Private Early Scan / Reassurance Scan in London?

[ElleMcElle]

Hello! Found out I'm pregnant on Friday and counting from first day of my last period, I think I'm 4+4. I'm a paranoid type, so I'd be willing to pay for an early scan to put my mind at rest. When's the best time to do this? 6 weeks? 8 weeks? And does anyone have any recommendations in London? I've seen the Fetal Medicine Centre on Harley St mentioned in a previous thread from a few years ago - has anyone been there? Thanks!

From 7 weeks a foetal heart can be seen ( from first day of last period) , an ectopic can also be ruled out at this point but it doesn't preclude a miscarriage as they also commonly occur later in the first trimester

Thanks yikes!

I went to the Fetal Medicine Centre at 8 weeks, I highly recommend them.

Congrats!
I went for a 6 week scan at Fulham Wellwoman centre. It's open Mon-Sat and has some evening appts too. I'd highly recommend it - as can be v. reassuring!

I don't want to sound like a kill joy. The early scan may reassure you but it could also set you up for false hope. I can only speak from my experience though, wishing you the best of luck for a healthy pregnancy

I'd go at 8 weeks - that's when I went, as I felt that statistically represented a point after which chances of a viable pregnancy were higher. I didn't want to go earlier only to feel compelled to check again before the 12 week NHS scan. I went to Ultrasound Direct in the City (near Cannon Street), they were fine.

I went at 8 weeks and used my ultra baby. I'd seen some bad reviews of them and whilst it's not a fancy place , the sonographer was able to swiftly locate my baby , it's heartbeat and also date the pregnancy accurately. He did this all within 5 minutes.

It was suitably reassuring and money well spent.

Thanks so much for these responses. I think I'll go at around 8 weeks - I realise that it won't mean I'm out of the woods, but if there's a problem that CAN be picked up early, I'd prefer to know sooner rather than later. I also have twins in my family, so if there's more than one in there, then the more time I have to get used to that idea, the better!

Pregnancy is a stressful thing Elle , I'm glad you're doing whatever it takes to make it easier on yourself.

Hope it all goes well :-)

Hi everyone, hope I'm ok to join :) I'm 5 weeks and I'm booking an early reassurance scan for when I'm 8 weeks. I suffer with bad anxiety and all I've done since the second I got my BFP is worry and panic! I know I'll continue to worry as it's my first but I don't think I could feel like this for another 8 weeks!🙈

Anybody know if a 7 week scan would be pretty much the same as an 8 week or would it be worth waiting until 8 weeks? X

@ElleMcElle good luck with everything 💕💕

Hi @HannahD1991
Defiantly go at 8 rather than 7. I seen my baby's heartbeat at 7 + 3 and that's as far as my pregnancy went. I felt cheated at the fact my baby had a strong heat beat and I thought everything was ok. But that's just my experience. Wishing you a healthy and happy pregnancy

Elle I had twins in my family so was partly why I wanted an early scan. I went at 8wks as I knew we should see a heartbeat by then, whereas at 6wks it might have been too early and I've had an agonising wait for another scan. If a heartbeat is seen at 8wks the odds of a successful pregnancy increase. Good luck!

@TheAwkwardMother Thank you so much x I'm sorry to hear that I have heard a few people say similar, I will book for 9 weeks - this is my first preg I can definitely say that it's the most anxious I've ever felt in my entire life. Xxx

Thanks @ChickenBhuna @HannahD1991 @TheAwkwardMother @sparklyuggs

I can certainly relate to your anxiety @HannahD1991. I have so much work I needed to get done this weekend, but having found out I was pregnant on Friday, I've spent virtually the entire weekend obsessing about that instead!

I was 100% certain about booking myself in for a scan at around 8 weeks, until I read this afternoon that a tilted uterus (which I know I have) can make it more difficult to detect the baby. I'm now concerned that an early scan might create more anxiety rather than less - if they cannot see the baby, but cannot tell if this is due to an ectopic or just difficulty seeing it because of the tilt...?

I'm going to phone round a few places next week and ask their advice - but if anyone has experience of early scans with a tilted uterus, I'd be interested to hear your advice too!

Elle, there should be no difficulty in seeing a pregnancy in the uterus at 8 weeks tilted uterus or no.
They may do an internal scan but should be able to see perfectly well.
If you see a foetus that is the right size for dates with a heartbeat at that point your chance of miscarriage reduces significantly (down to single figure percentage) but it does not rule it out completely.

I needed a transfer vaginal scan for my tilted uterus early in pregnancy because the normal full bladder wasn't right for my tilt. Was fine though. I think you can see more with an internal scan :-)

At 8 weeks if all is looking as it should you can be reasonably confident. I had an early scan at 6 weeks, saw a heartbeat and subsequently lost the baby a week later. Those early weeks are the longest ever, but it's worth the wait

Tilted uterus will be all in a days work for the experienced people at fetal medicine centre. I went there for all my scans with my last pg including an 8 week one and it was great.

Thanks again for all of these replies - good to hear that my tilt shouldn't affect things too much!

@TheAwkwardMother and @NetflixandBill - I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences. Thank you for responding. x