How many early reassurance scans did you have ?

[Tblock]

Hey guys,

Me and partner had our early reassurance scan a few weeks back when she was roughly 8.2 weeks pregnant. Got the heartbeat and saw the movement which was fantastic. We are getting married abroad in a few weeks, so won’t be able to have the NHS free one until after, in which she will be roughly 13.5 weeks by then. We just booked in to get another early reassurance scan just before we go away, which she will be roughly 10.5 weeks by then. I hope we are not going to nuts with these early reassurance scans haha will be the last private one until the NHS ones. Did anyone else book a couple ?

My last pregnancy I had 2 before the heartbeat stopped at 10-11 weeks. The sonographer told me that before 12 weeks what you see one day is no guarantee of what you will see the next. I've come to realise that there's no such thing as reassurance early on. Didn't bother paying for scans with my current pregnancy (32 weeks).

In fact both my 12 and 16 week scans I had late. My only other scan was a growth scan at 37 weeks

@Tblock

I think it’s just a matter of opinion ain’t it guys. I personally think it’s a bit negative going with a mindset of “but what if things are wrong, it could ruin your wedding “ etc etc, things could be wrong at the NHS 12 week scan, no guarantee of anything, but I think having that extra comfort of knowing things are progressing well, which gives you and your partner peace of mind, I see no issue with it. I personally think waiting 12 weeks to not see anything is way to long. That’s just my opinion. Maybe being our 1st child and it’s all new to us, we feel we just need that extra comfort.

Well, fair enough OP, good luck to you. I hope you get the reassurance that you're seeking.

None. I didn't want to be heartbroken by something intended to be reassuring following previous MC.

^potentially heartbroken, that is

None - I wouldn’t have found them reassuring as I know several women who have gone on to sadly miscarry. However I have never had a miscarriage myself so I haven’t had that lasting worry

It's a very personal subject though?

I had so many losses, failed IVF, then was told we would never have children.

So when I fell pregnant with Dd after fifteen years of trying I was given weekly scans to 24 weeks from 6 then fortnightly until section delivery. There was a medical need to do so as well as reassurance.

This time, two years later, I have had 12 and 20 week medical scans, nothing else deemed necessary or critical during a pandemic.

I suppose I would be wary of falling into a trap where you are booking scans regularly for no medical reason. I'm not sure why that is other than it sits uneasily with me. NHS scans are not a "free" look at baby, they are important medical checks.

That said if you want to do so and are happy to pay for them it's entirely up to you.

I personally wouldn’t find it reassuring - as a previous poster said, what you see one day is no guarantee of what you will see the next day. It just tells you that, at that particular moment, everything is OK.

I think having extra scan would just make me more anxious. I'm 13 weeks and just had the 12 week NHS scan.

With dc1 I had an early scan (I think around 9 weeks) as I was bleeding. My gp referred me to the early pregnancy unit for the scan. All was well, and I just had the normal nhs ones after that.

I think finding out something is wrong at a private scan which is disconnected from your NHS treatment could actually be quite stressful.

I had a few, probably every few weeks or so I paid for private ones

After two previous miscarriages we had a private 10 week scan and then we found out the sex at a private 16 week!

None. Well I had one at 7 weeks at epu for bleeding. Saw a heartbeat then miscarried at 11.5 weeks anyway.
I personally don’t see then point unless something is wrong as for me it doesn’t change anything, if I’m going to miscarry (which I have twice) then I’ll miscarry.

@abitfunny, I don’t think having 2 scans is obsessing. Getting a scan every week is obsessing, but getting a couple of reassurance scans before your 12 weeks is just for peace of mind. Was just interested to see if anyone else did the same thing

I'm another one who finds scans anything but reassuring!!

I hope you continue to enjoy optimism, OP.

I have been on medication in early pregnancy which I could have/would have stopped if a mc was detected, so for me there would have been a point.
There was also research done by Prof Reagan (sp?) about the benefits of TLC in reducing mc in women who have miscarried before, which included reassurance scans, so I don't think it is without benefit.

Thank you. We just found seeing the heart beat at 8.2 weeks very reassuring and saw it was progressing well.

@Bernardstolemywatch

None. Well I had one at 7 weeks at epu for bleeding. Saw a heartbeat then miscarried at 11.5 weeks anyway. I personally don’t see then point unless something is wrong as for me it doesn’t change anything, if I’m going to miscarry (which I have twice) then I’ll miscarry.

With my first two, there were no scans. You either mc or didn't. You had no idea until after the birth whether the child had any problems or not. With my 3rd I had my first scan at approximately18 weeks, but there was no dating and I hadn't a clue when I was due. You couldn't see the doctor or midwife or consider yourself pregnant until you had missed two periods. I'm sorry that women today are put under so much stress. We all had late and heavy periods which weren't accepted as mc. Now I would be stressing from a few days before AF due. We didn't have chemical pregnancies. Obviously it's good to know if the child has disabilities, but in some ways it was far less stressful.

@Tblock I'm currently 10+3 and so far I've had 2 scans as I had a miscarriage in June so needed some reassurance. I hope you have the best holiday ❤️

I had one at 7w and another at 11. They are great for keeping your mind at ease in these early days when risk is relatively high. After 12w scan I only had nhs scans as you see numb growing and then movements start. Good luck!

@AntiHop

I think having extra scan would just make me more anxious. I'm 13 weeks and just had the 12 week NHS scan.

With dc1 I had an early scan (I think around 9 weeks) as I was bleeding. My gp referred me to the early pregnancy unit for the scan. All was well, and I just had the normal nhs ones after that.

I think finding out something is wrong at a private scan which is disconnected from your NHS treatment could actually be quite stressful.

It is. My mmc was found at a private scan. They weren't even slightly interested. Nor did they give me any advice or guidance about what to do next. They just wanted to get me out of the door to get their next one in who was probably going to buy some of their gender tat as well. They even sent me a link to a gallery of pictures of the baby with no hb a few minutes after I left in tears. I still had to go to my local hospital and get them to scan me to confirm and arrange an erpc. Awful. Private companies should not be allowed to offer 'reassurance' scans if they have no plan for when it is bad news.

I didn't have reassurance scans I had two 12 weeks scans as one was too early and I paid for a private 30 week scan to have a nosey at my baby.

A friend has two 12 weeks scans about a week apart and sadly her baby had died in the time in between.

I don't see scans as any more reassuring than the baby was alive at the time and appeared to be developing normally.

@chubbyhotchoc that is horrific, I'm sorry and angry you had that experience.

Making me rethink wanting to have a private scan with DP before the NHS scans if I manage to get pregnant while Covid restrictions are still in place.

@Tblock if not knowing would create more anxiety than knowing, then I'd not worry about how many is too many and book away! I'm planning on having at least 1 prior to the 12-week scan. For me, being blindsided by another loss would be far worse than blissful ignorance.

Echoing what a PP said, you do what feels right for you.

@olderthanyouthink My trust has just announced that partners can attend antenatal scans again, so hopefully you'll be able to have your DP to attend the 12 week one.

@chubbyhotchoc So sorry for your loss and that the clinic were so ill-equipped to deal with it. I hope you gave them a stinking review on TrustPilot.

@chubbyhotchoc that's horrendous, can't believe you were treated that way 😢

@olderthanyouthink I once had bad news at a private scan and it was completely the opposite of @chubbyhotchoc experience, they were actually nicer and kinder than the NHS. Just wanted to share that perspective x