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Original poster

Miscarriage after TV Scan

38 replies

Ashleighh95 · 19/12/2023 19:59

Just looking for advice or similar women who may have experienced the same as me. After falling pregnant and everything being absolutely fine for the first 6 weeks me and my husband were eager to have a private scan to check we were actually pregnant.

I then went for a private TV scan and clearly saw everything on the screen, including the flickering of a heartbeat. Told everything was healthy and as it should be at that stage. (I must add after having multiple of these probes in the past for different reasons, they usually are not painful or haven’t been uncomfortable. However, on this occasion the TV scan during my pregnancy was much more painful especially when being moved around for the scan).

Came away with a great report of a healthy first pregnancy and EDD. Up until this point I had no concerns and everything was going well. Unfortunately, exactly 24 hours later I started to bleed. This wasn’t heavy but light spotting, only to then experience it getting heavier and I began to pass clots with bad stomach cramps.

I attended the A&E with suspected miscarriage symptoms and to be advised that it’s unfortunate but they see many women experience a miscarriage after having a TV scan in early pregnancy. To this I was shocked as I wasn’t advised it was unsafe.

Fast forward 12 hours later I had my bloods taken and was advised they wouldn’t scan me to confirm miscarriage and so instead I went home to be comfortable whilst in so much pain, discomfort and of course heartbroken.

To have my miscarriage confirmed I decided to book in for a further private scan (NOT an internal scan but just a normal tummy ultrasound) with a different company.

In my heart of hearts I knew the outcome was sad news, I just felt it but it was confirmed on the tummy scan I’d suffered a miscarriage. The woman performing this scan was experienced in midwifery for 30+ years and to my surprise confirmed that she would never advise on having a TV scan in early pregnancy due to the ultrasound waves being so much stronger and internally the cervix and uterus being sensitive.

I was so surprised at this and she went on to say she also sees many women in early pregnancy suffer a miscarriage after having a TV scan and highly recommends against it.

After this as you can imagine I’m suspicious that my TV scan caused my miscarriage, as well as hearing other similar situations. I understand that a multitude of reasons or factors could have caused my Miscarriage but I’m eager to hear what people think and if anyone has had a similar experience.

OP posts:
TheYearOfSmallThings · 21/12/2023 19:51

However, like I said I have done some research ofc which i think is a natural thing to do after being told what I was. This is what I found -

Do you mind saying where you found that? I think it is important to clarify this because there is a lot of incorrect information and opinion on the internet.

MoonIightDreamer · 21/12/2023 21:05

I too had read horror stories of people adamant their early scan caused their miscarriage. I was petrified to have it but had to as we transferred multiple embryos and had to check they were in right location. I had a tv scan at 7 weeks and was convinced something would happen baby.
Just saw the baby today again at 10+2

Barleysugar86 · 21/12/2023 21:29

That doesn't sound like a very scientific source OP. There will be data somewhere showing no increased risk of miscarriage following these scans. It will have been considered and it will have been shown not to exist- over very large numbers of pregnancies- so they will be highly accurate to any blips.

OdeToBarney · 21/12/2023 21:38

I had TV ultrasounds every few days for weeks due to IVF complications. My daughter is now nearly 2. I'm sorry for your loss OP and I'm sorry you have been misinformed. The NHS never recommends "unnecessary" scans. However, that does not mean said scans are unsafe.

JazBag · 21/12/2023 21:58

Ashleighh95 · 21/12/2023 18:37

Thank you for this. I appreciate your feedback and concern of the advice from the NHS. However, like I said I have done some research ofc which i think is a natural thing to do after being told what I was. This is what I found -

Healthcare providers are sometimes questioned by pregnant women about the safety of ultrasound use. A vague answer is frequently given, such as “ultrasound is non-invasive and has been used for almost 50 years, so therefore it must be safe”. While there is a reasonable amount of truth in this answer, the concept of absolute safety does not exist, and there is a need to increase clinicians’ knowledge on the potential biological effects of ultrasound.

Ultrasound is a form of energy emission, a sound wave alternating positive and negative pressures, so it has the potential to produce biological effects on tissues and cells that cause harm to the fetus. There are two major mechanisms that may potentially affect embryonic and fetal tissues: thermal and mechanical.3 Thermal effects result from the passage of ultrasound waveforms, with transformation of acoustic energy into heat. This constitutes the major potential adverse effect of obstetric ultrasound, with several reports existing of the deleterious effects of heat on embryos/fetuses

If these findings above are in any way true, I’d also want to help prevent other women going through the same unnecessarily.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I just wanted to chime in ..
I had a TV scan at 7 weeks following IVF treatment and whilst I was not advised of any danger the consultant would not let us listen to the heartbeat as she said the additional heat can harm the baby. I didn't question this and assume her to be correct

Again I'm so sorry xx

SD1978 · 21/12/2023 22:07

I'm surprised and disappointed you've been given erroneous information from multiple sources. I would be reposting each and every one

SD1978 · 21/12/2023 22:07

Reporting, sorry

Andarna · 22/12/2023 13:02

It's standard to have a tv scan at 6 and 8 weeks at the fertility clinic I went to. They make their money by being succesful (best in my country) so wouldn't take unnecessary chances.

I'm sorry you lost the pregnancy, take care.

gentlemum · 22/12/2023 14:20

I think those saying report the clinician are being unfair. Whilst it was probably an unhelpful thing to say in that moment, she was simply sharing her experience and her clinical knowledge that having unnecessary scans so early should be avoided. I've read previously about why in a standard low risk pregnancy only 2 or at most 3 scans are offered, because they don't know for sure scans are safe and have no adverse effects on the baby. There isn't necessarily the evidence to say they cause harm, but also they don't have the evidence to say categorically they are safe. This post is not the first of its kind I have seen and sometimes anecdotal evidence, like the clinician was sharing, is also useful to know to make informed decisions in the future.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 22/12/2023 15:47

she was simply sharing her experience and her clinical knowledge that having unnecessary scans so early should be avoided.

Nope. It was factually incorrect and as a clinician who is seeing women at a vulnerable time, it is extremely important that she does not proffer anecdata or random opinions to patients who will give her words more weight than they deserve because of the authority her role gives her.

Nobody is suggesting these staff should be reported to get them in trouble, just so that their managers can make sure they understand that ultrasound scans do not cause miscarriage so they stop wrongly suggesting that they can.

gentlemum · 22/12/2023 16:55

@TheYearOfSmallThings it doesn't explicitly say that the clinician said the scan caused the miscarriage, she just highlighted some risks and said she wouldn't advise it. How do you know she is factually incorrect? She is expressing her medical opinion and experience. Research evidence in general in most areas is limited and just because there isn't explicit evidence or study of something doesn't mean there isn't a correlation there. Experienced clinicians use their knowledge and experience which is so important, it's not just all about reading books and research articles.

FictionalCharacter · 22/12/2023 17:48

Ashleighh95 · 21/12/2023 18:37

Thank you for this. I appreciate your feedback and concern of the advice from the NHS. However, like I said I have done some research ofc which i think is a natural thing to do after being told what I was. This is what I found -

Healthcare providers are sometimes questioned by pregnant women about the safety of ultrasound use. A vague answer is frequently given, such as “ultrasound is non-invasive and has been used for almost 50 years, so therefore it must be safe”. While there is a reasonable amount of truth in this answer, the concept of absolute safety does not exist, and there is a need to increase clinicians’ knowledge on the potential biological effects of ultrasound.

Ultrasound is a form of energy emission, a sound wave alternating positive and negative pressures, so it has the potential to produce biological effects on tissues and cells that cause harm to the fetus. There are two major mechanisms that may potentially affect embryonic and fetal tissues: thermal and mechanical.3 Thermal effects result from the passage of ultrasound waveforms, with transformation of acoustic energy into heat. This constitutes the major potential adverse effect of obstetric ultrasound, with several reports existing of the deleterious effects of heat on embryos/fetuses

If these findings above are in any way true, I’d also want to help prevent other women going through the same unnecessarily.

The problem here is that research includes evaluating the sources of the material and examining the validity of their sources as well, until you get to the bottom of “who found that out and how” rather than just who is claiming that it’s true.

That article talks about reports of adverse effects of US on embryos/fetuses. But it doesn’t say that this has been demonstrated in obstetric US. Sometimes the reports referred to on websites are research papers about experiments on animals, under conditions that are far more extreme than anything that’s done clinically in humans. It’s possible that these reports are about the effects of high levels of US on animals, enough to generate significant heating. If there is direct evidence that obstetric US is damaging, I’d expect them to say so instead of saying “potential”.

Ultrasonographers and radiologists are far more informed about known and potential risks of the procedures they perform, and specialise in, than midwives. As a PP pointed out, the midwife has seen MC happen after these procedures and attributes the MC to the US procedure. But women with high risk pregnancies or suspected abnormalities, who are more likely to miscarry anyway, are more likely to have the procedure. So most likely it’s the pregnancy problem causing the need to have the ultrasound as it were, rather than the ultrasound causing the miscarriage.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 22/12/2023 18:06

Research evidence in general in most areas is limited and just because there isn't explicit evidence or study of something doesn't mean there isn't a correlation there. Experienced clinicians use their knowledge and experience which is so important, it's not just all about reading books and research articles.

A clinician should not give advice that is contrary to all respectable research. And in terms of correlation, a midwife will see many women who have miscarried after eating spicy food, drying their hair with a hairdryer, or travelling in a lift. There is no research to demonstrate that these activities are 100% risk free, yet it would be entirely irresponsible for her to suggest a correlation. Much more research has been done into the safety of ultrasound scans, and all reputable sources agree that they are safe. A clinician advising otherwise is in need of training.

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