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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Scans

54 replies

Sometimesbrunette · 25/03/2014 23:56

i have decided to have some extra private scans, for various reasons really, because I lost a baby at 10 weeks, because i get very anxious and this helps me keep calm, because my friend had a 27 week private scan and it was only then that they noticed her placenta was not working properly and her baby was born by EMCS and finally, because I can afford it.

However, in my area, you don't get your 12 week scan until you are around 15 weeks. Its terrible. When i announced and my auntie asked if i had my scan already, my dad told her i had it done privately. She said 'She must have more money than sense!'. WTF??!! How judgmental?

What proportion of you have additional scans outside of the NHS ones?

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Boogles91 · 26/03/2014 00:22

I would love a 4d one as i cant wait to see what he looks like :p he has my lips though as he gave me a qwik preview of them at my 20wk scan hehe your lucky to have the money :) hubby ses its a waste therefore wont let me get one :( even though weve had the money on plenty of occasions x

Original poster

Sometimesbrunette · 26/03/2014 00:29

luckily my husband is supportive due to the reasons mentioned above and seeing our friend go through having at baby at 27 weeks. Unusual, i know, perhaps, but the outcome for her would have been very different if she didn't have that scan.

Though i suppose it wouldn't matter either way, if i wanted one, he wouldn't have much say and I'd use my own money to have it done anyway.

I am annoyed that someone would say that and be so judgmental - what does she know?

OP posts:

BartBaby · 26/03/2014 01:17

We had a private gender scan at 16 weeks. I'm glad we did as she had her legs firmly crossed at the 20 week NHS scan. Just ignore your auntie do what is right for you

NurseSapphire · 26/03/2014 05:55

We had additional private scans at five weeks (I bled), ten weeks so we could tell people on Christmas day and seventeen weeks. I've also had comments but don't let it get to me. We are not rich but currently have disposable income which I chose to spend on seeing my baby. I don't see what's outrageous about that at all.

icklekid · 26/03/2014 05:57

I've not had any private but wouldn't judge those who do- posting because your more likely to get responses from those who have!

LastOneDancing · 26/03/2014 06:13

I didn't have additional private scans because I found them quite stressful but it's nobody's business but yours if you find them reassuring!

Jumping to the conclusion that your Aunt is older, she may never have had a scan (my mum didn't) and therefore sees her ye olde way as the best way and extra scans as unnecessary - 'back in my day...' and all that But she's still being rude.

Did she say it in front of you or did your Dad pass on that helpful comment?! Either way ignore - your pregnancy, your choice.

AnythingNotEverything · 26/03/2014 06:14

I had one at 11 weeks as my NHS one was booked for 15 weeks and I needed to tell work, but wasn't comfortable without everything confirmed.

Just smile and nod. From here on in everyone has an opinion. Grow some thick skin.

Congratulations.

AlwaysDancing1234 · 26/03/2014 06:23

We have the 'judgemental relatives' problem at the moment. Had thought of having a private scan at around 30 weeks to put our minds at rest. Had a lot of problems early in the pregnancy and lost a twin, thankfully all ok now but will still worry until baby is here safely. PIL were very judgemental when we mentioned private scans but I think we'll ignore them and have one anyway! (They will be first in line to see the pictures though)

weebairn · 26/03/2014 06:50

I've not had any additional ones and neither has anyone I know in real life except people who had early pregnancy bleeding, etc.

I do have one midwife friend who refused all scans as she said it wouldn't make any difference to the outcome. She's a bit of a hippy tho.

However I spend a lot of time on mumsnet and it seems almost mandatory around here! Sometimes I think it causes more heartache than it solves, though. I am sympathetic to those with previous losses though, it must be horrendous waiting.

15 weeks is a long time to wait for a first scan. Congratulations and I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly :)

lucyfluff · 26/03/2014 07:00

I had a private scan at 7.5 weeks after a previous miscarraige, it helped reassure me and could not have waited for the 12 week one. I also then bled at 10.5 weeks so the NHS scanned me via EPU all was fine thankfully.

If all is well at the 20 wk scan next week I doubt we will pay for any more private ones. I think until someone has been through a loss, the anxiety is awful and it is your choice if you want extra scans.

Try to ignore anyones negative comments and good luck

PotteringAlong · 26/03/2014 07:02

Nope and I don't know anyone in real life who has had a private scan either

Booboostoo · 26/03/2014 07:18

If you want extra scans have as many as you like, it's nobody's business but your own.

My friend who's a vet used to scan her baby (with the practice ultrasound) every week!

mssleepyhead · 26/03/2014 07:21

Ignore her - pregnancy is a completely personal experience and how you deal with it is completely up to you.

Our 12 week scan was at 13 weeks and at 11+6 I booked an emergency private scan for the next day after brown spotting because I couldn't get to the EPU and just needed reassurance. Last weekend we went for a private gender scan at 18 weeks, 3 weeks before my 20 week scan, too. We're going to France in 2 weeks, where the baby's father is from, and we want to be able to do a little shopping if we see things so we wanted to know the gender.

Overall we have spent £140 on private scans so far and don't regret a penny of it.

ItsSpringBaby · 26/03/2014 07:24

I'm in two minds with private scans. I had them (after 20 weeks) with this pregnancy and ended up finding out the baby had an undiagnosed condition that hadn't been seen before. I had several private scans with two different companies before this and it was only the last who picked it up.

As a result of that scan I've had months of extra anxiety, NHS scans, appointments and daily worry. The pregnancy was elevated to high risk only to find out in the end, it's a non life threatening condition which would have been picked up at birth.

I don't know whether I'm glad or not I had it now, but if I do have another child I wouldn't go privately again.

Fairypants · 26/03/2014 07:25

I also had a mc at 10 weeks and for this reason had a private scan at 10+6 this time round. It made such a difference as I couldn't enjoy being pg up until then. We judged that we would easily spend that much on a family outing to cheer us up after a tough week so would rather spend it on something that could stop us getting stressed in the first place.
I do think they cost much less than I expected. I would previously have thought someone was quite rich having private scans.
Seeing your baby on screen can become a little addictive - I'm trying to resist another private scan

SqutterNutBaush · 26/03/2014 07:26

We thought about it bit couldn't justify it at the time.

With my first I didn't get my first scan until 17w 5d, moved from that area shortly afterwards and local unit were gobsmacked.

bakingtins · 26/03/2014 07:32

Congratulations! You've had your first experience of unsolicited comments and advice on your parenting decisions! You need to decide if you fall into the "smile and nod" camp, or develop the Mumsnet "do fuck off, dear" face.
I'm 30 weeks and so far have had 8 scans, all but one on the NHS because I've had a lot of probs with recurrent miscarriages.As with my previous children I paid for OSCAR screening for trisomies. It's your money and your business.
I hope your early scans give you the reassurance you need. 15 weeks is too late to have NT testing for Down's etc, so I would question that NHS policy, it's supposed to be standard to offer that now, but if you can't get an NHS scan at 12-13 weeks and it's important to you to have that testing I would go private for that too.
Good luck!

cogitosum · 26/03/2014 07:34

I had one at 8 weeks because of prior mmc and we did a 4d one for fun at 20 something weeks.

I also had 3 additional nhs ones. One because he was moving too much at 20 week one to get the measurements. One because I was measuring big or small (can't remember which it was as I was measuring both at different points in pregnancy which kind of shows how arbitrary it is) and one to check position of placenta at 34 weeks.

I'm also very anxious so very glad to havs had them. I think if I get pregnant again I'll do the early one, thd 4d one and one at 34-36 weeks. Having said that I never liked them after the mmc I'd have a moment of panic as soon as they put the gel on - even when I could feel him kicking away!

Absolutely none of anyone else's business. I can think of a lot worse things to spend your money on.

sdaisy26 · 26/03/2014 08:09

With this pg I had one at 8 weeks due to extreme anxiety due to previous mcs, and another at 18 weeks (gender scan but also for reassurance). I've also had 2 additional nhs scans - one arranged through the fertility clinic for dating at around 11 weeks & another due to reduced movements at 36 weeks.

With dd I had nhs scan 6 weeks (fertility clinic), private at 9 weeks, nhs 12wks, private 16 & nhs 20 weeks.

I feel very glad that we were able to afford the additional scans as I have found pg a very stressful and anxious time. We were lucky that all has been well at our scans though. I didn't feel as much need for scans once feeling regular movements in later 2nd / 3rd tri.

squizita · 26/03/2014 08:32

I have had ample scans on the NHS (history of MC and luckily in the cachement for a large maternity hospital) but wouldn't hesitate to book one if not!

What a silly comment she made!

isisisis · 26/03/2014 08:55

Unfortunately once you're pregnant youre viewed as public property by some & every decision you make is up for discussion.
I had an early scan at 8 weeks at EPU, unfortunately a lot of complications were found which resulted in scans at atleast 4weekly intervals & 2 MRI scans. Seeing DD on the MRI was fascinating. All turned out well for us.
Having had that first time, if I'm lucky enough to have number 2, I think I'd find only having 2 routine scans really tough & probably pay for extra.

ruth1104 · 26/03/2014 08:58

What a silly thing to say. Sometimes people are very judgey about going private for anything the nhs doesn't provide.. Im another who had an early private scan for reassurance after a previous loss. It wasn't expensive and it meant I could enjoy being pregnant finally. If I could afford it I'd probably be having one every fortnight!

weebairn · 26/03/2014 08:59

I actually find scans really stressful and wouldn't want any more than is recommended, but I'm probably alone in this. Felt a bit shaky for a few days after my 12 and 20 week one last time. Almost like my baby is safe while hidden in there, but if they look for problems they might find some! Obviously this is just as irrational as thinking scans will improve the outcome (not saying anyone consciously thinks this, but you can sometimes be seduced into feeling like it).

Love listening to the heartbeat though, that was my favourite bit of midwife appointments.

Ferreroroche123 · 26/03/2014 09:23

I have had a number of private scans this time round due to it being an ivf pregnancy, having complications from 11 weeks and losing my last baby from a MMC.

I had a scan at the ivf clinic at 7 weeks (standard part of treatment), then paid for an extra one at 8.5 and 10.5 weeks (before and after Xmas) because I lost my last at 9.5 weeks. I then had a major bleed at almost 12 weeks and was given an emergency scan, followed by my 13 week dating scan at hospital, but since I bled for 6 weeks afterwards and NHS were only offering the 20 week scan, I paid for two more private scans between the 13 and 20 week nhs one to check baby was ok despite my bleeding.

I haven't had any more since my 20 week scan, but expect to get one at about 24 weeks to check on the size of my sch (blood pocket in the womb from the bleed), and a 4d one in 3rd trimester for pleasure.

This has been such a stressful pregnancy I have also chosen to transfer to private delivery (using my inheritance from a recent death in the family), but am having to keep it a secret due to nasty judgemental comments from my SIL.

As far as I am concerned, if you have the money and it helps you keep sane, it is totally your business and no one else's. It is your money, you spend it on what makes you feel better.

letsmakeababy · 26/03/2014 09:43

I've can completely sympathise, whilst not the same reaction you had I know how it feels - I've had a number of early scans (3 on nhs and one private) for a mixture of reasons and have had 2 people tell me how dangerous they are! This includes my MIL moments after we'd told her I was expecting!

Having spoken to the sonographer and midwife they've told me they are absolutely safe but people can be totally and utterly insensitive - my midwife said it won't be the last insensitive comment so get used to it!

If you have the money and are concerned then reassuring yourself is very worthwhile for yourself and your health - I'd never regret my private scan in a million years.

You know what feels right, go with your heart

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