Early Scans

[BabyDustPlease]

Hi,

I am 5 weeks pregnant with my first baby and very very scared of miscarriage in the early weeks. I suffered a chemical pregnancy about 6 months ago which I found very hard due to the fact I didn't even realise I was pregnant. To ease my worries a friend who was in a similar situation suggested going for an early scan (I think she called it a viability scan) privately. Has anyone else done this? Was it worth it and when did you go?

Thanks so much.

xxxx

I had to have two early scans due to spotting. I had my first at 8 weeks and the baby was nothing more than a heartbeat. I think at around 8 weeks is the best time, I think before then they have to scan you transvaginally and might miss the yolk sac etc.

HTH xx

Okay, thats good info, thank you. I was unsure when to book it for. Thank you xxx

Hi just check with your own doctor though before you book and pay elsewhere, i had a mc in april, having got pregnant again in september i was offered an early scan,think mine was 7 weeks though but it helped put my mind at rest as like you i had prepared myself for the worst, cried all day after seeing the little blob on the screen with its little heartbeat x

Absolutely not until after 6 weeks at the very, very earliest. The problem with early scans is that if you see nothing because it is too early / too small then you defeat the object of going because you don't come away reassured. I have had countless early scans due to history of ectopic pregnancies, and it is crushing when they say "It all looks normal but cannot confirm intrauterine pregnancy"
Is there any way you can get referred to your local EPAC / EPAU? Mine have always been fantastic x

iv had a scan last pg (for genuine reasons) at not quite 6 wk and it did look like an embryo not just heartbeat and they did say 'it's in the right place' and next scan maybe 10 days later we could see limb buds and so on

I was scanned at 5wks due to early bleeding (on NHS) but there was no heartbeat at that stage - it was a vaginal scan - but it was still reassuring to see the yolk sac. Of course I didn't relax properly until I'd seen the heartbeat which I did at a 6wk repeat scan.

If i ever get pg again I will definitely get an early scan, privately if necessary, as it is so reassuring. It always seems cruel to me that women aren't scanned until 12wks on the NHS - so for women who have had a missed miscarriage they won't know anything about it until 12wks when you have lived with the idea of being preg for three whole months - far better to have an early viability scan and find out straight away i think

one thing to consider is an early scan is no guarantee things will progress well. I had an early scan at 7 weeks +2 days (because i had a miscarriage years ago which was most likely a blighted ovum so I wanted to know what was there) . Early scan showed fetus and heart beat and all was looking very well. sadly the NT scan at 12 weeks showed baby had died at 8 weeks +3. However it can offer some reassurance, pregnancies that get to 8 weeks where the heartbeat has been observed have less than 5% chance of miscarrying- but there is always that risk. As there is throughout any pregnancy.

Oh and my scan was abdominal as well

Thanks for all the info :) xxx

9 weeks is an excellent time. At least 8 weeks though. Before that it is too early to offer you any real reassurance and can often lead to more worry if you have to be rescanned 2 weeks later. After one CP you are unlikely to get an early scan on the NHS, many hospitals only offer them to women who have had history of ectopic or at least 2 miscarriages. But I think 50-100 pounds at 9 weeks is worth it personally for the reassurance.

I think the thing with early scans is that you really need two. So, say you have one at 7 weeks and it's a bit soon to be sure if pg viable or not - well they know the amount of growth that should occur by a week later, based on the starting point of your first scan. With any early scan taken on its own they are likely to say come back in a week or two, before confirming a mc. I like to have a 6 week scan done on that basis.

Thanks everyone. Booked it for 25th feb :D xx