology
DS2 I had 3 - 9wks (same reason as for the girls), morphology and then one at 39wks to confirm an OP position because he was so large, and my belly was so tight, it was hard to pinpoint exactly how he was laying. That was just a quick 2 minute scan in the Dr's room on his little portable machine.

In hindsight, I would do it all again except for the last one at 39wks with DS2 because it didn't really change anything to know what position he was in. It was certain that he was head down, but to me, knowing whether he was OP or not didn't matter. I had already had one OP bub and knew I would be fine during birth. The scans I had at 9wks for the last 3pgs were necessary because they were related to my care options because we are rural the small district hospital I go to does not cater for twin pgs, so if I ever had twins, then I would have to go to the larger base hospital an hr away. I was a lot more savvy with the last 3 and knew my dates etc and my Dr trusted that so it wasn't ever an issue. As for bonding with bubs, that happened as soon as I knew I was pg. I didn't need a scan to help me bond kwim?

Personally I think that going without a single scan for the entire pg is a bit crazy. I think that anyone should at least have the 20wk morphology scan because if something does happen to be wrong with your baby, it may be the sort of problem that needs immediate fixing at birth or soon after and if you don't know beforehand then you risk the life of your baby while they try to firstly work out what is wrong and secondly come up with a plan of treatment and precious time is wasted that didn't need to be if only a scan was done kwim? Or heck, even at a stretch you could have twins with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome that is often fatal, or conjoined twins, placenta covering the cervix etc - all things which would mean intervention is necessary.

[Jellyfish]

I just had the morphology scan at ~20w and if I had my time again would do similar unless there was a reason requiring further investigation (pain, bleeding etc).

[Indadhanu]

Yep I'd do it.

I loved seeing the u/s on the screen, I just loved it, it was just the best feeling ever. And I know had I not got it done I would have worried, and if i'd had negative news I'd have worried so I figured I may as well get the u/s and see bub.

It wouldn't have changed anything, I wouldn't have considered termination and probably wouldn't have gone on for further testing unless they thought there was a really serious problem.

[Tinks]

I would.

For me it was part of the bonding experience.

[entreat]

I would.

For me it was part of the bonding experience.

:yeahthat:
especially before I felt him move. I could easily forget he was there, but those scans showing him wriggling & his little heart beating... just precious.

[SarahMc]

I would.

For me it was part of the bonding experience.

i totally agree with Tinks, i loved having U/Ss it was a bonding experience for me and the baby as well as my partner and our child. the more ultrasounds ther better as it keeps u informed on how well ur baby is doing or if there is any propblems

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

Yep i loved seeing the life DH and i had created

Irrespective of what the scans may or may not have shown, i would still have them. i think id be more of mess wondering *if* there was something *wrong* had i not had them itms? -

Of course, i can say all of this from the comfort of knowing that nothing untoward was picked up at any of my scans with DD....

[Visitor7]

Yes. I've had nothing but unreal sonographers with my ultrasounds. They are very experienced and don't miss a thing. My last scan went for just over 2 hours just so they didn't miss anything. I love being able to 'see' bub.

[Mrs Jak]

Yes for me.

Basically I'm a huge sticky beak and love the chance for a peak at bubs, but also if they did find a problem, I could be somewhat prepared for it.

I do hate how (where we are anyway) they aren't putting the report in with the actual scans now, so you can't have a peak yourself to see if everything is ok and that stressess me a little.

With my Ob I found the 12 week scan was optional and then I had the 19 week scan and unless I want a 32 week scan (to check size of baby, but really for me to check gender) then that's all the scans I will have, as my Ob doesn't do routine scans at appointments.

[Oorki Galoorki]

i only had the dating scan and morphology scan with both.. any more children it will be the same.

[Indadhanu]

Yep, I had 7 week, 12 week and 19 week. Once I started feeling movement I didn't feel like I 'needed' the scans. As another posted said, it was part of the bonding process.

[Willow]

Yes, I would.

With my boys I went private and had an Ob. He did a 30 sec scan at each appt and after loosing a baby at 12 weeks, I needed that 'sanity scan' to keep my anxiety in check. Particularly with DS1 who was the pregnancy after our loss and also an IVF bub.

[maz]

Not everyone bonds with a baby in utero though. They need to see their little person IRL

im feeling like the odd one out