Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Original poster

Scans

33 replies

Cookiemg · 29/09/2008 12:41

I am 13 weeks pregnant and on Friday we had a great dating scan....everything in it's place etc.

I see my midwife on Wednesday but was just wondering when are all the tests done for Down's, Spina Bifeda etc and is it true that Edinburgh only give you one scan?

many thanks

Elizabeth

OP posts:
aGalChangedHerName · 29/09/2008 12:43

I am in Livingston and have only been offered one yes. We have a private scan place out here but not sure what it's called.

Sucks eh?

Upwind · 29/09/2008 13:01

yes, it's true

I was strongly encouraged by my midwife to have an anomaly scan done privately - never mind that we can't afford it.

If there seem to be problems further down the line you will be offered a growth scan on the NHS.

WouldYouCouldYouWithAGoat · 29/09/2008 13:07

i didn't think it was such a big deal. you will be scanned again if the midwife thinks you need to be, otherwise what is the point?

congrats btw!

Original poster
Cookiemg · 29/09/2008 13:13

Thanks for your responses. I'm just deciding what is the best thing to do, and don't want to passively accept 'NHS efficiency' in the name of my and my baby's health. I am 37 which adds further hmmmmm to the situation.

Does anyone know of any good social,fun get to know other Mums ante natal groups in Edinburgh?

Congrats on all your blooming pregnancies.
x

OP posts:
rookiemater · 29/09/2008 13:16

We paid for a private scan, can't remember the name of the company tbh, but if you google private scans edinburgh I'm sure you can find it. It cost about £150 ( this was 3 yrs ago) and we got a lovely video of the whole experience to set relatives asleep.

Not sure if I would do it again, we wanted the added reassurance that everything was ok and they did talk us through everything they saw, so you do get the added time and attention that the NHS is unable to provide.

Original poster
Cookiemg · 29/09/2008 14:21

Thanks Rookiemater, was this scan round about the 20 week mark? I don't know if I should go for the nuchal translucency, need to hurry up if I do or do a private anomaly scan later.

OP posts:
liath · 29/09/2008 14:25

I had private detailed scans at Healthcare Now on Stafford St for both my pregnancies. They do also offer nuchal scans. They were very good. The second scan picked up a potentially serious abnormality and I was referred straight into the NHS system and had a scan at Simpsons the next day.

Pruners · 29/09/2008 14:31

Message withdrawn

Upwind · 29/09/2008 16:30

Pruners - no it is against policy to do nuchal or anomaly scans in Edinburgh. You just get a dating scan and advice to pay to have it done privately.

Twiga · 29/09/2008 16:41

They will do a 20 wk scan if there is a need ie inheritable condition in family etc - we had no prob getting one. We've moved recently but were told that the 20 wk scan is being bought in as routine in Edinburgh early next year iirc.

liath · 29/09/2008 16:55

Ha! I'll believe that when I see it, Twiga. I was told the same when I was pg with ds and that was 2 years ago....

Techinically the 12 week scan is just dating but I did hear off the record that they do tend to have a good look around at the baby and check for major abnormalities without telling you.

meep · 29/09/2008 19:33

Twiga - we were told that as well! But still only a 12 week dating scan, though the midwife did say to me that it "all looked okay"!

I had a nuchal scan done at Healthcare Now for both my pregnancies too - they are very good.

We've had some problems with this pregnancy, and like liath was immediately referred to Simpsons.

I also had a 20 week anomaly scan done at Healthcare Now when pregant with dd - but this time I will get a it on the NHS.

mawbroon · 29/09/2008 22:21

We had an anomoly one done for ds three years ago. This was because I came back with a slightly raised risk for Downs.

I asked the consultant about a scan and he was about to fob me off, but then I told him that I knew it didn't show us for certain, but if there were no markers then I would take my 1 in whatever it was chance.

He was very pompous and told me that this was "the most cogent exposition that he had heard regarding this matter" and then sent us for a scan!!! LOL I had to go home and look it up

Then we got a zillion more scans towards the end as ds was breech. They did a growth one too, not sure why and they were about a pound out with his weight...

This was all in West Lothian btw, but think it's all under the same umbrella as Edinburgh.

StewieGriffinsMom · 30/09/2008 14:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

liath · 30/09/2008 21:47

Was that St John's Mawbroon? They do a good line in pompous obstetricians there .

mawbroon · 30/09/2008 23:48

Yes, it was liath! Think he is retired now though.

This is the same man who sewed me up after cs and then drew diagrams of my bi-cornuate uterus on the whiteboard while I was still lying in the theatre!

He did specially come to the ward to see how ds and I were a couple of days later though which was nice. I don't think it was an official visit.

baltimore97 · 01/10/2008 12:01

I had a private nuchal fold scan/bloodtest done at Healthcare Now on Stafford Street in the West End. I was 35 when I got pregnant with DD2.

Unfortunately, the result was "high risk" for Downs Syndrome. I decided to have an amniocentesis, which was done by the NHS at the ERI by a very nice and experienced consultant. The result showed that DD2 had no genetic abnormalities, and she is now a healthy 5 mth old. I was then given a 20 week scan on the NHS as well. However, I was told that if I turned down the amnio offer, the NHS would then refuse me a 20 week scan!!!

I don't know after all the worry whether I would take the same course of action. I think I would probably skip the nuchal fold scan and just pay for a 20 week scan privately if I had to make the decision again.

Howdie · 01/10/2008 16:05

At the moment, Lothian only offer a 10-14 week "dating" scan, for the purposes of dating the pregnancy only and is not a nuchal fold or any other type of anomaly scan. Lothian ARE introducing 20-22 anomaly scanning in the near future and measures are already in place to implement this. Implementation was meant to be towards the end of this year but I think has been moved back to early next year but the extra sonography staff have been hired and are currently being trained, new equipment has been purchased and a timetable of scanning re-locations is underway. Currently there are around 13 locations around the Lothians where scanning takes place and this is being scaled down to around 8.

To the poster who said that their midwife "strongly encouraged" them to have an anomaly scan - WHY? If there was a strong indication to have one then you should have been entitled to it on the NHS.

I am actually dreading the implementation of routine anomaly scanning in Lothian as it creates FAR more problems than it actually solves. Not least of all the increased risk of "diagnosis" of low lying placenta which a large proportion of women are told they have at 20 weeks, only to then worry for 16 weeks until they can have another scan which invariably tells them that their placenta has moved. The anatomy of the uterus actually means that at 20 weeks it is not fully formed and a HUGE proportion of placentae ARE low at 20 weeks because the lower segment of the uterus is not yet fully formed.

A good book to read for more information about scans is AIMS booklet "Ultrasound Unsound?" available from the AIMS website.

To whoever said about good antenatal groups in Edinburgh. Have a look at www.birthchoices.co.uk. Meets in Portobello on the last wednesday of each month to discuss a set topic but also time to chat about any issues you may be having in your pregnancy. Run by myself and another independent midwife, a student midwife and a mum.

Howdie · 01/10/2008 16:07

Edit to my above post, apologies, gave you the wrong link for the support group there, it's www.choicesforchildbirth.co.uk

Upwind · 01/10/2008 16:19

Howdie - as to why my midwife was promoting having a private anomaly scan with HealthcareNow - I suppose all the guidelines do recommend having a second scan and it is the only way we would normally get one in Edinburgh. Though as you say, that may change. Surely the scaremongering re lowlying placenta at 20 weeks, could be eliminated with better training of the sonographers? I would have liked the reassurance of an anomaly scan but did not have one done.

Do you have to pay to join your antenatal group in Portobello? It looks great, I am sorry that I missed the session on waterbirths last week.

Howdie · 06/10/2008 15:21

Hi Upwind

Re the low lying placenta (LLP) thing. Better training is not the issue. Lots of placentae ARE low lying at 20 weeks because the lower segment of the uterus is not yet fully formed so if your placenta is low at 20 weeks then there is a very good chance it will move away from the cervix as your uterus grows and forms properly - does that make sense? The women who do have LLP "diagnosed" at 20 weeks then need to wait until 36 weeks and have a further scan to determine if their placenta has moved, hence 16 weeks of worry and being told that they "might" need a c/s.

You would think therefore that Lothian must have a HUGE number of undiagnosed LLP as they do not currently do the 20 weeks scan, but no, this is not the case, as most women who do have a genuine LLP have had some sort of bleeding as they get nearer to term and are offered a scan to determine the source of the bleeding.

Our support group in Portobello is entirely free. We only ask for a donation for tea & coffee. Hope you can make it along to a future one. Our next one we have Karla Napier, Simpsons' Infant Feeding Advisor coming along to talk about developments in breastfeeding and Biological Nurturing.

Upwind · 06/10/2008 15:40

Hi Howdie - I understand that but the concern that women would worry for 16 weeks, because of what the sonographer told them, could surely be addressed by training the sonographers that if they mention the location of the placenta they should also explain that it will most likely move and if there was any indication that it had not, they would be sent for another scan.

I'll definitely try and make it along to Karla Napier's talk

Howdie · 12/10/2008 00:44

Yes, I see what you mean Upwind, but do you think that even by explaining that that it would stop people worrying about the "what ifs"? Sometimes ignorance really can be bliss.

I had a client having her 8th baby who had had 7 previous normal births and she was told she had LLP at 20 week scan (private through choice) and no matter what I said to her about statistics and chances of it moving etc, she felt as if she couldn't make plans for the birth until after 36 weeks as all she could think about was the possibility of c/section, no matter how remote that was.

Hope to see you at choices for childbirth group.

gingerwench · 12/10/2008 16:19

I paid for a 20 week scan on the strong advice of a friend who is a consultant obs/gyno in England. Better to know of potential issues sooner rather than later imho

Howdie · 13/10/2008 10:49

Well gingerwench, I agree with you to the extent that it depends on how important it is for you to know and what you would do with that information. If your thoughts are that you would definitely terminate a baby with a congenital abnormality then yes, it would be better to know about this sooner rather than later. But if you would not terminate under any circumstances, and going on the basis that we actually know very little about how safe scans are in pregnancy, having them unnecessarily with no clinical indication (family/personal history, bleeding in pregnancy) is possibly not wise. A Consultant Ob's opinion will obviously differ from this as they are well used to seeing every complication under the sun and therefore think that pregnancy is a condition only regarded as normal in retrospect.