Datimg Scan less than 5 minutes. Is thus normal?

[Whatn3xt]

I had my dating scan yesterday and it was all extremely rushed. Nothing was explained and the scan was over in under 5 minutes. I was out the door in less than 10 minutes.

The sonographer didn't even TRY to take any clear, still images so all I have a blurred waves as the wand passed over. I'm worried they didn't take time to measure and check things correctly. Overall it was very underwhelming and disappointing. Is this the norm? Should I contact my midwife to see if it can/ should be redone?

I had mine yesterday, it was definitely a good 20 minutes or longer. He spent a good time looking at all parts of the baby and identifying them and overall made us feel very reassured.

The NHS scans serve a purpose but they are solely medical procedures. One ultrasound I had (not for pregnancy) the sonographer didn't even speak to me and I got my results by post. I had a high street scan during pregnancy and whilst it was nice to see baby for a bit longer it actually stressed me out because there's no doctor around if there's anything untoward, they only care about the heartbeat. One option would be to book a private scan with an obstetrician but likely to cost £££ and I'm not sure what you'd want out of it. Was it just that it didn't take long?

You don't get clear pix from scans, they're always all fuzzy grey.

Sonographers know what they are looking at, and the measurements at medical scans can be done that quickly.

A quick scan means there is absolutely nothing to worry about. It would be concerning if you are there for ages (unless they explain it's simply a case of the baby being in an inconvenient position) and worrying if they get a colleague in.

My first dating scan was the same. I then moved and had to have another one and the sonographer was far more pleasant and took her time to get clearer images, the first one was getting very frustrated because the baby wouldn't stay still and kept rolling around, as if I had any control over the child!

Sorry you feel disappointed OP. For comparison (although I’m sure things vary depending on where you are in the country), I had my dating scan/12 week scan yesterday. He measured 4-5 times to make sure he was getting a fair measurement (wriggly baby), showed me it’s arms and legs and hands and feet, measured the nuchal a couple of times and took 5 pictures for me to take home. He managed to get a better picture towards the end so also then printing that out and said ‘there’s your perfect shot!’

Altogether it took about 10-15 minutes and he probably had the scanner on me for about 10 minutes. When I went, there were only 2 other couples waiting for their scan (I don’t know if this is a lot or not) and generally our hospital is a quieter one compared to others in the country.