Can someone tell me what the point of the first scan is?

[StartingAfresh]

Sorry to be really dense, but I can't find any medical reasons for it.

Are there any?

They check that pregnancy is still viable - a number of women are unfortunate enough to still feel pregnant only to be told that they have miscarried before 12 weeks.

They check the number of babies.

They can date the pregnancy more accurately at or around 12 weeks.

Its the perfect time for measuring Nuchal Fold if offered.

They also - discreetly - check that the heart is beating at it should be, that the correct number of limbs are present and that baby is growing as to be expected.

oh I had the dating anomalies too StartingAfresh, & yes, it is annoying - with all 4 of mine they said I was 2 weeks further on than I actually was (& I knew my dates) so when it came to having elective sections at a given gestation which got earlier & earlier I had to fight them about it!

"I thought that pregnancies that didn't develop properly had signs long before they were dangerous. Is this not the case?"

not everyone has a bleed when they miscarry. The 12 week scan can tell you if the pregnancy is viable. if it's not then there are things that can get the foetus out so the woman can move on.

Sure DF. I've had MC before, not loads, but prefer the natural method of removal. Won't you kind of realise what has happened after a few weeks/months and go to be checked out then?

not all countries routinely do 12 week scans - certainly here in Ireland they don't and the only scan you'll get if your pregnancy is routine will be the 20 week (give or take about 4 weeks...) anomaly scan. Some of that is to do with resources, some of it to do with the unavailability of abortion, medical or otherwise.

YOu can of course get a scan at any point you like, with a GP letter and a chequebook...

Thanks driving, can't be that important then can it!?

ponders That must have been very annoying indeed.

Luckily for me my DH thought it was funny that he was effectively in germany when I conceived, but what if he hadn't?

could be very very awkward!

Are you actually pg now then? Congratulations! & def stick to your guns re the scan, they can't make you have it, can they?

Hope you have a sympathetic midwife/GP!

I don't understand the point of this thread. If you don't want a 12 week dating scan, don't have one. But it is nonsense for you to say "there is no real medical reason" and it "can't be that important then" when there quite clearly are lots of reasons why they are done.

I don't want one. I'm asking for the medical reasons to weigh up whether I am comfortable with refusing one.

To refuse one without knowing what they are for is irresponsible.

It's a fair question.

I'm not pg, but planning to be shortly.

I like to plan in advance.

I was someone who turned up to their 12 week scan, only to discover my baby had died 6 weeks earlier - but the placenta etc was continuing to grow and was producing all the hormones, so all the symptoms of pregnancy, and none at all of miscarriage. The drs told me that these can go on for a couple more months - and imagine being 20 weeks and finding there was not even a baby to mourn.

Another reason would be to confirm that the baby is actually in the uterus, though it is likely that there would be other symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy before 12 weeks.

I would just like to add that if you are 11 weeks pregnant on or after Dec 1st 2010 you will be routinely now offered nuchal fold and triple test at your 12 week scan, in England, no matter what your age.

Its called an estimated due date for a reason - its estimated. And if there was something seriously wrong with your baby wouldnt you prefer to know early on than let it get to the point where your options would be much more limited? and although a MC is traumatic (i know as i have previously had one) I cant imagine how bad it would be to not know there was anything wrong until 20 weeks. I found my 12 week scan in this pregnancy very reassuring. I know exactly what date i conceived as i was using ovulation sticks but my scan dated me 5 days earlier. Im taking this with a pinch of salt and dont expect to go into labour necessarily on my due date. Didnt you enjoy seeing your baby for the first time?

With the dating thing, I've heard that sperm can live inside you for up to 7 days, so it is entirely possible for you to conceive on a day when you didn't have sex. My DH was also away on the date when I was 'supposed' to have conceived according to the scan.

However, if the scan date is out by more than a few days I can see that it could be awkward!

CMOTdibbler has made roughly the same point I was going to make; I know someone who had a similar experience.

I didn't enjoy seeing my baby for the first time as much as I got stressed with the pressure towards the end when it didn't make an appearance when it was supposed to.

I didn't enjoy not being listened to.

I didn't enjoy the 'estimated' date being taken as rigid and concrete.

I didn't enjoy having my 20 weeks scan early to be told I dd was small (which she wasn't). and suffering no end of demands to attend the baby clinic due to concerns about her failure to thrive.

I didn't enjoy being refused a MLU birth (which I got in the end due to a fantastic Head of Midwifery who did, in the end actually listen and change my dates on the computer).

It was stress during pregnancy that cannot have been good for the baby and wasn't good for me.

I have some 'issues' regarding childbirth as it is.

CMOT Oh that sounds awful. I can see how that must be pretty upsetting.

I have to balance my options though. I was pretty upset at how I was treated throughout both pregnancies.

Sure, but if you go by when you ovulated rather than when you had sex, you get a bit more of an accurate picture.

Yes, I understand that if you're doing ovulation testing you can be pretty sure about when you conceived. I do think mws should take this into account.

Can I ask how much your scan dates were out in your previous pregnancies then? It sounds as though the care you received was generally quite poor if they completely refused to listen to you.