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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Early pregnancy scan

12 replies

Kilminchy123 · 14/05/2021 12:14

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Private early pregnancy scans?

I am 5weeks 2days and just had my first nurses appointment this morning. I had PMS symptoms for about a week (cramping, very emotional, super sore boobs, constipation)

Now I’ve just been having twinges in my stomach and a bit of cramping during the night.. sore boobs have gone but they sensitive to touch at the nipple and quite veiny. 2 loose stools since yday also (sorry tmi) 😩🙈

Just worried I don’t have enough symptoms and would love the reassurance of an early scan! When is it worth booking to see anything? 😄

TIA guys 🥰

OP posts:

ftm1x · 14/05/2021 12:26

Think it's personal preference really of when you want to go. The earlier you go the less you'll see, if you go to early you may have to have an internal, the later you go the closer it is to the NHS scan and the more pointless it becomes!

I went at 10 weeks as my partner wasn't able to come to the nhs and was dated at 11 weeks so got a good look at the baby

Chelyanne · 14/05/2021 12:29

If you must have one do not go before 8 weeks.

I had one in my last pregnancy at 8+3, baby measured 7+4 with heartbeat. It didn't ease my worry and I miscarried that one a week after the scan. I decided not to have early scans this time, dating scan was 12+3, baby measured 13 and was very active. 26+3wk now. We did have a private gender scan at 16+4, that one was good and helped ease worry between dating and anomaly scans.

Astronaut8 · 14/05/2021 12:32

The cramping will be your body growing even though your baby is teeny tiny!
I lost all my symptoms before week 10 so you may just be very lucky!
I wouldn’t recommend a scan before 8 weeks, just for the fact you don’t see much and can cause a lot of stress.

jengrosve · 14/05/2021 12:51

I'd recommend caution here. I had an early scan due to spotting in my first pregnancy and it was lovely and reassuring: baby measuring just right and got to see a heartbeat etc etc. The rest of my pregnancy and birth was textbook.

This time, I booked an early scan just for reassurance and again saw a live foetus but size didn't match up with dates and I began miscarrying later that day. I'm 5 days into the miscarriage now and seeing the heartbeat on the scan last week just added to my feelings of confusion and grief.

I've mentally resolved to never have an early scan again due to the above but also because they are working with the tiniest of measurements and a small miscalculation can lead to unnecessary worry.

I hope all goes well for you!

Arrierttyclock · 14/05/2021 15:12

I found out that I was pregnant at 3 weeks so the wait for the 12 week scan just seemed like an unbearable wait so i went for one at 7 weeks. For me it was so reassuring to firstly see that there was actually a baby there but that it was growing well and had a good heartbeat. Ill deff do it for my next pregnancy. I'm resisting the urge to go again as my scan isn't until I'm 13 weeks 😭

Original poster

Kilminchy123 · 14/05/2021 16:13

God I am so sorry! 🥺🥺🥺 mind and look after yourself during this time ❤️❤️❤️

OP posts:

Mummyof2Terrors · 14/05/2021 16:15

Don't do it before 8 weeks. You'll feel even more anxious.

SillyBry · 14/05/2021 16:48

It's a tough call. I would say that it can be both reassuring and worrying...

An early/reassurance scan is a snapshot of what they see right now. So, they may see a heartbeat, a fetal pole etc, but it is no guarantee that it will still be ok in the days/weeks to come. Likewise, you might be too early for that, so you might see very little, but it doesn't mean it's not coming!
Because due dates are so vague at the beginning, it's also quite possible that you're more or less advanced than you think, which might highlight a concern that you see less than you expect, whereas actually, you just ovulated later than you thought... or it might mean things have stopped developing. Without a follow up scan, they couldn't tell you which of those it would be.

For context, I had an NHS scan at 5+4 because I'd have a previous ectopic pregnancy. At that stage, there was no heartbeat, but the uterine lining was thick and they saw a gestational sac. They told me they couldn't tell me it was a viable pregnancy as there was no heartbeat, but there was no reason why it wouldn't develop as normal and be fine. It was just very early. (As I only have one tube left, early was important to save that if it was another ectopic, rather than look at the viability of this pregnancy.)
I'm now nearly 24 weeks with a very viable pregnancy! I was reassured it wasn't ectopic, but I didn't feel super excited after the scan as it didn't really give me a complete picture. If I were you, I would try and wait until 6.5 weeks to give you more chance of seeing a heartbeat.

In terms of cramps and stomach pain, I had a really crampy tummy early on in this pregnancy... felt worse than period pain in the early weeks. I was sure it wasn't going to be ok, but so far, so good! :)

Tmrwillbebetter · 23/05/2021 06:42

Had an early scan which doc said was 6 weeks 6 days…under transvaginal scan he said he couldn’t see any yolk sac inside the gestational sac…asked me come back 2 days later for another scan with a better scanning equipment….feeling lost…cos it was my last frozen embryo transfer.

PurpleFlower1983 · 23/05/2021 07:30

Wait until 8 weeks so you can hear the heartbeat.

Whatshouldicallme · 23/05/2021 08:05

I had one at 8 weeks and am glad I did. It sounds a bit silly but as it is my first it was difficult for me to believe I was actually pregnant so it was helpful to have someone actually look and confirm it.

I had tracked my cycle really carefully and tested with LG strips so knew exactly when I ovulated. It was comforting that the baby measured exactly the size it should have done. I got to see a heartbeat, they confirmed the pregnancy was "in the right place," and that it was just a single baby not twins!

Once I'd had the 8 week scan I was happy to wait until the first NHS one. I felt 8 weeks was quite a good in between point when waiting for the NHS one felt ages away at the beginning. Even though the information they can give you early on is quite limited, it was enough for me just to see there was an actual baby in there and that everything looked okay for the stage we were at.

imaginethemdragons · 23/05/2021 08:12

Almost every day there is someone asking this question on here.
Or saying that they are 5,6,7 weeks been for an early scan and nothing seen, anxious, worried to death, is this normal......
Advice is always don’t do it until 8 weeks or more.
Pointless.
Inflates anxiety doesn’t tell you a single thing.
Money making exercise for the scan company.
Don’t do it.

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