questions about twin scans at 7 weeks

[editingfairy]

Not for me! I'm editing a book in which a character is pregnant and I'd like to check that the author is being accurate ...

If anyone can help me, I'd be soo grateful!

The character has an ultrasound scan at 7 weeks, where the sonographer takes 10 mins to spot two 'flickers'. Sonographer says she can't say with accuracy when the twins are due/how many weeks along she is.

Sonographer uses a doppler - is this the right name for the hand-held scanner? I thought a doppler just checked heartbeat?

She also does a vaginal exam. What for?

Bump: when did you first have a bump with a twin pregnancy? And how big was your bump at 7, 12 and 20 weeks?

Symptoms: when were your first symptoms? When did morning sickness start? The character finds out she's pg at about 6 weeks, but she's had no symptoms up to now.

When can you tell the sex of a twin baby?

If you had idential twins sharing a placenta, did you have a scan every 2 weeks to check their growht?

Thank you all so much. I am researching this online too , but it really helps to read actual people's experiences!

I was measuring 6.5 weeks when first scanned after being admitted for iv fluids due to hg. They could see heartbeat, could measure how far along they looked, they used transvaginal probe as was so early.
I found out at 3weeks, (was planned so tracking) had sickness from 4weeks on, which ramped up very quickly.
Mine have their own placenta and i will be seen every 4 weeks, i know a twin mum who works in neonatal ward who told me if they share a placenta its fortnightly scans.

I have quite a visible bump now at 15 weeks too.

I dont think they use a doppler so early either, think its been 20week scan before i heard any of mine.

You can’t use a Doppler that early! No way will it pick up a heartbeat. At that gestation it’d be a vaginal ultrasound. And doubt it’d take 10 mins to see the babies: you get a shot of the womb straight away so you’d immediately see two.

No doppler at that stage.
I never had morning sickness with my twins.

Agree with above. Vaginal scan that early and it wouldn’t take ten minutes.

They use a vaginal ultrasound (they tend to do that before 10 weeks), and it doesn't take 10 minutes to spot the heartblink.

They literally just put the scanner inside, locate the embryos within a second, zoom in and there you see the flicker of one twin, they freeze the screen and measure the lil one from crown to rump, and that measurement gives an indication of how far along you are, then they snap a picture which takes a few seconds, then they change the angle, so you find the other twin and there you see a flicker and repeat the same as before. Total time at the scan where the doctor explains about them takes about 10 minutes.

It does not take 10 minutes to find each heartblink.

No bump at 7 weeks but plenty of bloat. Plenty of symptoms from 3 weeks pregnant, nausea started at 5 weeks, puking at 9. Constant need to wee from week 3-4, exhaustion from the start, occasional spotting, occasional cramps, mouth dryness, cravings for salt and vinegar crisps, needed maternity pants at 3+6 because I've been so bloated, headaches, feeling warm constantly, flushed face like I've been sunburnt, increased mucus and blocked nose. Acid reflux began around week 6. It literally has been like a massive hangover had a baby with the flu. (aka I am never doing this ever again 😂)

Not pregnant with identical twins, so can't answer that one but I do believe it's true they scan every 2 weeks, while with fraternal twins it's every 4 weeks.

You can tell the genders from about 14 weeks (in Denmark at least) I think you have gender scans at 16 weeks in the UK.

Personally am still at 9+3 weeks so I cannot answer any more questions 😊 hope it helps!

Source: I am pregnant with twins and have had 3 scans, one at 5+3 weeks, one at 7 weeks and one at 9.

Thank you so much, especially Mama Dane, for such helpful posts. Really great. Congratulations on your twins, and I hope your symptoms settle down soon...

Yea forgot to add, could see them strsight away, no way it would take 10 mins.

Thank you! Glad I could help! 😁

Another Q: do you get a scan photo after a 7-week scan?
Thank you!

I was never “given” a photo. They say you can take a photo with your phone of the screen. This happened in both my private and nhs scans.
For me I found out 2 babies at 5 weeks 5 days so yes very early. 2 heartbeats and 2 sacs on the scan.
Different health trusts have different policies regarding number of scans, just like they do for Singleton scans. Likely that most would scan every 2 weeks from 20 when sharing a placenta.

And yes to early sickness. Felt sick day I found out pregnant c4 weeks. Was physically sick til 36 weeks.

I was given a scan picture each time. But I was at a fertility clinic.

One picture at the 5 weeks scan, because they were tiny.

2 pictures at the 7 weeks scan, one picture of both and one of one twin, the doctor didn't bother much with the other twin.

Luckily at our 3rd scan we had a different doctor and got 4 pictures, 2 of each twin 😍.

But yeah we got a picture each time and they are small, bigger than a Polaroid but smaller than a normal paper.

I’m not pregnant with twins, just the one, but I heard the heartbeat at 7 weeks and got photos. I’m in Ireland and it was a private scan if that matters.