why is getting an early scan so b****y difficult?

[hereshoping]

I ve had 2 silent miscarriages in past 6 months and am now 6weeks. went to my GP last week to ask if could go to EPU - he sent a letter but rang EPU today and they only take phone referrals.
also said I dint fulfil criteria as I havent come thru recurrent mc clinic as i havent had 3 mcs and they dont just offer reassurance scans
they will see my if i have symptoms ie pain/bleeding but thw whole bloody point of silent mcs is there are no symptoms
I just cant turn up at booking clinic again to be told its gone
rang private hospital today to be told I cant be seen for 2 weeks
what should I do?anyone else had this bother?whats wrong with wanting an early scan in my situation?

[Tinker]

Oh, bad luck. Had no problem at all getting a reassurance scan after a mc. Can't remember whether it was at 6 or 8 weeks though. Would push for this.

[throckenholt]

invent some symptoms - ie pain ?

[dyzzidi]

I am quite lucky only saw doctor yesterday, am seeing the midwife on Friday and have been told I will have an early scan. I do have lots of qynae problems which may be why as I have had one missed m/c and am awaiting IVF.

Honestly if i were you I would invent a symptom I jknow its bad but you need to be reassured.

[georginars]

Invent, invnet. I wanted an early scan as had just been told I had a very high risk of ectopic pregnancy after an operation. Even so, horrible doctor at the surgery wouldn't refer me - he even said, 'well, it's Easter weekend, what do you expect me to do' and basically couldn't be bothered at all. The next morning, I had a tiny, tiny bit of bleeding, rang the surgery and saw another doctor and she referred me and I had the scan 2 days later. They will refer you if you have bleeding, and mine was only a tiny amount and they still did it. Especially bearing in mind your history, I don't think you need feed bad AT ALL for telling a little white lie if that's the only way you can be seen.

[Mirage]

I struggled to get a scan after a past ectopic,but my lovely midwife rang the EPU for me & told them that I'd had some pain (I hadn't really)but that did the trick.Bless her,she saved me months of anxiety

[Louise1980]

I think I would be tempted to invent symptoms just to put your mind at rest.

I had scans at 6wks with both pregnancies. Simply because I had pain in my lower abdomen.

[CathyAnn]

Gosh - I'm so glad to hear that you want an early scan. I'm due for a scan on Friday, at which point it will be 4 weeks from conception, and I've been worrying about why he's scanning so early. Funny old world!

[Nemo1977]

heres i have had loads of problems getting early scan but when i had appointment with midwife she sorted it out for me and thats after 3mcs. Although they say because i carried ds to term after first 2mcs that they didnt need to do tests yet..
Anyways i got a scan at 8wks thanks to mw but the hospital then subsequently cancelled my 12wk scan and have booked me in for 20 wk one...stupid as my last baby died at around 9wks so i could be then left in limbo till august. I am hoping the same mw from last time will be able to help again. Anyway point is try to get in thru ur mw.

i wouldnt worry about faking pain either as if i dont get any joy this time i am going to turn up at epu saying i have had a fall and am having pains...sometimes hun a little white lie is needed to help us through

[ahymum]

I would just invent "spotting" and pain - actually that is what I did and had scan the next day, even though it was my first pregnancy. Didn`t feel right but they made me.

[expatinscotland]

I paid privately for one at 7 weeks. There was an article in The Scotsman the other day about how ALL women in the UK are supposed to be offered two scans but in Edinburgh are only offered one - at 12 weeks. So I'll be paying for another privately. Yet still paying the same amounts into the NHS as everyone else .

[mancmum]

i had fabulous treatment at Manchester RI when i started bleeding at 6 weeks... went to A+E and they refered me to EPU.. from then on could go for a scan whenever I had any problems... had 6 in total...

I would make up stuff to get seen...

[Azure]

I also was refused an early scan after 2 m/cs because my hospital does not do "reassurance scans" - this is despite me being stressed out with worry and bursting into tears. Like others have mentioned, I could only get a scan if there was bleeding. I was given an urgent referral to the midwife team, who I still had to chase twice before I was eventually seen at 12 weeks and did not get a scan until over 13 weeks (and then the only date they could give me was the day DH was on an overseas trip). I fully understand your distress in this situation. I was able to get a private scan at 7 weeks, not at the hospital. Are you in London? Private clinics often have cancellations, so it could me worth checking again. Otherwise, it's unfortunately a struggle with your conscience to tell a little white lie about bleeding or pain - a ridiculous situation. Best of luck for this pregnancy.

[hotmama1]

In your position, I would have no qualms in telling a white lie to get a scan - bloody bureaucracy where all the boxes have to be ticked! Hope everything goes well.

[Monkeysmom]

I had spotting from day 1 of my pregnancy and was really worried. As they would not agree to an early scan, I invented pain and they booked me for a scan at 6 wks. Everything turned out OK and I am glad for the little lie about the pain, otherwise I would have gone mad worrying.

[Mud]

invent pain or spotting and you'll get seen quickly .. I wouldn't normally suggest this but you are obiously stressing out and ahve had a horrific time so I would have no qualms

[spook14]

I too have struggled to get a scan and I'm bleeding at 10 weeks - this started on Saturday night and I cant get a scan till Thursday (tomorrow). Because the bleeding is light and I dont have any pain I'm not considered a priority. I have private insurance and my insurers said they would pay for a scan but I couldn't get an appointment till way into next week and that was merely for a scan, not even a consultant to interpret.
My doctor has assured me that if the bleeding gets heavier or I have pain I would be seen straight away but I have resisted doing this as I may be taking up the place of someone who really is an emergency case. It hasn't stopped me or my husband worrying though! I've decided to expect the worst.

[teuch]

Hi,

My midwife told me about an alternative...here they don't do reassurance scans following mc either since you are really only reassured for the time you are in there being scanned.

The alternative they offer here is to monitor HcG levels - these should double every 72hours or so and are a good indicator that the pregnancy is progressing normally.

Since I had a silent m/c last time around 8-9 weeks, the 6-7 week scan would not really set my mind at ease anyway.

I personally wouldn't fake since I am too superstitious!

[Rachey1969]

I'd just like to add a little rant about the postcode lottery of maternity care - we all pay the same taxes yet in some parts of the country women are scanned more, some are offered different maternity and birth services. Where I live the midwifes won't see you till you are 12 weeks (unless there is a problem) and you only get one scan at 18-20 wks - no nuchal fold scanning at all.

[Azure]

Spook14 sorry to hear about your bleeding. I hope your scan tomorrow (finally) will confirm that everything's alright. Rachey1969 I totally agree with you about the postcode lottery for ante-natal care.

[mummyhill]

I fought with the antenatal care/midwifery team at my local hospital and leant heavily on my gp following a miscarriage last year and managed to get a scan at 9 weeks this time am now 26 weeks and feel much more relaxed because i stuck to my guns and insisted on a refferal. Invent if you have to i know how much it means to get that reassurance as soon as possible that everything is ok this time round good luck.