A disappointing ultrasound...

We had our 19 week ultrasound this week....

Everything is fine with the baby...it's growing wonderfully and there are no concerns...which is just great!

The problem was that the morning we went for the scan, the sonographer was being trained up in a new scanning machine...it's supposed to be an upgraded version which does wonderful things (which is excellent!)...EXCEPT...

He was really struggling to use it! He was being trained by someone during our scan and it was really clear that he was focussing on trying to use the machine, rather than really doing a good scan.

Although all is fine with the baby, the experience of the ultrasound was really awful. The sonographer was getting more and more stressed as he was struggling to use the machine and probe properly. The probe kept slipping all over my belly and basically we would only get quick glimpses at the baby, before the probe would slip. As a result, the DVD of the ultrascan is just a series of fragmented and blurry shots...that don't make a huge amount of sense...

The pictures they printed up were pretty awful too...mainly pictures of the baby's spine...(not because there were any concerns about it...just because these were the only clear views).

Anyway...I guess ultimately we are really disappointed. We were told so many times how wonderful the 19 week scan is...how you see so much...and it just wasn't like that for us...

The sonographer was very apologetic...but we still got charged $160 for what I think is a really poor scan.

I don't know what to do...given that the baby is fine, I don't know whether requesting another scan is actually necessary. I don't want to put the baby at risk...just so we are happier with the pictures...

Ultimately the scans are just to check out the baby...not to have great pictures/dvd's...but I do feel a little robbed by the experience!

What do you guys think?

Oh hun, im sorry you had a bad u/s........we all look forward to that scan too......at least u got to see bub and all is well!

I'd get another one done, sweety. Did you want to find out the sex?

demand another one and i would demand they atleast reduced the cost if not gave it to you for free!!! its not fair that someone was being trained at the time of ur scan coz as u said it takes the focus of the baby and if u don't feel u had a good look and nice pics then personally i would be asking for another one!!! :hugs: to you whatever you decide

I was disappointed with mine too - the sonographer didn't even let me watch, just showed me his little penis when he was looking there.

I would complain to the u/s place or your doctor, maybe so you can at least be reimbursed or something?

Yeah I would definately make a phone call to see if you could have another as reemburesment. And I don't think you have to worry about putting baby in danger, alot of women have to have several U/S for medical reasons so I'm sure 1 more wouldn't do any harm. Fingers crossed they are good about the situation, maybe turn on the waterworks that always helps:redface: Good Luck!!

When I had an 8 week scan to make sure things were OK after previous m/c they asked if I would go in on the following Sunday to be a guinea pig for people from PNG learning to use U/S machines. I said yes of course so then they did the first scan for free! (and I got the DVD free cause they used it on Home and Away )
I would definitely ring and voice my concerns, they shouldn't have charged you at all.

I'd have left half way through and refused to pay for someones training session!

Oh Monnie ... I would have been disappointed too. I can't blame you. I agree ... see if you can get another one. Tell your ob/midwife what happened and see if you can get another done but not at your own expense. I think the u/s clinic should help you out there. It might have been nice if they'd offered to waive the fee or reduced it a bit considering your experience.

I suppose ultimately the baby is fine and that's the main focus of the ultrasound. Though I understand your saddness too. We all want clear snap shots for the memory/baby box.

hi there

same thing happened to me - i went for the fancy 3d/4d scan and it was a gift ( i know weird but it's what i wanted for my birthday) and although bubba was fine (thank God) the overall experience was disappointing - i called and got it redone - not the measurements and stuff just the nice part where you are just admiring the miracle growing inside you - i got more footage and better pics out of it, it kind of made up for the initial disappointment.

good luck - do what you think is right

The same thing happened to me, and I still feel really disappointed by it all.

Hubby and I called about a week later and voiced our concerns, they ended up refunding half of the fee for us. But it still doesn't make up for it.