Not happy with my scan? Private/change clinic?

[Lydia161290]

Well,

I had my dating scan at 12 weeks at a clinic (not a hospital) that's far away from where I actually live, but i'll get into that in a bit. This is my first baby so I was so anxious/nervous about everything to begin with beforehand.

I went with my fiance and had the quickest, un-reassuring scan ever. I felt like yelling at the technician because she was so quick and informal, like I was one of many to walk through her door.

She was like 'here's the head' 'there's the hands' 'feet' DONE. My little baby dissapeared from the screen faster than I could blink. Without sounding dramatic (maybe it's the hormones) but I felt robbed.

The scan itself was really static and the pictures I got are so weird. I was so upset that it was so quick and the fact that I had to ASK her if everything looked okay. God.

To the point. Is it possible to change clinics? And is it worth paying for private?
My 20 week scan isn't till March! I might go crazy. :(

My 12 week scans were always quite quick. The 20 week ones were longer as they are looking for more then.

I had private scans too so that I could get good pics and a good look.

Was that the place you were allocated to? Sorry, it's not really clear from your post, that's all. The 12 week scan is often quick if the baby is in a good position and they can get the measurements they need, but you don't mention if you had the NT test done. Mine was about 20 mins because I had the nuchal, and they had to get the right angle etc. Otherwise all they are looking for is crown to rump measurement to give a due date, the presence of both arms, legs, heartbeat, skull, multiple pregnancy or anything growing somewhere that it shouldn't. An experienced sonographer with a cooperative baby can be very quick indeed! My 20 week scan was much longer, because they are actually checking all the structures of the organs etc. And the pictures you get printed are never as good as on the screen IMO. If you aren't happy then you can always go privately of course, but the people I know who had those tended to have them around week 30 or later as they wanted to see the baby again! But you can go whenever. Sorry you felt let down, if it will ease your mind about anything then it might well be worth going for another x

I would second going private. We have with all of ours. They have much more time allocated to the scan and as you are the client will willingly answer all your questions. The NHS scan is purely medical and as stated previously can be quite quick dependant on the experience of the sonographer. Doesn't mean that theres anything wrong with it tho.

I felt a bit angry and 'cheated' after my 12 week scan. Pregnant with my first child, I wasn't sure what to expect exactly but thought I'd be welcomed by smiling chatty sonographer who would explain everything clearly, point out baby's organs etc. Instead, the she barely said a word to me or my partner but sat staring intently at the screen with a doctor next to her. The silence in the room while she carried out measurements scared me to death as her face seemed so grim and I was convinced something was horribly wrong. She spoke occasionally ("that's the baby's heartbeat you're hearing now") but generally gave us very little information about what we were looking at. The scan pictures were not very good. I left the hospital feeling completely deflated even though the scan was fine and revealed no problems.

A couple of months later and in the cold light of day I now realise that NHS sonographers have a difficult job, often have to deal with numerous patients in a single day and have to concentrate intently and so don't always have the bandwidth to do that and engage in conversation with excited parents. I've just had my 20 week scan with the same sonographer. She was a bit more talkative this time and pointed out a lot more things to us. She still seemed a bit rushed but did take the time to provide us with more information. The scan pics were a hundred times better.

Sorry you were so upset on this occasion. I'm sure the 20 week scan (I KNOW it seems a lifetime away) will be a much happier experience as you will be able to see the baby so much more clearly.

Unfortunately the purpose of the NHS scans is not to indulge the excited parents-to-be, but to check for problems. Our 12 week scan was very quick. The Sonographer spun the screen around, pointed out the heartbeat and that everything looked fine and then turned it back out of view so she could get on with her measurements. All we got was a 10 second glimpse of our little bean. At 17 weeks we paid £79 for a gender and well-being scan which was (unsurprisingly) a whole world away form the NHS one. There was a massive plasma screen on the wall right in front of us so we could also see everything the Sonographer could see. The lovely lady performing the scan was really chatty about everything she was doing and told us to ask as many questions as we could think of and if we wanted her to go back to a specific thing (eg a little hand) we could just ask her and she would do whatever we told her. It lasted about half an hour and at the end she asked us if we would like a freeview look in 4D, which we did (obviously trying to sell us a 4D scan later on). You can see the 4D picture of our baby girl on my MN photos. I'm really pleased I did it and thought it was definitely worth the price.

The 12 week scan is quick.

Their only purpose is to check for a heartbeat, date your pregnancy & check the nuchal translucency & nasal bone.

If they have done all these things then I would say they have done their job. I would go at about 17 weeks for a private scan if I was you but I very much doubt you will be offered a change of clinic for another scan.

Mine took ages as they had to measure- did they not take the measurements for the nuchal test?

Just to second what others have said, our 12 week scan was as you describe. On the day, the relief that the baby was there and alive was so great that I didn't really mind but we decided to book a 16 week gender scan privately which was just a world apart. I think it was £69 and it was really amazing. In a way, I think you have to look at the NHS scans as purely medical. If you want the experience of seeing the baby and getting good photos and bonding then, in the most part, you need to pay for it. Which kind of makes sense when you consider how oversubscribed NHS maternity services are I guess!

My first 12 weeks scan was quick as DS happened to be in the right position straight away, and I didn't have NT done.

This 12 week scan took ages across 3 attempts as babe was too wriggly to catch the measurements to the sonographer's satisfaction, plus we had NT done.

I felt ok both times - all I really wanted to know was that the baby was OK. I didn't bother with any private scans as I didn't feel the need, but there are lots of clinics doing them these days so I would imagine they are easy to arrange if you wanted to, and can afford them?

I had a similar experience at the hospital 12 week scan, luckily I'd had a private early scan so knew all was ok. The hospital struggled to find a heartbeat and to measure him. As a first time parent I would have been petrified if that was the first scan I'd had! They weren't much better at 20 weeks! I paid for 3 private scans, early, dating and gender. Best money I've spent! Lots of time for us, nice relaxed room. Lots of photos to take home!

My first scan was hideous. Again - first baby and was so excited / anxious - looking forward to it!

We were being checked for Downs Syndrome during it. The woman showed my partner the baby on the screen and pushed the screen round to me said "there's your baby" and swung it back again. I saw it for literally 2 seconds. My partner saw it for 20 mins though as the woman sat staring at it trying to get the measurements for DS. Her face was half fear half worry and I was so scared that something was wrong I was holding back the tears and a panic attack. I whispered to my partner to ask if it was ok as i was too scared to ask and she just said yep. It was nothing like I expected.

The next scan - the lady was lovely!! She was so reassuring and sweet.
I think it depends who you get. She also showed us BOTH the screen and showed us our baby and said it was a boy. It was wonderful.

I don't know where you live but if you are anywhere near Leeds would recommend MEET YOUR BABY - they do all sorts of scans and I think they are worth the money. to put your mind at rest.