Scan anxiety

[Jadelr]

Hi,

I am 8 weeks pregnant tomorrow and have a private scan booked on Friday. I have found this week I am just paralysed with fear, I'm finding it difficult to function because I'm so consumed by all my anxiety regarding the scan.

I'm worried something will be wrong when I go in due to a previous loss discovered by a scan so now I associate scans with losses. Did anyone else feel like this before a scan and everything turned out to be okay?

I think aswell I don't have many symptoms and just don't feel pregnant so that adds to my anxiety. Sorry for the ramble I'm just worried 😟

It is really nerve wracking, especially after experiencing a loss. I'm so sorry you went through that, it's hard.

I have nothing useful to say except, keep going, deep breaths, distract yourself tonight and get a good sleep, and I hope it all goes well tomorrow.

(Also I never 'felt pregnant' so I know what you mean- but that doesn't mean you aren't)

Sorry you’ve been through loss and it’s made you more anxious. I don’t feel pregnant and have no symptoms, but I had a private early scan at the weekend and there was a heartbeat, so it’s ok to not feel pregnant - it doesn’t mean anything is wrong. Wishing the best for your scan 🧡

@mynamechangemyrules Thankyou for the advice I appreciate it! I think I'm going to just try unwind until Friday even though it's going to be hard x

@Richie23 Thankyou for replying, Aw congratulations! That's what I'm hoping for it's hard to believe everything is okay when you don't necessarily have any symptoms however I have read that symptoms aren't a good indicator of a healthy pregnancy etc. Thankyou so much 🖤

Congratulations on your pregnancy @Jadelr

I felt exactly this, I had a previous ectopic and scans were associated with bad news for me. I had an early scan at 9+5 and baby was happy and moving away. Then the wait for my 12 week scan was filled with more anxiety worrying something had gone wrong between the 2 weeks. My symptoms also decreased, which added to the anxiety.

However when we went for the 12 week scan baby was once again happy and measuring ahead. pregnancy is full of anxieties and worries. I’m currently 13+1 and I’m trying to calm myself and take each day as it comes.

Wishing you all the best

It is the most awful anxiety and hard to describe if you haven’t experienced a loss. I have everything crossed for you xx

@Emmaev Thankyou! Congratulations on your pregnancy, pregnancy after loss is just so difficult 😞 I'm trying to be positive but I also feel like I'm trying to protect my own heart too incase anything bad happens again. Best of luck for the rest of your pregnancy x

@Trusttheprocess1 Thankyou! I know like I've spoke to family and friends etc but they've never experienced a loss so they don't understand why I'm worried. Where as I know how hard the first loss was on me and my partner and it scares the life out of me the thought of it happening again. Pregnancy is such a blessing but pregnancy after loss just isn't the same all the joy seems to be taken away and replaced with fear 😞 xx

I found out at my 20 week scan. When my second pregnancy got to the scan and the lady said everything was ok I cried my eyes out! I clearly had some post traumatic stress built up

I remember feeling quite similar. The only thing I’d say is that scans offer momentary relief and I found that once that’s done, it’s easy to slip back into worry all over again waiting for the next milestone.
So with that said, I’d really recommend trying to find more long-term techniques for getting your anxiety under control.
I listened to one podcast where a lady during birth watched youtube videos of people falling over to get positive hormones flowing. Perhaps you can find something that can distract you/make you laugh to get some positive energy flowing?
can’t say I’ve mastered this myself - certainly need to take my own advice. Good luck xx

Yes we had a MMC/blighted ovum in April last year discovered at early viability scan (IVF) the sack continued to grow with nothing in it until 9 weeks when I miscarried naturally it was an awful time.
The good news is that on our next round of IVF in October 23 we were again successful but this one stuck around and I'm now 23 weeks with a very active, seemingly healthy baby.
We went for scans at 6 and 8 weeks which were just horrible I hated being in the waiting room and held my breath on the bed with my eyes shut just waiting for those words. It doesn't help when you have zero symptoms.
It does get easier though now I can feel baby move the scans are not as stressful.
My only advice is to just try and take each day at a time and remember that worrying and being anxious makes no difference to the outcome, I was so scared to me optimistic in case I jinxed it which is mad but it's unfortunately the way our brains work sometimes..
Good luck and congratulations!

I've felt the same, it's very normal and to be expected. I've tried to remember - I can't change anything, and statistically it's more likely to be OK than not be OK. I think accepting the anxiety can help, don't try and make it go away as that's impossible! At least you will have some more answers after the scan, and hopefully be reassured. if the anxiety is really having an impact on you and your life, can you get some counselling? I had counselling after my miscarriage and it really helped so much, and got me into the right head space to TTC again. Symptoms or lack of symptoms isn't indicative of progress, it's about how your body is reacting to the hormones.

This is normal after a loss. With this pregnancy (following three losses) I cried going into all of my scans until I could reliably feel the baby moving.

@Jadelr so sorry for your loss. I had a MMC last year followed by two early MCs. When I fell pregnant again I was so nervous. I had a few early scans at EPU and was so nervous before each one. I almost fainted in the waiting room waiting for one of them. Currently 16wks and all progressing nicely. Thankfully every scan has been good news, including 12wk and combined screening. It's so hard to dare to hope after previous loss but it is certainly possible to get a different outcome. This is a whole new pregnancy and no reason it shouldn't have a happier ending for you. 🙏🏼🌈💕

@Jadelr I had a previous loss over a year ago and I'm currently 20 weeks. I can definitely relate to the scan anxiety. I've has 5 scans in total now and each time I've convinced myself there wouldn't be a heartbeat. Unfortunately I haven't found it gets any easier but the best advice I can offer you is just to distract yourself as best as you can . Do you have any hobbies? Maybe a little walk , or watch some comedies or listen to music to distract your mind