Would you get a private early scan?

[Ellie06]

So I had my booking appointment today, midwife was lovely but said we wouldn't have our dating scan until around about 13-14 weeks because they are so booked up at the moment.

This may sound ridiculous but I am getting married when I will be just over 15 weeks pregnant and I don't want to find out something is wrong potentially up to two days before the wedding. I know whatever stage a miscarriage or problem with the baby is identified isn't going to be easy to deal with, but if there was a big and obvious issue I would rather find out earlier so I had a bit more time to process it before I am meant to be walking down the aisle with a big smile on my face.

Has anyone had an early private scan? What was your experience?

I am six weeks at the moment, was thinking of waiting until we are around 8-10 weeks and going for a private scan.

[Whatsername17]

I have had one with both my previous pregnancies. With my daughter, I was 10 weeks on Christmas day so knew family would guess if I wasn't drinking at parties. We wanted to tell people ourselves rather than have them guess. With the baby I lost, we did the same due to the fact that I would be 11 weeks on Christmas day. Sadly, despite having lots of nausea and symptoms, our baby had died a few weeks before. I'm now pregnant again (6 weeks 2 days) and I have been offered an early reassurance scan by my midwife at between 7-8 weeks and I will take it. For me, having suffered a missed miscarriage, the scan means I get to find out sooner if lightning has struck twice which makes my anxiety easier to deal with. Even though I have had an early scan and had the worst news, I'd still recommended it. For me, if everything is OK it will not mean that I am out of the woods but it will give me something positive to keep me going. My scan photos and positive pregnancy tests are all I have of my lost baby and I'm greatful for them.

[chelle792]

I had a private scan last week at just about 9 weeks. I'd highly recommend it. If everything is ok at 8 weeks your chances of mc are so much lower. Also, I mc not long before our wedding (previous pregnancy) so would have wanted to known in advance that everything was ok

[blue2014]

If you can afford it then I would, I had two at 7 and 10 weeks (IVF) If you can, I would wait til 10 weeks - all being well you can actually see its a little one then (I saw it's arms and head)

Best wishes and congrats xx

[Mrsfancyfanjango]

I didn't with my first 2 pregnancies but did with my third at 7 weeks, it was lovely! But it didn't calm my nerves at all, I was even more worried because now I'd seen that little heartbeat it would of been even more heartbreaking if something happened. Luckily she's now asleep in her bouncer so everything was just fine

[Minispringroll]

I had two ectopics (one two weeks before my wedding), so we had our first scan for this pregnancy at 6 weeks. Second one was a reassurance scan at 9/10 weeks. Both of those were through the EPU. My first proper dating scan is next week, when I'll be 13 weeks. It has put my mind at rest a little bit, although I keep being incredibly nervous before each one and expect something to have gone wrong...
I had considered (and would have arranged) private early scans with the two previous ones, but we never even made it to 6 weeks with those, so didn't get to it.

[TooLazyToWriteMyOwnFuckinPiece]

In your situation I would. No scan proves that everything will be ok, but it would certainly give you an earlier indication that something is wrong. Which it is not at all likely to be.
I miscarried a few months before my wedding and I would certainly not like it to have been nearer to the event.

[Ellie06]

Thanks all, I don't know why but I sort of felt/feel like it is cheating in a way to get one early and I should just wait until the NHS one. I would def rather know earlier than later if I had something like a missed miscarriage or molar pregnancy etc. Whenever we have the first one I am going to be terrified but it would be nice to have a little reassurance sooner rather than later. To be honest I didn't even know they were so available until a friend of my boyfriends told him about them.

[RaeSkywalker]

I had a scan at 7 weeks on the NHS (I have HG).

In your situation I would absolutely pay for private. Just hear in mind that it's a snapshot of a moment in time- I went right back to worrying about whether the baby was within a day of having mine!

[RaeSkywalker]

Also bear in mind that if you're having the nuchal translucency measured, the scan should be done between 11+2 and 14+1 weeks. I'd be worried if I got a scan date that put me at 14 weeks incase I was further along than I thought based on LMP. At least of you have an early private scan they'll also be able to tell you how far along you are.

[plimsolls]

I did, at 9 weeks. Just for reassurance, particularly as there were people we wanted to tell before 12 weeks. It was lovely. The technician we were just after reassurance so she spent a lot of time showing us the baby, we just watched it wiggling around for a while!

Very early scans (

[Ellie06]

The midwife is going to text me on Monday with the scan details, she couldn't do it today because the system doesn't work on at the weekend (love the NHS ). We did request the NT scan, so I'm sure she will keep in mind the dates with that. I know I will continue to worry whatever happens and whatever scans I get, every morning I wake up and the first thing I check is that my boobs are still sore! Just a little bit more reassurance earlier on would be nice.

[ChocolateRaisin]

I had a private scan at 8 weeks and found out that things weren't right. I have had another two further scans with nhs a week and 2 weeks later after that. I've been told my pregnancy isn't viable but due to protocol I have to go back again next week (would be 11 weeks then) for what will be hopefully a third and final scan before I can go for an erpc. It has been absolutely awful and if I hadn't been for my early private scan, I'd still be thinking I'm pregnant and things are fine now.

I think in your position I would definitely get an early scan.

[Ellie06]

Thanks for sharing chocolateraisin, and I'm really sorry to hear that. I think that is what I am worried about, carrying on like everything is fine when something might not be. Other half is super keen to tell family etc now and I just want a bit of reassurance first. I know things can go wrong at any point, and an early scan won't change that, but I don't want something to have been wrong from now and I spend the next 8 weeks thinking everything is still ok.

[RaeSkywalker]

Oh Chocolate I'm so sorry

[YoungGirlGrowingOld]

I have had scans at 7, 10 and 12 weeks. (Not in UK). I would do it but as a pp said the reassurance lasts about a day before the anxiety starts building again! That said, it was amazing to hear the heartbeat each time and since I don't have any bump at all yet it makes me feel less of a fraud!!

[coppergrey]

I had a private scan at 8 weeks, the NHS one at 13 weeks and then have another private scan booked at 17 weeks before my NHS one at 20 weeks.

The first private scan was to reassure me everything was OK as we were going on holiday shortly after. It was a lovely experience and well worth the money. The 17w scan is because we want to know the gender and are very impatient!

I think if you can afford it and don't overdo it (we probably won't have another private scan after 17w) then go for it, as it's so nice to see your baby more often.

Chocolate, so sorry to hear that.

[Me624]

I had one at 8 weeks, for no reason other than I wanted it and was too impatient to wait for the NHS one. It was super exciting although there wasn't a whole lot to see at 8 weeks - we had the photo out the other day and DS was really just a little blob, if the sonographer hadn't told us I wouldn't have known which end was his head and which was his bum!

tided us over nicely though until the NHS one which I had bang on 12 weeks and the difference was amazing - it's a proper baby at 12 weeks.

[Sunshinegirl82]

I had early private scans as I was very anxious early on and found it reassuring. For me it was definitely worth doing.

If you were very keen to know more before the wedding you could look into having the harmony test done privately? They can do the test from 10 weeks so you should have the results by your 12 week NHS scan. We paid to have it done and whilst it wasn't cheap (about £450) I would definitely do it again! Our NHS scan was on Christmas Eve and I was concerned that it would be a very difficult time of year to be making decisions if something did turn out to be wrong with the pregnancy. As it was the harmony came back low risk for the three main trisomies and we found out we were having a boy!

[YoungGirlGrowingOld]

Another vote for Harmoni here (although I had NIPT but I think it's the same). So reassuring and so good to find out the gender 3 months in!! My risk of trisomy anomalies was 1/10,000 and I am a geriatric mum so it was a weight off my mind.

[malvinandhobbes]

I had one at 8 weeks and it was fantastic. My older kids were getting worried that I was so sick and tired, but I didn't want to tell them until we were more confident. I have no regrets at all.

[KayTee87]

I had one at 8/9weeks and it was great, got to hear the heartbeat too

[Marshpillow]

OP I was the same as you! My NHS scan was booked for 2 days before our wedding day, so I booked a private one at 10 weeks to see if there were any obvious issues. As it turned out DD was fine in there and she's now 16 months old, but I'm so glad I had the early scan as like you, I didn't want to potentially find out I'd lost her 2 days before my wedding.

[purpleporpoise]

I had one at 7 weeks as a heartbeat should be there. We'd had an early MC previously.
It was bad enough to wait that long so another 7 weeks would be torture. Definitely get one, if you see a heartbeat then the risk of MC is massively reduced. If it's gone wrong then the earlier you know the better
Some places do them for as little as £50...worth every penny to me