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?

Oh I could go on and on about the poor care, like telling me that if I wanted a homebirth I had to do it completely naturally and not even have gas and air.

My scan dates were out by just 6 days for one and 8 days for another.

I think the 8 days one was a crap sonographer tbh. She didn't seem to know what she was doing at all and kept muttering about the machine not being what she was used to.

Yes, they do seem to be a bit set on the Estimated Due Date being correct, don't they? Really irritating, when you're sure of dates and then it has an impact on issues like the size of the baby not being what's expected etc.
A friend of mine had IVF & they had the docs to know exactly when she'd conceived but they still went with the due date from the scan. Which was a fortnight out from the actual date...
Good luck whatever you decide :)

How can you expect an estimated date to be accurate to the very day, though? Don't you think your expectations are bit unreasonable? Six days out is nothing.

There are other ways to deal with this, OP. I knew the date I conceived and that my EDD was 2 weeks out with ym first baby. For this reason, I refused induction when I went overdue,as I knew I really wasn't that overdue. I was almost 44 weeks pregnant by their estimation when I was finally induced (42 wks by my own). They were wrong and I was right and that was all there was to it. What are you scared of? Really?

Do you really have to forego a scan that may pick up undetected problems?

I want to give birth in a MLU. If I am overdue according to them and refuse induction I won't be 'allowed' - all based on an inaccurate scan.

Not to mention, as last time, being quoted statistics on dead babies after 41 weeks to bully me into accepting an induction booking.

I have some demons about childbirth that can never be laid to rest. I don't want the added pressure in my last couple of weeks. It isn't good for the baby or me.

the 12 week scan is not just a dating scan, I niaevely went to mine thinking this, as others have said it has important medical resons and can pick up abnormalities, my 12 week sacn showed that my baby had a serious condition where the skull and brain had not developed and my baby had no chance of survival.

With ds1 I only had the 20 week scan as the PCT only offered that and even though he was measeured as small for dates no other scan was booked.

Sadly, he had undiagnosed IUGR which meant he had stopped growing inside me at 32/33weeks Led to him having lots of issues in his 1st few months and was very distressing. When expecting no 2 I went to a different PCT that offered scans from 12 weeks because of my experiences with ds1.

AFAIK the 12 week scan is done to;
check there is a heartbeat (i.e. that there has been no MMC);
to do a nuchal scan if wanted;
and to date the pg - Its amazing how many women get their dates wrong!

IMHO take as many scans as you are offered!

My DS1's kidney problems were picked up at the twelve week scan.

I know how annoying 'estimated' dates are. We had DC2 by IVF - so I knew exactly what date the egg was fertilised. The hospital thought they knew better and inisited my due date was 10 days earlier than the real due date (DC2 arrived within 24 hours of the real due date).

OP, it might be worthwhile double checking that your local PCT don't have any daft rules that mean they would automatically assume you are higher risk if you don't have a 12 week scan (and therefore make it harder for you to get your MLU birth).

Lots of people turn down the 12 week scan for a whole variety of reasons. If you aren't planning on terminating if faced with a bad diagnosis, many people would rather just not go through the stress of "screen positive" for a condition and deciding what to do about it.

Some problems are clearly incompatible with life and can be seen at a 12 week scan (there is no way for the mother to know) and it is a lot less unpleasant to have a termination at 12 weeks than it would be at 20 weeks - because often the baby does live and grow that long. Ultimately though, waiting that long to terminate is not usually life-threatening and the end result of the pregnancy is the same. And it is true that there are a few very rare cases where treatment could be given in some form to save the baby from issues picked up at this scan, and leaving it to 20 weeks might be too late. It's very rare though.

Total anecdata but I do know of a lady online who had a blighted ovum that wasn't detected until her first, 20 week scan. Her body just hadn't realised no baby was developing and she didn't have an NT scan.

It's a very personal decision and if you feel this scan has caused problems for you in the past and you're fine with the theoretical consequences of missing it, then don't do it. You wouldn't be alone with that choice.

May I suggest getting the bloodwork though at the very least? One of the hormones tested is PAPP-A and if it is very low, there is an increased risk of IUGR and pre-eclampsia, which means you could be monitored more closely later on, which could save the baby.

just to put my two pence in, at 2 of my 12 week scans a fatal chromosonal disorder was detected. the first time I decided to let nature take its course and I carried on carrying the baby until 6 months, the next time I actually miscarried a week later.
So, for me.. a 12 week scan is a biggie.

To put my terroised frazzled long suffering nerves at ease that maybe i will end up with a baby with a heart beat this time.

If the only reason to refuse the scan is due to issues with dating (and I'm not altogether clear as to your reasons - sorry) then I would suggest that a better alternative would simply to be very firm about the conception date.

For various reasons with 2 of my children I have been very clear as to when I conceived. I have not had an issue with the Drs involved in my care accepting my word.

As others have said getting early treatment for a number of conditions can change the outcome and if your baby was to have a condition incompatible with life then a termination at 12 weeks is far less traumatic (IMO) than a termination at 20+ weeks.

The only dangerous (for you) situations that could be picked up at 12 week scan that I can think of are molar pregnancy & ectopic pregnancy. Both would most likely have caused problems by that point. It might possibly (unlikely?) effect the outcome of a monochorionic pregnancy if it were detected before 20 weeks e.g. treating twin to twin transfusion syndrome; but that's v. rare.

If you're not interested in screening (& early detection/termination which is the point of first trimester screening), are not concerned about your dates, & are prepared to wait out the risk of having had a missed mc then I don't think it is necessary at all :)

[and if you wanted to see how many there were/if the pregnancy was viable etc then you can easily get a scan done privately (recommend the Fetal Medicine Centre in Marylebone) for less than £100 & the NHS need know nothing about it]

flower, a close friend of mine had a baby with the same condition, only in her area they only offered a 20 week scan. i understand that had she known as early as 12 weeks that the termination procedure could have been somewhat less traumatic - although i realise that any termination (or continuing to carry the baby to term) for a condition incompatible with life is by definition traumatic :( i'm so sorry for your loss.

I had a blighted ovum picked up at my 12 week scan - so I for one am very glad that I had one.
I had had no other signs of anything being wrong, and still had all my preg symptoms as I still had a sac, placenta and therefore all the hormones.

Next time around, I will be taking as many scans as they will offer me! I dread to think what it would be like finding that out later than I did . I know that what happened to me is relatively rare, but it does happen.

Its up to you at the end of the day, but..........with my DS i was 100% sure of my dates and they were wrong(or so i thought!!) He was born on due date worked out by 12 week scan!!
My second pregnancy was going great, no signs of any problems.......untill i went for dating scan last august when i should have been 13+1 only to find out that my baby had died at 8 weeks!! and i didnt have a clue! as someone said before your body can carry them for months!! by which stage you may have told everyone and bought things for the baby and then miscarry an 8 week fetus!
I am now 11 weeks pregnant and my dating scan is on monday.....it cannot come quick enough....i just want to know if my baby is alive!

but as i said its your choice.......................

Bump x

Realise I'm bumping an old thread..but wow..you've clearly had no experience of a mmc then have you!

I lost our first at 17 weeks...however, only discovered at the '12' week scan, which (due to NHS lack of availability) we didn't have til 17 weeks. I'd been feeling like i was being poisoned for weeks...but dr's etc just put it down to morning sickness. Bump was growing, no bleeding, no cramping. I looked/felt/was 4 months pregnant.

Our baby had died at between 9 and 10 weeks. If we hadn't have had a scan at all, I dread to think what could have happened to me.

It's common to think of miscarriage as something that is just like a 'missed period' . It's not always this way. Docs in hospital did say that someone like me, back in the 70's, might well have fallen incredibly ill/possibly died.

So rather naive/insensitive imo to simply state you don't see the point of it.

I'm currently 6 weeks pg now again, and going for a scan at 9 weeks, cannot come soon enough.

I think it's personal choice though nalu, you can't flame someone for not having the same mindset as you.

I totally get why OP didn't want to have a scan, and as a midwife I'd support in this, it's her body her choice.

I'm sorry you went through what you did, and I can sympathise as its happened to me, twice but it's personal choice. I personally don't agree with constant scanning, but wouldn't inflict my views on anyone else.