Private scan called me to say they made a mistake

[Beau2020]

So I went to Window to the Womb for a private scan. They have just called me to say they made a mistake a misdiagnosed me twins. I'm absolutely gutted.

They diagnosed me with twins at my 8 week scan and since then I have been taking extra folic acid and I've been mentally preparing for twins. I went for a 10 week scan which found only one baby and no signs of vanishing twin syndrome. I grieved a lost baby. Today, window to the womb admitted they had made a mistake and have offered me a free extra scan.

I'm absolutely livid!! How can experts make a mistake like that!? There's a picture of my scan on a previous thread so I won't post again.

So you are still pregnant with twins or was there always just one baby? I sounds like you have been put through a horrible ordeal but I am guessing scanning is not always exact and human error can happen in anything. I hope your pregnancy goes smoothly from here on in.

@Apolloanddaphne there was always just one baby! I never lost a baby and I never had twins. I feel so upset that they could get it so wrong. I am happy to have one healthy baby of course I just feel like my emotions have been all over the place for no reason 😞

Its awful but scans arent 100%. I can totally understand your upset though. Im not sure id be taking them up on the offer of a free scan if you were so bad first time around.

@Letsallscreamatthesistene yes I'd rather take the refund of £79 that we paid!! It's just been such an emotional rollercoaster these last few weeks.

Scans aren't 100%, I know 2 people who were told they were having the opposite sex than they actually had.

They should never have diagnosed me with twins if they were unsure though, or at least asked for a second opinion. Surely they should be trained to know what's a baby and what's a yolk sac?

I imagine that has been a real emotional rollercoaster.

Try to focus on the fact that the scan shows you have a baby growing in you and your pregnancy is going well.

At 8 weeks baby would have been tiny and I imagine errors are easy to make. I had a scan at 6 weeks and there's not very much to see at all.

Was there any particular reason you booked an early private scan?

Try not to let this impact on the rest of your pregnancy. Ask for a refund and move on.

That’s really sad and disappointing for you but at least they have admitted their mistake. Just try and concentrate on your 1 healthy baby

Beau2020 they are not experts. They are just people who have trained to use a scan machine and have bought in to a franchise. Could be a midwife with no scan experience a dental nurse, a sonographer or Aunty sue from next door.

I know as I’ve had scan training before. I’ve got no medical training or experience in this apart from what the owner showed me to do.

These places are based on an entertainment value only and in the disclaimer you should have signed should have said that.

They are only governed by the CQC so you could complain to there if you wanted but to be honest they will only be interested in the care you received whilst having the scan and response after you contacted them.

Sorry your upset and disappointed

This is why early scans are a terrible idea. Particularly at somewhere like window to the womb who are far from experts!

Hi all, thanks for your reassuring messages. I booked an early scan as it's my first baby and I didn't know what to expect. My partner was really keen to keep getting scans so he could see the progress of the baby / babies but for the amount of upset it's put me through, it's safe to say it wasn't worth it at all!

I'm sorry to hear but I would look at the positives, you have a baby. Some people at the scan here told they have lost a baby so I would try and be grateful.

Also, people make mistakes they are only human. Surely you've made mistakes in your life or Job?

I don't mean to sound like I'm on the attack but genuinely showing gratitude helps to get over things much more than anger does.

So sorry you've had to go through this emotional rollercoaster but as PP's have said, try to focus on the positive and not let it affect the rest of your pregnancy. You have a healthy baby in there and you didn't lose a second baby.

Mistakes do happen unfortunately, even highly trained sonographers are just human and can get it wrong on occasions. At least they owned up to their mistake, that's something.

As previously said, just ask for a refund and move on. There's nothing to be gained from feeling angry or upset about it.

Sorry to hear of yourself unnecessary grieving OP, you should t have to go through this. It's much harder to diagnose the sex of babies than it is to see how many there are in there! The problem with private companies is they arent monitored in the same way as NHS sonographers. I'd want my money back and some extra compensation for your heartache.

@soph7777 I appreciate your message and I am very thankful, but I think you are forgetting I was also told I had lost a twin baby due to vanishing twin syndrome so I think your message is a bit insensitive tbh. I am very grateful but I think if anyone had been told wrong information like this, it would be natural to feel anger?

Of course everyone makes mistakes, but this is a serious mistake that could cause serious consequences in other situations. E.g if a mother was told there was no baby and had to abort when in fact the baby was still alive. At a scan where I paid £79 for, I'd expect a better level of accuracy.

Is your DH aware of the potential risk of conducting non-essential ultrasound scans?

Can totally understand your upset but early ultrasound scans are subject to misinterpretation, particularly by poorly-trained people. I think you'd be subjecting yourself to a lot of additional stress by pursuing it...for little return. Wishing you all the best for your continuing pregnancy.

@Beau2020 in your OP you said there was no signs of vanishing twin syndrome and there was never a twin, now you say you lost a twin due to vanishing twin syndrome. I don't believe PPs were purposely insensitive based on your info.

Hi OP, sorry to hear this.

I am currently expecting twins and am consultant led at the hospital via the NHS, so had a lot of scans in the early days. I had a scan at 7 weeks and at the time, the sonographer thought it was triplets as she was certain she was seeing three flickers/heartbeats. We had to go back a week later to check. We spent a full week thinking we were having three babies only to go back to a different sonographer a week later who confirmed it was twins; she couldn’t see why they ever thought it was three and the additional ‘flicker’ was probably my own heart beating.
As others have said, the danger with early scans is that its often very difficult to be totally sure what you’re seeing in there - there is just so much ambiguity. I actually found it all quite stressful, so I do sympathise. In your situation I would hang fire for your 12-week scan at hospital now and just request a refund as others have said.
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

@Weatherwax there was no signs of it but I still believed I lost a twin when I saw one baby on the scan? Who wouldn't when you've been told you're having twins....

@MrsEG thank you so much for your sympathy. I think it's difficult for others to get it when they haven't been in our situation. I appreciate your message x

I have just read your other thread and they actually dated your twins and heard their heartbeats? I can understand they might have got it wrong if they just thought they saw another sac or something but to measure and date the babies and also hear a heartbeat then I can't see how someone got that so wrong? I would be very upset and angry too op. These places are terrible.

My local window to the womb clinic sonographers are all current or past NHS sonographers. Definitely experts.

It's a shame you've had to go through this OP, it can't have been easy but I imagine there's maybe also some guilt that you're grieving the loss of a baby you thought you had (which is a very valid loss) whilst still having a healthy original baby? Maybe a short course of counselling would be beneficial?

@bobstersmum yes they were measured and dated! I had scan notes and due dates for both babies. Thank you so much for understanding

Can totally understand your upset, but I think you have unfortunately mistaken a money making scheme for a medical procedure. They are not medically trained. Essentially you must consider it the equivalent of those Doppler machines you can buy off the internet. This is one of the reasons I find these pop up scan booths to be unethical and they make me uneasy. On the other hand I totally understand why the NHS don't offer scans beyond the minimum necessary, and having had a baby in another country where they do loads of scans I do get the desire for them. It was wonderful and lovely to see the progress all the way along. But the scans I had were proper medical ones by highly trained people. Probably cost my health insurance a bomb. I am not sure what the answer is, maybe for private scan places to be more highly regulated, but then they would be out of most peoples price range. £79 is a lot out of a household budget but in terms of medical costs it is incredibly low. We are quite out of touch with this kind of thing in the UK I find.