Are private scans worth it?

[sarahjsdddd]

My dating scan is on Monday (I will be 12+4 then) but I've had some pains and last pregnancy was a miscarriage so I can't stop worrying. I know it's almost Monday but should I get a private scan or just wait?! X

Personally I'd either call the hospital/midwife and see if I could get a scan at EPU or just wait

(no previous loses)

If you've got pains, then it might be better calling EPU rather than a private scan, especially considering your history x

Call your midwife or epu if you are concerned.

I think it has to be a personal choice. I've done them in the past but not with this PG (extra NHS scans at 7 and 9 weeks as was on progesterone for recurrent MC - not sure what I would've decided if I hadn't had those).

Pros: quick, gives reassurance, DP can be in the room with you for support/to share experience, typically a welcoming non-hospital environment.

Cons: Cost, not diagnostic i.e. many of them tell you what they see but not what it means (some variation on this but they don't always flag issues that they see), limited support if bad news, lots of cute baby pics everywhere which is distressing if not a good outcome - albeit unlikely at 11+ weeks.

I would add (and I'm sure you know) that pain is fairly common in PG so do try not to worry. I know that's really hard when you've experienced losses.

Sorry I forgot to add, I told both EPU & midwife about the pains, told me to call my GP, GP then called EPU and said they can't see me until Tuesday

For me it is totally worth it. The experience I have had at private scans far surpasses the experience at any nhs appointments.

Everything runs on time, you can bring a partner, everyone was so helpful and overly nice and it made the whole process exciting.

For your situation though I'm not sure a private scan is really the best route. If you are worried about the pain call your midwife or EPU.

I feel like private scans are mostly for when you just want to see the baby an extra time, not for proper diagnostic purposes.

If you're not bleeding then pains in early pregnancy are normal. Personally you are so close to the scan date I wouldn't bother with either EPU or a private scan (and I've had 5 previous miscarriages one at the 12 week scan where there was no heartbeat so I can completely understand the anxiety)

Thank you all for your replies! I think at this stage I will just wait for Monday, if my pain gets worse the gp said to go to a&e which i will do. I personally don't have any problem with private scans at all, I can see why people have them, the 4D scans don't interest me though. I wish I had had a scan around 6-8 weeks for reassurance but didn't think of it due to the lockdown. In future I would definitely have one at that stage x

Slightly different as this was later on but my scan at 30 weeks picked up a major issue that the NHS would not have at all, given that there are not routinely scans after 20 weeks.

@Lou573 hi, sorry to hear that, that is a good point that you are quite unmonitored after the 20 week scan, did the nhs treat the issue? X

It depends where you go.

I had a scan at a private scan at 8 weeks at one of those companies that have clinics all over the UK, and it felt like a sausage factory. Just didn't feel reassured that the woman doing the scan was a trained medical professional.

I've since had private scans with a consultant who runs a private clinic. It's more expensive, but she knows exactly what she's doing and spends ages on each scan to make sure she can't see any issues.

I guess it depends on what you want to achieve by going for a scan and whether a simple scan is fine or if you want someone more thorough

@sarahjsdddd - yes, NHS kicked into gear after that and regularly scanned and monitored until they whipped her out by csection at 36 weeks. I can’t fault the treatment after the issue was noticed but it’s quite alarming to think it could have gone unnoticed and I really think they should scan past 20 weeks, I think other countries do? In any case I was fortunate and now have a healthy school aged daughter. They paid closer attention to my subsequent pregnancy as well.