Ultrasound to check baby has left me feeling bruised today - Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

[FingersCrossedForAllOfUs]

Good Morning,

I had an ultrasound yesterday at the early pregnancy unit due to some bleeding I’ve had over the past week. Thankfully the baby is fine.
At the time the sonographer was pressing down really quite hard, I assumed she needed to do this in order to get a good picture so I didn’t say anything. (She was really nice BTW!) But later in the evening and this morning I’m feeling quite bruised around that area now. I’m not concerned as such as I trust it’s normal procedure. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? Is it normal?!

Thank you.

My 12 and 16 week scans were absolutely fine, not uncomfortable at all as it was done by a gentlemen who’d been in the industry for years.

I then had a trainee sonographer for my 20 week scan and it was extremely uncomfortable, he was using two hands and applying a huge amount of pressure and was finding it difficult to locate certain parts of the baby so another lady had to step in.

I also left feeling very bruised and slightly concerned it had hurt the baby. However, it was completely fine after around 3 days and the baby is absolutely fine!

Something I definitely learnt though, is do speak up during the scan as they shouldn’t be making you feel very uncomfortable during it.

Also, try to drink plenty of water before hand as this helps with them being able to see the baby nice and clearly.

I hope you feel better in a few days time and if it persists, I’d give your midwife a call!

@SaraDowns123 - Thanks so much for your reply. I did ask her if my bladder was full enough and she didn’t really answer and went onto something else! Last time they said it was a bit too full and said to drink a bit less next time which I did so I’m wondering if maybe that didn’t help and that’s why she pressed so hard! I’ll go back to drinking the same as I did initially for the next one!
I think I will mention it if it happens again and see what they say.
I’m so glad all was well with you after a few days and all was well with the baby.

I had to have 3 anomaly scans due to babys position and the second especially left me feeling very sore. In the end i had to see a fetal medicine consultant as they can interpret the views better if its awkward. Baby wasnt harmed at all though and the stress of worry was worse than the bruising.

EssieMay - Thank you.

I’ve had three pregnancies, first two singletons the scans were unremarkable, the last pregnancy with twins the scans were awful.

They left me bruised, took literally hours, I often fell asleep on the table only to be woken with the prodding.

I’m not saying that what you felt was usual, but in my experience, it’s not unusual.

I’d second the PP and say that if you feel uncomfortable absolutely say. Near the end of my last pregnancy the stenographer would ask me to lie a certain way and I had to say no. You can only do the best that you can.

Thank you - Yes after seeing the replies on this thread I definitely feel more confident to mention it. I think I just tend to assume they know what they are doing and I go with the flow. It could be that she doesn’t know her own strength! Either that or she was struggling to get the pictures. But at least if I say something if it happens again I can make them aware it is very uncomfortable and it might be possible to apply less pressure.

I had spotting after one of my scans!! I felt really bruised too. I dont know if she was inexperienced or just struggling to see what she needed to. But I should have said something I suppose. I've never had it with any other scan

I felt bruised after an early scan & a 12 week scan. I didn’t realise just how hard they pressed down to get a good picture of the baby. It gets less uncomfortable the further along you are in your pregnancy.