Curious to know other people’s opinions on Private Scans?

[SkylinesTurnstiles]

Hi All,

Just nosy really, random thoughts whilst waking my dogs... what is everyone’s thoughts on paying for private scans?

• Do you see then and a priceless reassurance? Part of pregnancy?

• Or are you in the other camp of that they are a waste of money and these places as being owned by people who just see pound signs?

• Or just of the opinion of what will be will and happy with the 2 NHS scans?

Just to note: I am having a scan at 8 weeks in 2 weeks time. It will cost be £79 but I think it will be worth the peace of mind as this is my first ever pregnancy and it look a while to conceive.

Don’t wish to start an argument with anyone. Like I say, just curious to hear other people’s thoughts. :)

I had bleeding and pain on one side around 6 weeks pregnant, so they did an early scan at the EPU, I think to rule out ectopic. They confirmed sac in correct place but was too soon to see a foetal pole or heartbeat, so I had to go back a week later. Luckily everything was good at that scan. The pain turned out to be a bowel issue.

I did go on to have more bleeding, EPU wouldn’t scan me again, the bleeding started again the day after our wedding so 23 Dec and I was so anxious about it and wasn’t sure how I’d get through Christmas and then our honeymoon. We had a private scan on Christmas Eve. It was a really positive experience, think cost about £50 and worth it as I was so scared and it really did reassure me.

I went on to have more bleeding and was just as freaked out each time, DH did say I could have as many scans as I wanted but by that point I realised it really only reassured me for about 24 hours max and then I was back to fretting again. I just had to learn to live with it really.

And just for reference OP, I personally would, if you obviously want, save money for a scan at 33ish weeks.
There is big petition regarding wanting a scan at a later date for women with huge importance behind it

@pastabest that was my exact experience at new year with ultrasound direct

For those saying there's no clinical need for them and they are a waste of money I would beg to differ. I think that there should be scan available to all women between 20 and 40 weeks because some conditions don't show up at 12 and 20 wk scans.

My daughter had a 1:10,000 chance of downs, normal 12 and 20 wk scans and was measuring 'normal' at her 24 and 28 wk checks.

Two weeks later after a private 3D scan she was told her baby had a 40% chance of downs.

The staff at the private scan company were fabulous. The sonographer was working at a teaching hospital additionally - so very qualified.

My daughter's baby wasn't registering on percentile charts, had duodenal atresia and my daughter had polyhydramnios. All of this wouldn't have been picked up by the NHS.

I thank god she had a private scan.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone- was an interesting read! :)

I used them all the time to monitor IVF process during my cycle as I had IVF treatment abroad, plus used them to confirm the baby at 7w. The suggest this in the IVF clinic to confirm heartbeat and healthy placement. They have their place to be for sure. Also people who are not covered by nhs can use them, for example family that's not from the UK.

I discovered I had a mmc at private scan. They followed it up with an email saying they hoped I enjoyed my scan and asking for a review.
Should have known better when I noticed all the gender reveal tat they were pushing in reception.
There’s another scan place (not the one I went to - its one of the common private scan places mentioned here) next to my gym. I noticed they had a life size cardboard pregnant lady with the face cut out (like the ones you get at fun fairs) so you can pose for pictures. Imagine coming out of a scan having had bad news and seeing a bunch of people stood around posing for photos with that thing. It’s all just a money making scheme. It’s fucking gross.

@skinnyhotchoc
I had a similar experience at Ultrasound Direct (mentioned in my post above)
I wasn’t going to mention them by name - but fuck it - the level of care they give to women getting bad news at scans is diabolical. They are simply there to make money, they are not trained to deal with anything else.

I’m sorry you had to go through that.

Scans at 8 weeks with both DS. They really helped me put my mind at ease because I'm a worrier.

With DS2, we paid to find out the sex at 18 weeks so that DS1 could come with us and be part of it. He loved it and was so excited.

Thing is you could have a scan at lunchtime and things would 'be ok' but then by teatime things could be 'not OK'.
Pointless imo.
But I suppose if it makes you feel briefly better

@Giganticshark ...
See, I find your comment a little condescending...

But I suppose if it makes you feel briefly better

People have managed to express their opinions respecting what other people may think and haven’t been directly dismissive as you have been. That wasn’t my intention when starting the thread.

It seems like you are looking down at people who do chose to have an early/additional scan etc or see them as somewhat less intelligent?

Here in Aus, scans are highly recommended at 8, 12 and 20 weeks, but unless you're in financial difficulty, not covered by Medicare (!). They're more expensive than private scans in the UK but much more comprehensive and informative. I was sceptical about the 'need' for a scan at 8 weeks, but it was great to see the heartbeat 4 weeks before I was expecting to. Apparently dating at 8 weeks is much more accurate than 12 weeks and my doctor was shocked when I said I might not bother with that first scan!

@Giganticshark

Happily, once you see a heartbeat the chance of miscarriage is significantly reduced.

I had a private 8 week one £80
Private Gender reveal £60
Private 3D 32 weeks £120

NHS 12 & 20 week.

They were all worth it!

I’ve seen heartbeats on scans for all my babies who didn’t make it. I don’t say that lightly to worry people, I say it because the topic has been raised and because it is true. I have seen two of my babies outside of my womb at 16-17 weeks when people are having “gender” scans - no one including me, the doctor or midwife could tell what sex either were, and we could look straight at them with no woman in the way.I do actually know from tests, and those two were a boy and a girl, so it’s not just a matter of one sex being easy to spot and one not. The scan places upset me, the commercialisation is cynical. Other people have said the same thing. I feel that it is exploitation of families and feeds into the anxiety many experience, creating a cycle from which the only one to profit is the scan company. I feel the same about the pregnancy tests which encourage women to take multiple tests on an ongoing basis to see their “progress” and the companies who sell home doppler.s.
The only reason they get away with it is that thankfully for most families everything is ok. But when it isn’t, it really really isn’t. And it’s for those families who have suffered before the exploitation is the worst, because one of the worst things about miscarriage is that once you’ve had one, your chances of having another are higher, and so on.

Everyone in our area goes for a 16 week "gender" scan as our NHS Trust has a policy against revealing the sex at the 20 week scan.

I think people need to understand not everyone goes for a private scan for reassurance.

I went mainly because it meant my whole immediate family could see, whereas in the NHS one I was only allowed 1 person.

@bee222 what irks me even more is with this baby I've had to go back to ultrasound direct and give them £400 because I wanted a harmony test and it's the only place in the area that does it. I felt sick going back even though it was a different branch from the one that found my mmc. My feeling though was that they would have been equally crap if it had been bad news. I'm waiting the results of my harmony bloods and god knows how they'll handle it if there's an abnormality. Like others have said. It's all well and good if things are ok but you're not going to be supported if it isn't.
Having said all that, if I hadn't gone for the scan at ultrasound direct my mmc wouldn't have been found as NHs refused to scan me as they'd seen a heartbeat the week before. I took myself to ultrasound direct and they told me it had gone, probably a few days after the nhs scan. Even though they were crap I was then able to go back to the hospital and they booked me in for an erpc. I would not have liked to have gone through a miscarriage at home with my children around so I am grateful it was found however horrible it was. I think women need to go for all scans with their eyes wide open and realise that you are always just looking at a snapshot in time. Companies like ultrasound direct should have better procedures in place in the event of bad news. But I guess nothing will change unless women who suffer poor treatment from them start complaining and posting on their social media. Sadly, women don't ( I didn't) because they're too busy dealing with their pain and grief not to mention many women don't talk openly about miscarriage.

You asked for people's opinions on private scans. Less intelligent? OK. Never occurred to me, but if you feel that way...
Don't ask for opinions if you'll be hurt by opposing ones

I had a private scan at 8 weeks for both pregnancies. They were reassuring as I was feeling anxious. I think private scans offer something different to nhs scans, the personal touch.
I'm lucky, my local private scanning room is run by an ex-nhs sonographer. She makes it very clear what early scans can and cannot show, etc. For me, worth the money. I also liked them as the focus of the scan was me, we could listen to the heartbeat for as long as we liked. The appointment was long and didn't feel rushed. The video screen was huge and showed fine detail. We got as many pictures as we wanted. Every step of the scan was explained as it happened.
The usual nhs scans are medical focused, checking the viability and health of the baby, are time pressured and therefore not as focused on the mother. The sonographer has lots of measurements to take so needs to be able to focus on their work.

It depends on where you are having it and what are your expectations..I had mine at the Fetal medicine centre, highly specialised clinic , for both pregnancies , and one Mmc, including the harmony test..worth every penny. They were much better and more detailed than the nhs ones with regards the measurements, anomalies etc. I wouldn’t go just for a ‘picture’ option..I do find the 4d pict weird..

I had a private scan this week at 9 weeks to get a die date and just for reassurance. I thought all the staff were really nice and professional, it was a lovely experience and nice that my dp could be there as well. My sister is also pregnant and went for a reassurance scan at the same clinic and she found out she is expecting twins so she was glad she found out with her partner there

I had two private scans, one at about 10 weeks as I wanted visual confirmation all was well and the second with my harmony test a month later.

They were relaxed, kind, in a nice environment and they explained everything they were seeing on the screen. my sonographer worked for the nhs and was very experienced. I had tonnes of scan photos which was lovely.

The NHS scans were pretty miserable experiences, grumpy staff who didn’t really want to talk to you and give you one crappy scan photo in return for a fiver. At my 20 week scan I was told I might find out the sex but it wasn’t part of the service and a bonus if they could tell me.

I would pay for private scans again much better service than the nhs.

I had 2 private scans during my pregnancy - early reassurance and gender scan.
Both worth every penny in my opinion.
Like many women my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage so the early scan gave me the reassurance I needed and I was able to start to get excited.
The gender scan was lovely - very kind sonographer who seemed to know what she was talking about. She gave me a heads up that I had an anterior placenta and warned I may not feel much movement until a lot later on. We did a gender reveal party with family (I know a lot of people don’t like them on here) and finding out we were having a little boy at the same time as my family was honestly amazing.
I found the private scans a much nicer and more relaxed experience then the NHS ones.

Just to say where I live some sonographers work both in nhs and at the ultrasound direct, they told me at my early scans. One was nervous when I showed up at 7w and asked if I have anything to worry about or just want a reassurance.