Paying for 8 weeks scan

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Hi

Just checking if anyone has done this? I'm 4weeks and very,very anxious! Keep thinking the worst will happen and just want to get the 8 week scan done as I think it'll calm me down.

Anyone got any insight into what it's like? I'm guessing the baby is quite hard to see!

I haven't had an 8 week scan but I know that by then you should be able to see a cleat little heartbeat pumping away.

I'm also very anxious! I'm 8+1 weeks today and I'm waiting until I'm 9 weeks-ish to have a private scan.

That was supposed to be *clear little heartbeat.

Yes, we had one at 7 weeks and then one at ten weeks. I was so surprised I was pregnant I had the first to confirm it all really. We were telling people at ten weeks and wanted to check heartbeat etc before that. Was well worth it. Congratulations

I'm 8+3 today and I'm still debating whether or not I want to get one!
I really do, but I'm worried that it'll make my anxiety worse. I'm so back and forth on it.
I have an appointment with my GP on the 11th (hoping she can refer me to someone to talk about antenatal anxiety) then my first booking appointment with the midwife on the 14th, so I hope it'll help when I get a date for my first scan!

We had one at 9 weeks so we could confirm as I had zero symptoms and we wanted to tell family at Christmas. It was worth it to see the heartbeat but it's a lot of money for 5 mins lol.

I had one in week 7 and it was great. The baby was just a blob at this point but I found it so reassuring to see that it was there, in the right place, right size for my dates, and had a strong heartbeat. Made it all much more real. Definitely worth the £130 for me.

I’ve decided not to have one, it’ll only reassure me for 5 mins as I’ll still convince myself there will be no heartbeat at 12 weeks. And if I am measuring small or heartbeat not found/slow then you have the horrible wait for a week for a rescan which I think is worse than not knowing!
I am having provate NIPT at 10+3 though which includes scan, then NHS scan at 12+1.

Currently 8 wks so just over 2 weeks to wait for first scan. It is horrible torturing yourself with it though.

I had a 7 week one as week 8 was Christmas Day. My results were mixed, one strong heart but one smaller embryo with a weak heart beat. I had to wait 3 weeks for my rescan.

Depends. Will it worry you more if you don’t see exactly what you expect?
I wouldn’t. But then I know I would’ve started worrying again about 10 minutes after the scan.

@Megan2018 what is the private NIPT scan?

I don't want to be negative but my babies heartbeat stopped at 9 weeks, we were going to have a 7 week scan and I am sort of glad I didn't as it would of made me think everything was ok. Sorry to throw that into the mix

I did with both pregnancies. Well worth the money for me. Reassuring and encouraging to see heartbeat. Depending on dates all being well you will see a baby blob or yolk sac and feral pole if a bit earlier. I’ve attached the baby blob pic of mine from this time. Ours cost £75 I think.

Fetal not feral!

I don't want to bring a downer on your happy news but I had a MC at 9+6 . Luckily pregnant now but been so anxious from the get go. DH suggested an early reassurance scan but after having a MC that late really out the blue personally I didn't see what reassurance it would have brung. I chose to save the money towards a 4D one later down the line

I did at 8 weeks, all i could see was a blob. I'm glad I did it but the reassurance only lasted a day or so.

BEcause our pregnancy is an IVF one I’ve got to have a scan at 6+ weeks and have booked it for a week on Tuesday when I’ll be 6+5. If I didn’t need to have one for 5e IvF aspect I’d definitely be booking a private one.

Sometimes you can get deals on Groupon for cheaper scans!!

@Parent19876
NIPT is non invasive prenatal testing for trisomy. One of the brands of NIPT is Harmony, we are having IONA but they are all the same. Its a scan plus blood test, 99.5% accurate and option for finding out sex too. Ours is costing £399. I am nearly 41 and DH 46 so the NHS test will have us as high risk so I want more accurate testing early instead.

My advice would be unless you have a history of miscarriage then I think this is a slippery slope. As per a previous poster I paid for an early scan only to have a miscarriage after. And as someone's said if your anxious this will only be alleviated temporarily. Also if your dates are slightly out it may be too early for a heart beat and actually cause more anxiety. X

I paid for one this time and it helped reassure me. It's a long wait until 12 weeks!

I had a miscarriage between DC1 and 2, and they said if I got pregnant again I could go back for a scan. When I got pregnant again with DC2 I duly went to the doctor and asked to be referred for one and he helpfully said "well you could still have a miscarriage after the scan so not sure what difference it will make." I mean, obviously that's true but it wasn't that helpful!

I had a private scan at six weeks, if you can afford to do it, do it. It was amazing seeing that tiny flicker on the screen

I did. I had been ttc for years and really needed to know if the little bean was ok and viable (or not).

This might be complete rubbish but I did read somewhere that a healthy heartbeat at 8 weeks means a 99% chance of a live birth. That's why I waited until 8. 6/7 weeks can still be a bit sketchy and you wouldn't be guaranteed to see the hb if there was one.

I am however very sad for those who lost a baby after an early scans- it most definitely does happen.

I did, and I did so because I wanted to check that everything looked ok, but it is true that it only reassured me for that moment. I also knew some people who had mcs after 8 weeks, some after having ‘normal’ scans and this played on my mind.

So really it’s a personal decision but I would probably do the same again.

Thanks for all your responses! I think even if there's only some slight relief temporarily that's better than nothing and from then on I'll know a little more.

No one can predict what will happen and MCs are a terrifying reality but I'm trying to keep really positive and hope for the best. I'm trying not to be scared of things I can't control and want to try and enjoy this process so paying for an early scan seems exciting

I'm sorry to hear of the women that have had MCs it's so cruel and I don't understand at all why/how this happens.

I was so anxious with my first pregnancy and fearful of MC as I had little/no symptoms and just couldnt settle until the 12 week scan, so we paid private for one at 9 weeks. It was amazing and worth every penny! The detail of the scan was on a massive screen unlike the hospital ones and it was very detailed and reassuring.