Ultrasounds?

Lauren - posted on 02/11/2010

I had one at 7 weeks because I was bleeding and I just found out I was pregnant so they wanted to make sure that it wasn't a miscarriage then I had one at 14 weeks because they couldn't find the heart with the doppler and now I have one scheduled for 21 weeks for the anatomy scan and what not. Beyond that unless there are problems I heard that really you only get that one ultrasound the only reason I got the first two was because of the issues we were having with our baby. I am surprised they haven't checked though because of the risk for CF....

Carla - posted on 02/11/2010

I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks to confirm my pregnancy. Then I had the gender one at 21 weeks. Then I had to go back at 23 weeks so they could get a better look at the heart. So about 3 and I'm 25 weeks.

Astrid - posted on 02/11/2010

In Germany you have 3 - 1 every trimester.

Megan - posted on 02/10/2010

Thank you everyone!! I just had m 30 wk check up and the midwife told me that my baby is "growing perfectly". She said that normally at this stage they would send me again to make sure she is growing correctly, but they can tell just by measuring my belly and feeling for the placement of the baby that she is growing fine.

Jennifer - posted on 02/10/2010

i'm 16 weeks today and so far i've only had one on my first appt to check my due date since i was a little unsure of my lmp. i do have the anatomy check scheduled for the 4th of march but other than that i dont think i will have any more after that unless something is wrong.

Rose - posted on 02/10/2010

i had one at 12 weeks to check the date of birth. Than i had another at 20 weeks to check the growth. I will be having another around 28 weeks because on my 20 week scan they found a piece of tissue on the heart that could be an indication of down syndrome but my blood work came back negative they just want to check and make sure. They say baby could grow out of it by then. I also plan on going to baby waves around 28 weeks so we can get 3d ultra sound but we have to pay out of pocket for that cause our insurance won't cover it. With my first one i only had one by my doctor and i made them give me one when i went to the hospital for something cause i was worried. It just depends on the doctor and if you insurance will cover it. If you really want to see you baby more try going to a place that does the 3d ultra sounds it is cool it is a little pricey but so worth it!

Kimberly - posted on 02/10/2010

Every pregnancy is different. I am pregnant with my 4th child and I have had 2 so far this time but only due to complications. I have went thru an entire pregnancy with only 1. Every Dr. is different as well but 20 wks is a good time to have 1.

Melyssa - posted on 02/10/2010

I've also only had one ultra sound.
It's a very common thing to only have one now-a-days.
I was curious about the same thing so I asked my doctor and he explained to me that generally you only get one, maybe two ulrasounds unless there is cause for concern.
Maybe they think you have a very healthy growing baby and that they don't need to monitor anything.
I know it feels like your missing out, seeing your baby on that ultrasound is amazing, but you can request that your doctor send you for another one, if that would make you more comfortable & at ease.

Megan - posted on 02/09/2010

I do plan on getttin a 3d or 4d done next month as a birthday surprise for my husband because he has been unbale to go with me to any of our doctors appointments due to work. I get to hear the heart beat at every appoinment, but I do kinda wish I could see her whenever I wanted!!

I have read conflicting information about whether ultrasounds really are bad for a baby. Some sources say yes and some say no.

Danielle - posted on 02/09/2010

i'm 30weeks currently and here it goes:
one at 8wks, 13wks, 13wks and 1day (emergency specialist), 22weeks, i will be having another one done at 31weeks, and again at 36weeks....and in between there i had about 8 cervical screening (us) to make sure i was at less of a risk for ptd again
mind you i had my son 6weeks early last time so they have to take extra careful measures

Suzette - posted on 02/09/2010

Desiree, Where have you heard that they're unhealthy? The only thing that I've read is that there isn't "documented danger." I know doctor's are concerned that too many ultrasounds could be unsafe, but there's nothing documented. In fact, the same technology is used for heat therapy. At higher frequencies, they use it to break apart gall stones and kidney stones.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/pare...



Everything I've read on ultrasounds being unsafe is all about doctors' concerns and theories, there is no proof. I'm just wondering if you've found something different, if you have, please share. :)

Christina - posted on 02/09/2010

8w - during my first prenatal exam (done by nurse)
18w - due to bleeding (done by OB)
20w - recheck from the bleeding / check cervical length (done by OB)
21w - gendering u/s (done by u/s tech)
28w - check placenta placement due to finding I'd had a low-lying placenta (done by u/s tech)

So, I've had 5, but shouldn't have any more (31w3d now).

Kara - posted on 02/09/2010

I've found that with a "normal" pregnancy you only have 1 ultrasound. But if, when you first find out you are pregnant, you don't know when you conceived you will have an ultrasound to help determine your due date. And then you may have additional ultrasounds if there are any concerns or complications along the way. For instance, I just had a regularly scheduled appt yesterday and since, for two consecutive appointments now, I have measured larger (vertically) than I should for my due date, they scheduled an ultrasound for my next appt to more accurately measure the baby's size (there is a chance i'm further along than anticipated or i may have more fluid than average).

Melissa - posted on 02/09/2010

Typically, there is only one ultrasound per pregnancy, though they do schedule them based on medical necessity. I had my baby on January 9th, and I had a total of 4. They were all due to my son being large for gestational age. He was 9 lbs 12 oz, and was a week early from his due date.

Indigo - posted on 02/09/2010

i have an ultrasound every other time i have an appointment,but i'm not sure if that's really normal.i have an appointment every week because my baby girl had tetralogy of follot,a heart deformity,so i have regular ultrasounds to check on her heart.

Desiree - posted on 02/09/2010

Ultrasounds or sonograms aren't all that healthy for babies, so don't overdo it. Get the minimum to see if baby is healthy and stick with that.

Amanda - posted on 02/09/2010

My first two children I had one ultrasound each at 20 weeks. My last pregnancy, I had one at 20 weeks, a second one at 22 weeks (they couldnt get good pictures of her spine on the first one). I had another at 38 weeks due to believing she was breech, and one at 39 1/2 weeks due to thinking my sac was leaking. That was 3 more ultrasounds than I would of like. This "pregnancy" I have an ultrasound at 8 weeks to see if I am miscarrying.

Suzette - posted on 02/08/2010

Megan, you might want to check your area for places that will do the 3d and 4d ultrasounds and how much they'll charge. I know there's one here and they charge about $120.00 for the 3d ultrasounds and they have different packages you can choose from for different prices. They also have military discounts as well. Definitely check your area. The tech should be telling you what they're looking at if you ask, I know that mine did. Every part of our daughter that we saw, we were told what we were seeing. Just ask and also check into the different ultrasound places in your area. Hopefully they have one that offers a discount! :) Good luck.

Ashley - posted on 02/08/2010

So far I have only had 3 ultrasounds... Im 27 weeks along. I wish I got to see my baby everytime I went in, but I mostly get to hear the heartbeat... at least that's something. I hope all turns out well with you and your baby with the whole CF thing. Good luck!

Zarah - posted on 02/08/2010

Wow I feel luck I had my first at 12 weeks and my doctor will do a new ultrasound every month with my visit he also puts the pictures on a dvd with clips of the heartbeat and video clips of the 3d and 4d pictures

Megan - posted on 02/08/2010

Thank you everyone, the only reason I am concerned is because I am 30 weeks tomorrow and have only had the one ultrasound. By the time I foound out I was pregnant they could judge the size and age of the baby just by feeling my stomach and finding her position. I know that everytime I go to the specialist she is going to do one, but they are looking for cystic fibrosis and I never know what part of the baby she is looking at.

Like everyone said I guess less is more!

Katie - posted on 02/08/2010

I have had 4 and getting my 5th this friday. I should also say that I had one in the ER do to bleeding and Im also having twins. But you should have had one to confirm due date and another one for antomy scan.

Suzette - posted on 02/08/2010

I completely spaced, we had one other so I've had a total of five in the almost 21 weeks. The one quick one we had was because I went to the Advice Nurse after seeing my primary because I asked about the liners you put on the pads because I started with the little pee leak thing early every time I would cough and sneeze. Of course I've had the congestion thing since the beginning of this pregnancy. The Advice Nurse made me go to the lab and do a urinary and then come back for an appt and they did an ultrasound to make sure that the fluid was okay.

I agree with Amy though, as long as you're not high risk or you haven't had any other issues, if you're having just the normal amount of ultrasounds that your OB wants you to have, you're fine. Just ask what the normal amount is. I wouldn't know, this is my first pregnancy and they tell me I'm high risk. :) Good luck!

Amy - posted on 02/08/2010

My first pregnancy I only had 1 ultrasound and it was a quick one to try and find out the gender, if we didn't want to know the gender we wouldn't have had one.

My second pregnancy I only had one (due to a miscarriage),

My third I'm actually getting an ultrasound at every visit that we don't hear the heart beat, including the first (which is this Wednesday). Even if I didn't have the miscarriage she would do the same thing. I actually looked for a dr/midwife that did ultrasounds more often because I had a missed miscarriage and went 5 weeks with a dead baby in me, had they done blood work and/or an ultrasound I would have found out sooner and not been so freaked out/upset.

I'd say that your not really missing out, if you had issues in the past then I could understand wanting more, but as long as the dr's are doing there job you should be fine!

TAMMY - posted on 02/08/2010

I have had 4 I am now 16 weeks and I go back to the doctor today. But the reason I had so many is because the dr has an ultrasound facility in his office, I've had 2 from him, the first early on around 8 weeks, and another because he couldn't find the heartbeat with the sound thingamajig. The other two, one was scheduled for first trimester screening 12 weeks and the other is because I went to the ER so they wanted to make sure everything was fine. Hope this helps

Suzette - posted on 02/07/2010

So far I've had four ultrasounds. I had one when I was 8 weeks to check on the due date and the age. But they tried the doppler thing and couldn't find her heartbeat, they also tried with just a regular ultrasound and couldn't find it either, they wound up having to do a vaginal ultrasound in order to find her, she was hiding from everyone. :) (Scared the living beejesus out of us!) :)
Then they did another at the next appointment, she was still hiding. ;)
We got pictures of both to take home. And we were told at that appointment to schedule with radiology so they could check up on everything.
On the 22nd of January is when our appointment with the tech in radiology was... and I was 18 weeks at that time. We wound up being sent back to radiology to see the tech again because she was in a position where he couldn't see her brain, neck, or spine.
We just had that appointment on the 5th.
So we've had four so far.
But, the last appt with my OB (the 4th) she didn't do an ultrasound, she just listened to her heartbeat with the doppler.
I'll probably have more ultrasounds though, but I'm also a high risk pregnancy. I have epilepsy so my OB is constantly checking up with me about my seizures and medications and I've had other medical issues as well.
I'd go with what the other mothers say, less is better. :)

Diana - posted on 02/07/2010

It really depends on your doctor and your baby's health. So far I've had 4 ultrasounds. First one was to confirm pregnancy, second one to check baby anatomy, third was because on the second ultrasound they didnt get a good picture of baby's heart and the fourth to check the baby's growth development, since my belly was on the smaller side. So it really depends on how your pregnancy has developed. Dont worry plus your saving money by not having that many ultrasounds.

Liz - posted on 02/07/2010

I have had 1 ultrasound so far, but I am going to be having my second on the 16th. My first ultrasound was to find out how far along I was, and the second is going to be for measurements and to figure out what gender the baby is.

Elizabeth - posted on 02/07/2010

I had one at 9 weeks due to bleeding/checking due date. After that I was sent to a different doctor for my prenatal screening which was a sono at 13 weeks and another at 17 weeks. I'm 28 weeks now and go in at 29 weeks for another. After that I think she's only going to do one more at around 36 weeks.

I thinks it all depends on your doctor and how they like to do things. If we hadn't decided to do the prenatal screening for downs then we would have had one less sono. It may also be a state thing because most of my friends that are expecting as well or have had babies all had at least 3 sonograms during the course of their pregnancy(we live in Texas btw).

Maddison Elizabeth Marie Bearce is 28 weeks and 1 day old in Mommy's tummy and is due May 1st, 2010

Michelle - posted on 02/06/2010

I had one at 8wks to date pregnancy . just had one at 12 wks [last week] to check for downs and should have another right around 20 weeks to check other poss defects .



I ended up having an ultrasound every other week with my last child from 5 months on . The dr I went to had his own tech in office that did them . When she asked me why I was there so much like that I told her he said something was wrong . She said he must have you confused with someone else . That week I was 31 weeks , after the appt and seeing him he wanted to schedule an induction for 32 weeks , I called a pregnancy distress center that night and had them hook me up with a new dr .

New dr said everything looked great , he left my uterus alone as far as ultrasounds , and I delivered basically a 7 lb baby a week before my due date !

Dana - posted on 02/06/2010

With my son I had one done at 12 weeks and 21 weeks (which is the week guidelines at my doctors office). I also had to have one at 36 weeks because I had preeclamsia and they wanted to check his size and see if they could go ahead and deliver me (which they did 2 days later).

Martine - posted on 02/06/2010

Normally if all is going well, you don't get many ultrasounds. With my first two, I only got one as well. With this one, I had one at 9 weeks because I was bleeding, one at 19 weeks to measure the growth of the baby and now I get them every 2 weeks because my glucose levels showed on the line for gestational diabetes. The lesser, the better really.

Natasha - posted on 02/06/2010

I am 23 weeks and I had a scan at 8 weeks to check all was ok (history of miscarriages) and then one at 18 weeks... I still have not gone to the hospital because I am doing share care and seeing my doctor for everything but I think I have one coming up at 24 weeks, find out at my next doc app....

Natasha - posted on 02/06/2010

Im wondering this aswel cause i havent even had my first hosp appt yet and im 17 wks!

Chelle - posted on 02/06/2010

also will quickly add that this was the same with my 1st child.... just the two scans one at 12 weeks and one at 21 weeks ....or around that sort of stage. :)

Chelle - posted on 02/06/2010

i had one at 12 weeks to date the pregnancy and check the nucal fold to see if it had a risk of downs etc...

then at 21 weeks i had a scan done to look at everything like size,heart function,bladder function, limbs, placenta and cord etc...



my midwife told me that unless i have any problems like my bump isnt growing like it should, signs of pre-eclapsia or baby is breech after 36weeks i wont need another scan. i do get to listen to the babies heart beat at every appointment and get my tummy measured.