Time from bokking apt to scan...help

[oggybags]

hi, i have my booking apt with a stand in midwife on monday (my designated one will be away) when I will be 9+4 - i presume its all forms, tho a few freinds have said they heard a babys heart beat then too
I'm desperate to have my scan so i know 1. everything is ok and 2. whether there is more than one baby (twins in family on both sides)

I called her to ask in advance how long it would be till a scan after booking apt & she advised at about 12-13 weeks - still another 4 weeks time argh

at the same time next week I really need to make a decision about travelling overseas with work when i'll be 21 weeks - but dont want to tell work till i know all is ok (think it could count against me for a promo thing i'm after),,,
SO
point is if I want to pay for a scan to speed things up how quick is it to arrange such things and where do I go?
thanks and sorry so long winded!
xx

Are you near London?

You could try here or here.

They could probably fit you in pretty quickly, especially if you can be flexible on times.

I had a private scan 1st time round (nuchal) at 11wks, but waited til 12+ wks this time as they now offer it on the NHS. It was easy & quick to sort out the private one (just Google for places); it's also pretty expensive.

Tbh, you won't get very much from a dating scan other than 'oh yes, you're pregnant' - any major problems won't be detectable this early on, so you may still have to face telling work you're pregnant now, and then telling them later if there's a problem (if you see what I mean).

On the other hand I do really sympathise - waiting til I was nearly 13wks this time round has driven me nuts. I just wanted to 'see' if everything was OK/the baby was alive/I hadn't just been eating pies. But if I'd had an earlier scan I still would have been none the wiser about things like risk of Downs etc.

So... if you have the spare cash, go for it, but be realistic about what you'll get out of it.

If you want the nuchal and are being offered the scan and blood test on the NHS, I'd just wait as its pretty expensive privately. That has to be done between 10 and 13+6 weeks so they prefer to book it for about 12 weeks in case your dates are off slightly.

If you have a private dating scan, they'll be able to tell you whether it's twins, whether you've had a missed miscarriage and whether there's something very obvious wrong with the baby.

You need the nuchal scan + tests to check for Downs and some other things. MOst anomalies than can be checked for can't be seen this early - it's why you have a 20 week scan too.

Do be aware that there's no way to know at this stage if you'll be okay to travel at 21 weeks though. Even if the scans are fine and you're only having 1 baby, you may then have some bleeding or develop high blood pressure which would mean no flying. You might also develop SPD which would make travelling more difficult. And if your BMI is high, your doctor might say you'd need to take heparin injections to fly long-haul which isn't something you'd choose to do!

And that's assuming you wouldn't be travelling to a country for which you need jabs (not recommended unless really necessary - the travelling, not the jabs!) or where there isn't great healthcare.