Thoughts on 6 week scans..

[RaachelMorrow]

Hello again everyone.

6 week scans? Who's had them? What did you think and what about the rumors of increased chance of miscarriage?

The first date of my last period was the 16th December, and I only found out I was pregnant last Thursday ClearBlue is telling me I'm about 6 weeks.

I have my first midwife appointment tomorrow, I spotted ever to slightly for the last 2 weeks but it's stopped now.

I'm such an eager beaver I'd love to get a scan.

Also, I've only been part of this group since Monday and I think I've posted every single day since haha! I've found it so helpful and reassuring - is anyone else addicted? Thank you to everyone that's helped.

Rachel x

I had to tell work really early because of the job I do so I had one. They managed to get a little shot of what looked like a little bean abdominally which was lovely and it reassured me that something was happening as it felt so long until any other appointment. You also have to book it at the right time if you can as too early and you won't see anything which can make you feel worse. Mine came with a little health report and they'd seen his heart so it helped me.

I do know that it's not for everyone though as some people have said it made them more anxious and sadly things can also happen after an early scan so as I say, it's not for everyone but I loved mine

You often can’t see anything at six weeks which means you are in a worried state of limbo until the next scan.

Also it’s my understanding that the is a link between the more scans you have, the fewer miscarriages there are. I have no idea of the logic behind it (especially since nearly all miscarriages are chromosome abnormalities that can’t be stopped) but definitely don’t worry about one having a negative impact on the baby.

@RaachelMorrow I had one due to repeat miscarriages. You can hardly see anything, just a blob on the screen! Arm and leg buds don’t start developing for a couple more weeks and it doesn’t start to look anything like a baby until 9 weeks.
Also, you can still miscarry after an early scan and I think sometimes it’s harder to have seen the ‘baby’ and then have a loss. In 2017 I had an 8 week scan which was lovely, and then lost the baby a couple of week later. Just something else to consider.
If you’re really desperate for one, I’d suggest waiting until at least 8 weeks where things have progressed more and you can at least see a shape starting to form.

If you do want an early scan would you consider waiting another couple of weeks? If all is well on a scan by 8 weeks your odds of miscarriage are really low.

@RaachelMorrow - I had one at 6 weeks as we had been TTC for 9 months, my hormones were all over and I was so anxious. We had an abdominal ultrasound and she managed to find a little bean and a heartbeat! But she did advise us it was super early and to not worry if we didn't see anything yet!

Sorry, should clarify - IIRC stats are something like 12% chance of miscarriage if all looks good at 6 weeks, down to 5% by 8 weeks. So far from a guarantee but will tell you a bit more if it’s reassurance you’re after.

I have had early scans for bleeding before and had both good and bad results and one that looked good but then I miscarried anyway. For my last pregnancy I didn’t get any early scans even when there was bleeding, because I felt it wouldn’t reassure me and it wouldn’t tell me anything useful, and it’s not a fun experience to go through! But if you feel like it would help you then that’s very much a personal thing.

Personally I’d wait to 8 weeks, chances of MC are less after that compared to 6 weeks plus it starts to look more like a baby. (I had one at 7+5 that was just a blob and one at 8+6 that looked like a teeny baby). Also they may not necessarily see anything at 6 weeks which could be worrying for you. I had an MMC at 8 weeks that was only discovered at the 12 week scan so this time I wanted to get to that 8 week point before having a scan. I get it though, those first 12 weeks are the longest of your life!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I had an early scan at 6+1 but thought I was closer to 8 weeks (it turns out I ovulated quite a bit later than I thought).
We saw a tiny blob and heard a heart beat but I know many don't at that stage which I think must cause so much unnecessary stress....If you want an early scan, it's absolutely fine and entirely your choice, but i'd try and wait till 8 weeks if you can!

Also, there are no proven links between early scans and miscarriage. Early scans are standard practice in a lot of countries to rule our ectopics, just not in the UK. Anyway, I'm so glad I had one, no way I could have waited to 12 weeks (or longer - I'm 11+5 now and still haven't got a date for my dating scan).

You see only a tiny little bean. In my previous pregnancy I had a scan at 6 weeks and a heartbeat was present and detected. I had another scan at 8+5 and was diagnosed with a missed miscarriage. 6 weeks is still very early.

Okay I think I will try and wait for 8 weeks then, another 14 days can be done. Fingers crossed everything is happy and healthy.

Thank you guys x