Early scan - good or bad idea?

[periwinkle86]

Hi all,

I got my BFP earlier this week and should be five weeks tomorrow based on my last period. It’s my first pregnancy so no real idea what to expect.

I’ve been looking into early scans and there seem to be some fairly mixed reviews about whether they alleviate or increase anxiety. I have no real reason to get one - no concerns so far (other than no nausea yet, though it’s still pretty early) and I’m mid-30s so whilst not super young, age is less of a factor.

On the other hand, I hate the idea of going to a 12 week scan excited to be able to finally tell people, and then discovering I’ve had a MMC - I would rather find out earlier (though obviously it could still happen between the early scan and 12 weeks) so I don’t get my hopes up that everything’s okay if it’s not.

What do people think? Ultimately is an early scan going to make me more or less anxious?!

Thank you!

I don't think it's necessarily as black and white as good idea vs bad idea.

I had an early scan last week. I waiting until I was 10 weeks by last period date and I was pretty confident I ovulated really late (irregular cycles) and wanted to make sure I was at least 8 weeks by my own dates.
As @TakeYourFinalPosition says, so many people have scans around 6 weeks for various reasons and are left in the most awful limbo of not knowing if the pregnancy isn't viable or if it's just too early.

I am really glad I had the scan last week. It reassured me that at least the pregnancy had got that far and everything was ok at that moment in time.

That said, I had a MC in November and baby had died at 9/10 weeks so I am painfully aware that things can and do go wrong after this point.
Part of my reasoning for getting an early scan this time round is that I regret that I never got to 'see' my last baby alive. I saw tiny fingers and toes on the screen but no heartbeat.
Even if things so wrong again this time, I'll be glad I got to see their heart beating.

I think it's a matter of weighing up your own feelings about why you want one, waiting until at least 8 weeks to give the most chance of seeing what you want to see, and still being realistic about the fact that a successful early scan doesn't necessarily mean it'll work out.

Good luck whatever you choose

I had one for my 4th Pregnancy after 3 previous losses. The scan measured me 2 weeks behind even though I was pretty certain on the date I conceived due to me and my OH living long distance. It caused no end of worry for me until I went for a follow up scan 3 weeks later. On this one there would the beginning of an embryo but no heartbeat but they said it was still too early to detect it. However at my follow up scan a week later they confirmed I'd had a missed miscarriage. In a way the early scan was nice and for once I'd been able to experience having the ultrasound scans and for me it also meant I didn't go into my 12 week scan thinking everything would be ok only to find out our Baby had died a few weeks earlier. Which I would've done because it took 5 weeks for my miscarriage to complete and the bleeding I would've put down the SCH I had

I was put off by the number of posts on mumsnet/Facebook group that said "sac but no heartbeat" etc, sounded like they went through hellish anxiety.

I held on till 12 weeks, it did feel like ages but was so worth it and really special, I don't regret not getting an early scan! It maybe helped that I had shocking nausea and tiredness from 6 weeks so was in no doubt I was pregnant.

I had a scan at 8 weeks. It was at EPU because I'd had 2 mcs. I don't know what I was expecting but it looked nothing like a baby. Seeing a heartbeat did reassure me but I don't know if I'd have an early 1 again

Hi there
I went for a private scan yesterday at 10 weeks and I’m glad I did. I’m 40, only been pregnant once before and miscarried. I have an early scan at EPU due to one sided pain and it showed the sac and yolk sac but nothing else at that stage. However the scan yesterday was clear. We could see th me heartbeat, arms and legs etc and the fetid is the correct size. I also went for a private NIPT blood test at the same time. I know some people are happy to wait but knowing I’d come back high risk due to my age then having to wait another few weeks on the NHS wasn’t worth the anxiety for me. Also, my partner could come with me yesterday and he’s not allowed to my 12 week NHS scan. I agree with a lot of other posts though, not to go too early if you decide to do it.

I've always bled in early pregnancy so had early scans when I bled (the earliest being 5 weeks in one and 6 weeks in two). I'd do an early scan again if I had bleeding. If I had no bleeding I'd leave it till 8 weeks at the earliest to get a better idea - of my two early scans that ended in miscarriage both were ambiguous. The one that ended in a baby was positive.

@periwinkle86 personally I'd do it every single time! Like many others, we've experienced loss before, so just seeing a heartbeat at 8-weeks on a private early scan was enough to ease our anxiety that "ok, this time there is a heartbeat and right now things look good".

It baffles me why some people are against them TBH. Of course we all know that the 12-week scan is the one to hold out for, but why on earth would you worry during the whole first trimester when a quick scan at 8-weeks can offer some relief from the crippling anxiety?

Each person is different, but if you're worried at all or even just curious, I say do it -- every. single. time!

It helped for me to break the pregnancy down into much smaller milestones. The first was week number (we previously lost at 6 weeks, so that was our first milestone). Next was "is there a heartbeat at 8-9 weeks?. Then the 12-week scan. Then the 20-week anomaly scan. etc.

I was planning to have another private one between the 20-week and 28-week scan, but baby likes to hide its face and plank the bottom of my uterus, so we opted not to as we knew we wouldn't see much and the midwife was checking the heartbeat.

If you want to do any additional scans, go for it! It's always a good idea if it helps you