Scan photo - confusion

[ConnieCaterpillar]

Hi Everyone

I hope this is in the right place and that my rambling makes sense.

We went for our first scan on Monday (first pregnancy) and all went well. Quick scan, lady said the heartbeat is all ok and viable pregnancy. Felt a little bit rushed and I couldn't really see much due to mask and glasses flogging plus lots of grey but maybe I was expecting a little too much, tummy wiped and out of the door. I asked about a photo and was told they will be emailed across and theres a charity box for donations. Perfect, received the scan picture today and can see where baby is, but I expected to see a little bit more I guess. I have googled 12 week scans and you can clearly see that baby is well a baby. My LO just looks like a dot. I have seen a few family members scans and ones from friends and they look like babies.... am I being silly or is this normal? Willing to be told I need to give my head a wobble, I just expected a little bit more development I guess. My last period was 23rd Jan and due date given is Oct 29th. Will try and upload a photo now if I can hide the identifying information as we havent shared our news yet either. Thank you all :)

[CovidCorvid]

I’m a midwife and while I’m no sonographer and know next to nothing about scans I have seen quite a few and would expect to see more.

I’m not sure what the hospital expect your community midwife to do, it really needs a clinic midwife to sort this out...hopefully she will at least listen though and can try and find someone to sort this. Very confusing.

[CovidCorvid]

And I agree, I’d be trying to book a private scan for tomorrow.

[Curiosity101]

If that scan picture is your scan then I reckon you're a lot earlier on that you think OP and the sonographer has done a really poor job of explaining this to you at the time. My guess would be 6-7 weeks, although even if that is a 6-7 week ultrasound picture it's still really poor quality.

I've included a picture of a 6-week pregnancy ultrasound from google. Admittedly this picture I've attached is very clear as it was almost certainly a transvaginal scan, not transabdominal. It's the ring shape in yours as well as the location that the yolk sac is highlighted that makes me think yours might be a poor quality 6-7 week scan.

[Immaback]

YANBU...you can’t see anything !

[WilsonMilson]

This doesn’t look like the 12 week scan I had with ds. What a totally crap experience, and sod that for the way the receptionist has fobbed you off. Do come back and let us know let us know how you get on. All the best.

[Mabelann]

You should have had a written report with various measurements and confirmations of what they saw and this should be on an A4 sheet inserted into your maternity notes.

If you don’t have that you should ring the hospital and try and get a repeat scan. Don’t make it about the photo, they are probably dismissing your concerns because they think you’re just wanting a good photo as a keepsake and obviously that isn’t something the nhs is technically there to provide. What you actually want is a proper 12 week scan and a proper write up in your notes which it doesn’t sound like you have had.

I would also complain.

[justlonelystars]

17 weeks is definitely wrong...my baby’s CRL at 10 weeks was 33.5mm so your one of around 28mm would be closer to 7-8 weeks I should think. Plus a due date of 29 October would put you closer to 13 weeks.
I’d definitely recommend you book a private scan! Did you not get a report put into your maternity notes?
Also worth considering, do you have long cycles? My hospital kept insisting I was further along than I was (until I had my scan) as I have 56 day cycles - given they measure from the last period this added several weeks to my pregnancy even though I knew my ovulation date meant that was wrong.

[TatianaBis]

Given the mix up with the dates I don’t see why you should be obliged to spend money for a private scan. Just ring them back and say you think there’s a mix up with the scan. 1. It says 17w 6 days which is incorrect 2. The scan labels the yolk sac which would be relevant to either 12 or 17 weeks.

[TatianaBis]

Would not be relevant to a 12 or 17 week scan ^^

[Dishwashersaurous]

This is really odd, and the hospital have not explained whatever has happened well at all.

If you can't get the midwife to organise you another scan then go private.

The only thing that I can think is that by her phrase viable pregnancy she thought you were there for an early pregnancy scan not 12wk. And actually you are not as far along as you think.

In which case you need a 12 week scan anyway

[altrajuce93]

This looks exactly like my 7w scan, so id say your dates are off and she hasn't explained very well. Did you have an appointment with the midwife/consultant afterwards and get your notes?

[Dishwashersaurous]

the 17 week being a typo for 7 weeks makes sense

[HaveringWavering]

What an insulting response from the reception. However your midwife is the best person to speak to I would have thought. FYI the attached is the printout I got at my 12 week scan, you should have got something similar.

[sofiathe2nd]

Just to add a slightly different perspective, my 12 week scan with my daughter didn’t look dissimilar to this but the sonographercsaid that was due to my BMI (very high). Think I’d still query though as 1. A yolk sac suggests a much earlier stage and 2. 17 weeks seems random.

Congratulations and hope you get some answers!

[sashh]

OP
The important thing is that you are pregnant and everything looks fine.

The pic looks to me like it has been faxed. Rempen is a measurement gestation.

U/S gets clearer and clearer all the time but it can still look not much like, well, anything.

sozzleb1983 I'm going to report your pic because it has personal information on it, I don't know if you realize that.

[Dishwashersaurous]

Actually as others have suggested you should phone and ask for the information print out to be emailed, not the picture. Its the information which will clear up any confusion

[Didyoureadtheinstructions]

None of this makes sense. If it was your 12 week scan you would have had a prior booking appointment with a midwife and been offered screening for Down’s syndrome and two other two trisomies.

If you wanted the screening then a blood test would also been done after the scan. You would get a printed report to go in your hand held notes. The scan would take about 20 mins.

Did any of this happen?

The scan photo is about 6 weeks gestation as the yolk sac is labelled, not much of the photo is on but an internal scan would be usual at this early stage.

[WaitingForNormality]

I've had early scans (7wks, 9wks, 11wks) between both pregnancies and on those early scans (except 11wk one) the sonographer mentioned yolk sac and talked about viability. The flicker was heartbeat but 'baby' was a blob. Your pic looks far more like one of my early scans than a 12 wk one (and nothing like a 17wk one!).

I had a series of '12wk' scans this time around due to baby's positioning and in all I could see on the screen it was a baby and make out some limbs etc. None of my pics were great though!
At all 12 wk scans the whole premise was to date the pregnancy (hence it is actually called the 'dating scan') and so the gestation was clearly explained to me and sonographer confirmed my expected due date as a result of the baby's measurements.

What did the sonographer say about how far you are and when you are due? They should have done. And you usually get some printed notes to confirm what they've seen - e.g. heartbeat seen.

[EmbarrassingMama]

This is all extremely weird.

Did you get information on the chances of the baby having Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome? That's one of the main things they're looking for at a 12 week scan and you should have been given your chances for each of those based on the Nuchal screening and your blood tests.

The notes you come away with should include the heartbeat and all the measurements they have taken, as well as confirmation that they have seen all the baby's extremities.

I suspect mine was an anomaly but both my 12 week scans took hours because they need to be so precise with the measurements.

It sounds like you left the scan knowing less than when you arrived. Sorry this has happened to you, what a dreadful experience.

[ladycarlotta]

Congratulations on a heartbeart! No matter what, there's a baby in there and you are its mum. Definitely time to get excited.

But, I'd echo what others have said. It doesn't look like a 12 week scan and it doesn't sound like the sonographer thought it was one, if they were looking for a yolk sack and viability rather than measuring nuchal fold etc. Any chance you might have had a chemical pregnancy then conceived right on the back of it? That would put you at nearer maybe 7-8 weeks which looks more consistent with what you're seeing. With my viable pregnancy, my 7 week EPU scan had a foetal pole and a little flickering heartbeat, certainly didn't look like a baby.

Everything seems wrong about this. I'm sorry the hospital didn't listen to you. Keep pushing.

[cutebutscary]

God it's unnerving isn't it ! Can you afford to get booked for a private scan? It seems like they have sent you someone else's scan which is awful, but to brush you off when you phoned up to raise concern is even worse . I'm not sure I would trust the same sonographer anyway ! I hope you get some peace of mind , it must be making you feel really anxious x

[HedgePutty]

If you can afford it, around £100, for your peace of mind I would book a private scan with a Private hospital as they are usually done by a qualified sonography or doctor, not just a picture place for pictures and not looking for problems. You can usually get in same day/next day, well pre covid.

[SmidgenofaPigeon]

Are you in the U.K. because the whole set up for what happens prior and during a 12 week scan seems really off here.

[nellly]

You can also get good deals on private scans on Groupon for local clinics!

[LunaLula83]

Its too early for a decent pic. My first scan was at 6 mths.