Confused about 12 week scan

[Missnicolinda96]

Hi guys. I have my scan booked for 12w 2d. Whilst booking it, the mw said that they do them at 12-14 weeks, not earlier - however, the nhs website says they can happen at 10-14.
I had a scan at 9w 6d and it still looked rather stumpy and bean like? How could they possibly check all of the organs at this point?

I do understand that they usually don't check the nuchal fold until nearer 14 weeks, but this is concerned me that baby might not be developing as normal

These are my scans from 9 weeks & 12 weeks. There is so much growth at this time you won't believe it!

Don't worry, you'll be suprised how much your baby grows in those first few weeks! The 12 week scan is to check heartbeat, confirm EDD and do any testing if you are wanting it doing. The 20 week scan will check all of their organs, limbs, brain etc.

Was the scan you had private or was this classed as your nhs 12 week scan?

Was your 9w one a private?

You'll see a massive difference between 9 and 12 weeks.

We seen our LO bouncing around at 12 weeks scan and I didn't expect that at all, your can see their legs kicking etc.

It is much clearer, don't worry.

Congrats

It was private yes. And it wasn't 9 weeks it was 9w 6d, so basically 10. I've seen scans look pretty similar to mine, but I'm still worried. On the nhs website it says they check major organs, but I'm having a hard time understanding how they could do that when baby is still so underdeveloped? Or is this just based upon lmp in most people?

If it was private and you're still due your nhs one then please try not to worry. Babies develop loads in each week.

Also, at 7w 6d babies hr was 155 then 170 2 weeks later? 170 is good, but I have expected it to rise more than that? Only 15 difference? I'd have expected at least 180 tbh.

I had my 12 week scan yesterday at 12+2 and looked nothing like the scan I had at 10+4! Honestly, there is so much growth in that little time. The sonographer just checked that the heart is functioning, measured the nuchal fold, could see the two halves of the brain, and that's about it. The actual anomaly scan happens at 18-20 weeks where they check over organs and development in more detail.

If they can’t do all the measurements at your 12 week scan they will rebook you. I can remember over analysing everything with my first, so convinced something would happen to her.
It ruined my pregnancy and I had pnd which took two years to properly clear up.

Of course you can’t just turn off worrying, I know! But please do try and relax a little and enjoy it.

You can see with my 9 week and official 12 week scans there is loads of difference!

My private scan at 9+4 (done transvaginally as well so the clearest they could get) looked like a chicken nugget but at the actual NHS one he looked like a baby. I was surprised at how much growth happens in such a short time but it they really do change daily at that gestation

having a hard time understanding how they could do that when baby is still so underdeveloped

They check major organs at the 20 week one.
They are trained to do this, they have the eye, we don't. Which is why we don't always understand our scan pictures etc.

170 is great.

Stop googling and try and enjoy

At 12 weeks they can't say for sure that eg. The brain is fine, because it is still developing. But they can say that it is developing as it should be. Same for the heart and some other major organs. They can see that they are as expected for 12 weeks gestation.
At 20 weeks they can see much more clearly that things have developed properly.

Stop googling, stop worrying about numbers and what you’d ‘expect’. You’re not a sonographer!
I worried so much about my first baby’s scans, looking back I wish I’d just enjoyed it and not had so much anxiety about it

I had a scan at 9+6 and then my “12 week” scan right at the end of my 13th week (he ended up measuring 14+2 so we were actually unable to have nuchal measurements taken as it was past the deadline). As you can see they look completely different! They grow so much in just a few weeks that they will be big enough to measure all the things that need to be measured at that point (usually length and nuchal measurement I believe). They don’t thoroughly check all the organs until 20 weeks so don’t worry. Week 12+2 sounds like perfect timing for the scan.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sure I told the sonographer that I thought I was just under 7 weeks at my first scan (not measured by lmp, but by when I got my bfp after 2 negatives) But I'm concerned that he thinks I'm going by lmp and there's an up to 2 week margin of error for that.

So baby could be very underdeveloped and they wouldn't be concerned because "it could be 2 weeks either way"

I had my official NHS scan at 11+3 and they could see and measure everything they wanted to 😊

@Missnicolinda96

Thanks for all the replies. I'm sure I told the sonographer that I thought I was just under 7 weeks at my first scan (not measured by lmp, but by when I got my bfp after 2 negatives) But I'm concerned that he thinks I'm going by lmp and there's an up to 2 week margin of error for that.

So baby could be very underdeveloped and they wouldn't be concerned because "it could be 2 weeks either way"

You are way over thinking this! Once you've had a scan, it'll be the measurements of the baby that will decide your gestation. You've posted about this before, about the heart rate. 170 is a normal heart rate for that gestation. It's probably the highest it's going to get. You need to stop googling, it's going to be a very long pregnancy if you're analysing everything and not trusting the professionals.

12 week scan checks the baby's length, which gives your EDD/gestation, checks the babies location, and development. Doesn't check the major organs. The sonograohers are trained to do this they know what they're doing. You have to trust them

If you hadn’t had the 9 week scan would you be concerned about any of this before the 12 week one? Sometimes too much information is just worrying without the understanding to put it in proper context.

Mine was a similar situation with confusion over dates and they said I must have ovulated early because baby measured 5 days bigger than I knew him to be, even though at 9+6 he measured bang on my dates, and unless it was immaculate conception it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d ovulated earlier because no sperm was present, so I am certain of my dates just baby decided he’d have a little growth spurt! Plus ultrasounds can be a couple of days off which is why it’s good you’re booked in around the 12 week just in case like me you go past the cut off for screening.
As long as there’s visible growth from 9+6 to 12+2, I’d try not to worry, especially about dates as they’ll likely go by the dates they decide at the 12 week dating scan anyway (I’m now always 5 days further along regardless of what I say or think). I also think better to be under because if they think baby is still a little too small they’ll get you back in to repeat measurements which is better than not get them at all.

Hi, I had a private scan at just under 10 weeks, and my NHS scan at just over 12 and the difference was incredible, it really is amazing how quickly they grow in the early weeks. They check all the organs in detail at the 20 week scan but will check things like the heart, brain and stomach at the 12 week one although not in as much detail. Good luck :)

OP step away from Google. If you get to your dating scan (12 weeks approx) and the baby isn't the right size to do the checks they will rebook you to come back later, this happened to my friend, it's really not anything you need to worry about. The heart rate you describe is totally normal.

Hi OP, I've just had a look at your posting history and you are having a lot of scans and I can see you have a lot of anxiety about this pregnancy after a previous loss. I just wanted to reassure you that I experienced similar to you, lost my first pregnancy but then went on to have two successful pregnancies with no problems. I also think maybe it would be a good idea for you to speak to your GP about possibly getting some help for your anxiety (I say this as someone who has also been there.) Having almost weekly scans isn't sustainable and whilst you're being told everything is fine at them by the medical professionals it obviously isn't reassuring you much.

I had a private scan at 9 weeks (only found out I was pregnant at 8!) and my 12 week scan was booked for 12 weeks on the dot (according to my dates which were confirmed) I felt similar but the difference in pictures is comical tbh!