Early scan at 9 weeks aniexty, what to expect?

[SunnySide1992]

Hey everyone, so ive just booked an early scan for a few days time. Ive booked it for reassurance after my mc last year.I will be 9 + 3 roughly. I thought booking it would put my mind at ease but now im worrying even more! Is it okay to have a scan at this stage and then have the 12 week scan? Can a early scan cause a mc? Ive also read they dont scan the same way the would at 12 weeks. Any advice to calm me down will be much appreciated!

You may well have an internal scan, as opposed to external. IME they used a 'wand' with a condom over the end. It can take time to find anything as the embryo is still very small, so don't panic.

You probably won't see a lot, probably a heartbeat but not much beyond that (I had numerous early scans due to previous ectopic)

Is it a reassurance scan or are you looking for something specific?

Re-read, it's a reassurance scan 🤦🏻‍♀️

Agree with the above - I had reassurance scans (also due to an ectopic). It's likely to be internal, which is ok. The wand looks big, but it's fine... doesn't really hurt. Hopefully they will see a heartbeat and perhaps a fetal pole - it will give you a better idea how far along you are as well!

Thankyou both! But can i still have my 12 week scan? Didnt know if there was a limit to how many scans?

Also should i tell my midwife im going for the scan?

It'll be an internal scan like others have said and you should see a nice little bean by 9 weeks. It really doesn't hurt.

You'll still be offered your 12 week scan so don't worry about that.

This pregnancy I've ended up with 12w/20w/28w/32w/34w and am due to go again at 37w while they keep an eye on his growth.

Word of warning though - reassurance scans can be the cause of more worry than reassurance if your dates are out and you measure differently to what you think you will.x

@milkand2sugarsplease thats what im worried about! I dont know whether to cancel now =( my 12 week scan is only 22 days away! Im just so worried as my symptoms have eased alot and some days i just feel normal like before i was pregnant. I know its sounds silly to want to feel ill 🤦‍♀️

It's not silly at all - every woman panics in early pregnancy because they're feeling ill or not feeling ill or did feel ill and not don't. It's just hard.

Your placenta will be starting to take over which, for a lot of women, sees an improvement in feeling poorly.

It probably won't help much but different stages of pregnancy bring different worries - now it's not 'feeling' pregnant. Later, when you start to feel early movements you'll panic that you've not felt anything for a while and you'll panic about that. Each stage has its worries and you almost need to train yourself to be on the lookout without getting worked up but the majority of pregnancy is relying on your body to do what it's made to do but try to remember that too - your body was made to do this!!x

I had an external scan at 8 weeks and saw the baby

You'll still get your 12 week scan! The NHS just don't like to scan you lots as it costs them money and doesn't necessarily provide any medical purpose. (E.g. if they scan you at 8 weeks and it all looks ok, it's a snapshot of then and not a guarantee that nothing will go wrong, if that makes sense?) So they really only like to do early scans to rule out anything of medical emergency, like an ectopic etc.
Don't be anxious... it'll be lovely to see where it's going! I had my reassurance scan at 5+4, so SUPER early, but because I've had a previous ectopic. They could see a gestational sac in the right place - so they were like we can't say it's viable for sure as there is no heartbeat yet, but it's in the right place and it has every chance of being a healthy pregnancy. I'm now 21 weeks!

Hi @SunnySide1992, I had a scan last week at 9 weeks. I had lost all symptoms and have previously suffered with miscarriages so I was referred for a scan.

They initially scanned with the tummy ultrasound but we could only see a tiny flicker and they wanted to be more thorough so I then emptied my bladder and had an internal scan. As previous posters have said, it really doesn't hurt and we were able to see a clear image of the baby at 9 weeks, take measurements and it also did some wriggling which was lovely! The team were incredibly helpful, patient and reassuring.

Hi OP. Just to reassure you I had an early scan 2 weeks ago at 8 weeks. They did it via my tummy, which surprised me as I was expecting a vaginal one but I’ll post the image so you can see how well it came out.

Also don’t worry re how many scans you have, as others have said it’s fine and a lot of us do it for reassurance. I had 2 MMC’s (missed miscarriages) last year and have been bleeding with this pregnancy so have had 2 early scans at the Early Pregnancy Unit so far (7&8 weeks) and have one tomorrow too when I’ll be 10 weeks. My 12 week official one is booked at 12+3 weeks but it’s fine to have scans before hand, they help with reassurance

Best of luck!

Is it a private reassurance scan booked through a company like meet your miracle, window to the womb etc? If so then I believe that they will only do external scans.
Your 12 week scan will go ahead regardless of how many scans you've had before as it's the dating scan and needed for dating the pregnancy and measuring the baby.
There is no evidence to show that scans cause miscarriages. I had a private one at 9 weeks due to experiencing a miscarriage before. It was very easy to see the baby and heartbeat etc and was a lovely experience. I went back at 16 weeks for the gender scan. I'm now 30 weeks! Good luck!

I had an early scan with my last pregnancy as it followed two mc and once I was 8 weeks I felt I was losing my mind with worry.

I went at 8 1/2 weeks and I mentioned to the sonographer why I was there. She did an external scan and found a heartbeat instantly. If you tell them about the previous losses - they cut the chat and just get straight to it.

I told my midwife I was going to do this and she agreed it was a good idea to help with my anxiety.

Although there are no guarantees - seeing a heartbeat is a good sign.

It might not be internal. I had a scan at 8 weeks that was external :) theres no harm in having it for reassurance then having your 12 week scan as normal.

I had an internal scan at 7 weeks and it really reassured me to know that the baby was in the right place, growing well and had a good heartbeat.

No it will not cause a miscarriage.

I'm on the fence with private early scans. I have to have internal scans early on due to a retroverted uterus, abdominal is fine 12wk onwards though. I had a private one with my last as I've had several mc's over the years. I was 8+3, baby measured 7+4 with a hb and looked fine. I started spotting 4 days later and mc'd a week after the scan, I was bitten by a tick on a day out though so do wonder if that could have caused it. I had an early scan in an earlier pregnancy due to failed coil at epau where they found twins measuring behind dates but all was well with them and I carried them to 38wk. I had loads of scans with them which is standard for multiples and it didn't do them any harm. Currently 24+1wk, held out for my dating scan this time and glad I did. Couldn't stand to wait 7 weeks for the anomaly scan though and got a private scan for between which was great.

With my first baby, I had a reassurance scan at 9 weeks externally and I was shocked by how much it looked like a baby given how tiny she was!

We had a private scan at 9 weeks and I was so glad we did.

Due to a previous MC we had a few private scans before the 12 week one. We had one at 5+3 (I thought I was 6+3), 6+4 and then at 9 weeks exactly. We then had the 12 week NHS one, another private one at 16+2 weeks, the 20 week NHS one and then a private 4D one at 27 weeks. I'm currently 36+3 weeks. I know to a lot of people this would be excessive but after years of TTC and the previous losses it just reassured me knowing I only had a few weeks between each scan.

We used Window to the Womb and they did my 9 week scan internally, although I have a tilted uterus so I knew I would need this anyway. They will try externally first then if they don't get a clear imagine will ask if you consent to an internal one.

The photo of my scan is at 9 weeks, it was the first scan that he looked like a proper little baby😁

Be prepared though that if this is your first private scan the dates may differ slightly to what you think you are. I was more than a week off with my first scan even though I was sure of my ovulation dates. It then changed again at my 12 week scan, the dates really are a guess so don't get too worried about it if they say you're a bit less than you think.

Also re your symptoms, try not to worry, it's at about this point that your placenta is forming and so takes over a lot of the brunt of the work so your hormones aren't quite as all over the place which is why a lot of people start to lose their symptoms

I have just had a scan at 8 weeks +5. It was an external scan, and you could see a baby sort of shape developing and the heartbeat and also two little arms developing.
If your dates are slightly out and you are not as far a long as you think, then they may have to do an internal scan, but it is up to you if you want to do that or not. It's not painful and gives a clearer idea of whats going on and is easier for them to calculate the measurements.

You can still have your 12 week scan, no need to mention it to the midwife unless you want to as my midwife has told me previously they are not interested in the findings from private scans.

I had a 9 week scan a few weeks ago and it really helped put my mind at ease. I'll also say I didn't have a transvaginal scan, I had an abdominal one like you would at 12 weeks, was just as clear and got a few pictures of the little bean.
I really wouldn't worry about the symptoms as they are no indicator whether everything is going ok or not. The odds are in your favour, I would try not to worry unless you've had any bleeding. Congratulations xx

I had a private scan at 8w+5 after having a previous miscarriage. They were able to find it fine on an abdominal ultrasound and get the heartbeat and measurements. It may be an internal scan though at this stage so don't be too worried if the sonographer whips out a wand!

It did help me with my stress levels. It doesn't guarantee everything will be ok at 12 weeks but does tell you whether it is ok on that day.

My midwives were supportive of getting the scan but had recommendations of where to go as a reassurance scan by an unqualified person who measures incorrectly is less than reassuring!

We went to the fetal medicine centre, (only a helpful recommendation if in London).

Just wanted to add I had a private scan at 9+3, there was no need to have the trans vaginal scan and we saw quite a bit! I will attach a photo :) (it’s a screen grab from a video- hope it’s good enough!)

Thanks for all the replies! Congrats on all your pregnancies =) and thanks for sharing some photos, they are lovely to see! I decided to keep the appointment as each day i just get so anxious something is wrong! Bring on tomorrow =) xx