20 week scan….no more scans?!

[Waitandsee86]

I had my 20 week scan (well over 2 scans as baby wasn’t on right place), it was all fine and nothing untoward, which is fantastic. However, I was shocked when the sonographer said I’ll next see him when I’ve popped him out!! I thought there would be more growth scans? I mean how do they decide if someone needs a caesarean etc?!
Obviously this is normal and he wasn’t making it up but I really thought there was a scan towards the end? Any input welcomed 🤣🤣🤣

I had anxiety through my last pregnancy but tbh I was grateful for no more scans after 20 weeks. I hate scans. I took an ignorance is bliss attitude to help me cope. There’s no point paying privately for them as those places aren’t medical and are actually very ill equipped to support you if something goes wrong. When I had my missed miscarriage at 11 weeks baby at the private scan place, the sonographer couldn’t get me out fast enough, answered none of my questions, gave me no guidance on what to do next. Then the woman on the desk tried to sell me a pink/ blue teddy with a heartbeat that my baby didn’t have. After I left I received a ‘congratulations’ text and a link to my photos and video of the scan.

My trust also does the 36 week reassurance scan

The 36 week scan that some trusts have now is NOT a reassurance scan. It was/is being trialled as there is sound clinical evidence that it prevents some still births (poor placental flow picked up), undx breech babies, very large/small babies - basically problems that can get missed. Honestly, sometimes the total mid information on mn threads!

*miss information

I wish I had an additional scan at 36 weeks as midwives couldn't tell what position my baby was in.
If I'd known how difficult the birth would be I may have been better prepared.
In my sisters case the cord was knotted and this was only discovered as she had an emc due to being too slow to progress.
So yes I think there is some merit to having a later scan just before birth.

Mine was literally called “36 reassurance scan” and I was told it was introduced during covid because there was such a gap between appts but they’ve kept it on.

im sure there are other reasons to do it but that’s what mine was actually called

Lol. NHS doesn't have the resources to care about your mental health or reassuring you. They wouldn't scan or even do 48h HCG monitoring to confirm my miscarriage. It sucks.

Honestly as someone who had extra scans it gets wearing. After 30 weeks I had a scan every 2 weeks because they baby was measuring small and it just added more anxiety because if the baby stopped growing he'd have to come out. It was in the summer, the hospital was hotter than hell, massive queues and long waits. Be thankful that your baby is appearing healthy and they don't need to do more scans. I was a nervous wreck from them but I'm grateful they did them and my son is perfect.

@urrrgh46 it literally says on my trust’s maternity website that it was introduced during Covid as women were having less contact that the gap between 20 week scan and giving birth was too big so they introduced a 36 week one for reassurance.

so sorry if that doesn’t fit with your view

obviously whilst they are at it, they check positioning, size and the rest

Not so long ago there were no scans. Due dates were guessed from LMP, and if anomalies were present, you found out after giving birth. It was worrying as you didn't know whether you were going the full 40 weeks to give birth to a viable baby. Strangely now that scans are part of prenatal care, there seems to be more anxiety.

I had no scans for my first two or my late mc, where I had the coil in, but my third had one at 18 weeks when I had amniocentesis. I had a nasty fall on my way for a check up and got rushed for a scan to see if baby was ok at 36 weeks. They thought something was wrong so got another at 37 weeks. She was fine, but nobody spotted that she was back to back until she came out the wrong way round.

All I'm trying to say is that you are so lucky to have scans for free. I had no idea with my first two if they would be born healthy. My generation just had to live with uncertainty.

I agree with this so much! I've gone up to weekly scans now (also baby measuring small) and it's so much stress and hassle.

Obviously they're important, but they're also very much not fun.

Im 25 weeks with my first and had no idea there were only scans at 12 and 20 weeks until I had my 24 week midwife appointment where I casually mentioned I hadn't had any more scan appointment letters and she told me there weren't any more! I just sort of assumed they would be every 8 weeks until the end so I TOTALLY understand why you're a bit surprised, I was too!

It’s quite sad how we all just accept and justify how poor the service the NHS provides is. I had my first child in another European country that has national health care and I had a growth scan at 32 weeks as standard and you have an appointment with an obstetrician and scans at week 38 and 39 too to make sure umbilical chord is still functioning correctly and fluid levels are good.

The GTT test is also standard for all and so is the GBS screening. I get that the NHS doesn’t have an endless pot of money but other countries obviously feel this is a necessity in the care for pregnant women.

As a comparator, in Australia, there are two or three ‘big’ scans at 8, 12 and 20 weeks or thereabouts.

However, if you are under an obstetrician, you also have a scan at every appointment. The ultrasounds at the obstetrician’s office are generally speaking not as high quality and used, I think, more for reassurance than diagnosis. Anything serious would be result in a referral for a specialist ultrasound for confirmation.

In a ‘normal’ pregnancy, you usually have GP care for the first trimester, 4-6 weekly appointments in the second trimester, 2-3 weekly appointments in the third trimester. So that is 8+ opportunities for a scan in the second and third trimesters,

Just to add, I said a ‘normal’ birth and was really thinking of city based women in a similar situation to me. Australia is a huge country and geography and costs can play a part.

if anyone is interested: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/maternity-care-in-australia

I agree, OP.

I'm in France where there are three standard scans at 12, 22 and 32 weeks.

But if you are cared for by an obstetrician who has their own ultrasound machine you end up getting scanned at every appointment, so around once a month. I'm 14 weeks pregnant and have had scans at 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks and have another one next week at 15 weeks.

I had 12 scans throughout my last pregnancy, if you need them, you'll be offered them but for the most part, there is no medical need for people to be scanned frequently.

I've had extra scans, under a consultant and also even paid for growth scans privately
For me it's doesn't give me more anxiety, in fact the complete opposite

When I've gone in for reduced movement they've sent me for a Doppler scan so not growth but looking at placenta and blood flow and it was picked up my fluids were on the low side - still in range but low so in light of that I've had scans at 36,37 and today is my 38 wks
So for me it's extra reassurance

X

My BIL's partner had 20 scans and I had 10. They give them to those who need them trust me! You clearly don't need any more so just try to turn it into a positive and be grateful.

If they are worried about breech they can actually do a quick scan using a mobile scanning machine while you're in active labour which is what happened to me with my first!

My trust did that too, and introduced it about eight years. It definitely wasn't for reassurance, but for clinical reasons, and where that trust goes, others tend to follow (pioneered the triple blood test for example).

The explanation for reassurance sounds more about plugging the gap that could be left by women potentially having less access to midwives than normal - so positioning and size less likely to have been picked up in that way. So it remains a clinical scan.

I think everyone should be getting one. I did end up with later scans in the pregnancies before the 36 week one was standard; once for a low fundal measurement and once for positioning. So I think it is pretty common when it comes to it.

It's crap and there's growing concern it's unsafe. Often they've no clue what size / position babies are in and it's an emergency when a foot appears instead of a head. The touch and feel system isn't exactly foolproof. Our neighbours daughter was born after a horrendous labour that, ended in theatre, at barely 5 pounds full term. Somehow no one had noticed she wasn't growing ... we paid for a months private scan all the way through. They send them on to be added to your notes. Worth it in my opinion.

When ds1 was born at 36.3 he was a posterior lresentation with the cord wrapped round his neck. He was fine but the last bit of the labour was nerve racking and he had to be resuscitated. The midwives caring fir me both missed the posterior presentation and at the end when the heart beat kept dropping the midwife said it was a faulty belt. DS1 survived because on the third utterance dh bellowed out of the room, down the corridor I want a Dr in her right now. The head midwife came running and the red button was hit.

I have long thought that every woman presenting in labour should have a portable scan to check position and cord. This would enable a quick risk assessment and for the mother to be the final arbiter re a c-section.

My next two pregnancies were obstetrician led and the entire process was better informed. With dd place ta oraevia was identified at the 20 week scan. Scanned again at 28 weeks - it had moved but she was then breech and remained breech despite an attempted ecv until 38 weeks when she turned the night before an elective c section.

Maternity care in the UK is shocking. Ask to speak to the consultant obstetrician at your next appointment op. I am sure they will support you.

Yeahh 12 and 20 weeks are the only ones! I'm 26 weeks have had a 4D private one booked for Thursday (27 weeks) and now have midwife appointments every 2 weeks so it doesn't seem to bad xxx

Baby can move and change position at anytime even right up to labour, so even if you have a scan the day before labour it doesn’t guarantee they will stay in that position. They normally move into the right position during labour (if they are not already) but the midwife will feel your tummy when you go in and be able to tell the position. They are amazing at what they do and can feel!

Apologies, just seen this is an old thread 🙈 Hope your pregnancy is going well.