Scans during pregnancy

[juliettefreire]

Hello everyone!
I was wondering if anyone has been advised by their clinic/hospital about spacing out pregnancy scans? Basically I have been told to have 2 week gaps between scans due to the "radiation" and had never heard this before and the NHS website certainly doesnt mention any known side effects/issue for mum and baby.

I was such at a loss for words when I got told this that i didn't challenge it but its been on my mind ever since... has this happened to anyone?

Never specifically radiation.
I did have an early pregnancy scan ( after severe pain) and a follow up scan two weeks later. After the 2nd scan a sonogramer said I should be reassured now and that too many scans would not be good - so she was vague

Later on pregnancy my baby had restricted growth and concerns re organ size and they provided weekly/ fortnightly scans between 28-36 weeks ( then baby was born)

That's a load of rubbish. I had regular scans with my first two (private obs). With my 3rd, after two miscarriages, I was literally scanned (transvaginal scan for weeks) every single week probably until I was about 12 weeks, and then at every appointment after that.

Now I will caveat that with this was 21 years ago and advice might have changed but I very much doubt it.

I had a million scans with each of my 2 pregnancies including one during active labour "just to check he's head down" . Never had any risk mentioned to me.

OP... pregnancy ultrasound scans use ultrasound and not radiation.....
they don't want to over use ultrasound which is why it's use has to be justified with adequate clinical information but it can be used daily in some high risk pregnancies.. but trust me.. there's no radiation in ultrasound.

This is odd advice. I've never heard of. a risk to baby, I had them almost weekly in the first trimester.

NHS gave me 2 x 12 weeks scans 1 week apart and I had 3 x 20 week scans also all about 1 week apart so no I don't believe there is a risk or they wouldn't do it.
I have read to wait 2 weeks between scans to measure growth etc because a week isn't long enough to see a difference so that may be where it has come from.

It’s nonsense. In Japan, women are scanned every 1-2 weeks.

The real reason they recommend scans every two weeks is to be in line with RCOG guidelines. The idea is that two weeks provides enough time to observe growth and to make meaningful comparisons between measurements. That’s all.

But if someone needs more frequent scans, then they need them!

With my first, I had scans every week due to a short cervix and he came out absolutely fine - it’s now 6! Please don’t worry x

I've known pregnant women to have more frequent scans than every 2 weeks if needed.

I agree with PPs, two week gaps are likely to allow for enough growth to take meaningful measurements.

Ultrasound is perfectly safe in pregnancy. I've had 4 scans in this pregnancy so far (27 weeks) and I've had non pregnancy ultrasounds during this pregnancy too.

My hospital has booked me two scans 48 hours apart for my 20 week scan (one is more specifically on the baby's heart as I am diabetic) and the other is more general.

But when my waters broke at 33 weeks with my daughter i was told i couldn't have a scan for 4 days as i had had one less than two weeks ago.

Same hospital.

Think it's more a money saving issue than a safety one

Is there a reason you need scans so frequently?

I’ve never heard that, I thought the two weeks is so they can see noticeable differences between each scan. And if you’re having private scans out of choice, some private clinics suggest two weeks otherwise it isn’t helpful for your mental health. Scans don’t change the outcome of the pregnancy!

I work in Radiology which includes X-ray, ultrasoun, nuclear med, CT, MRI etc. Ultrasound doesn't involve radiation so it's complete bollocks. Clue is in the name really - Ultra-Sound. It uses sound wave frequencies. It's completely safe. We don't usually need to have that many scans as it's a waste of time/no clinical reason, expensive for the trust to keep providing and can make women worry much more than they need to.
I would seriously consider making a complaint about a health care provider advising you of such misinformed and dangerous information to be honest.

I had a scan on Friday 1st at my fertility clinic as the night before i thought i was miscarrying. Unfortunately I bled again on Tuesday and decided to call the early pregnancy unit who did not want to offer me a scan until Friday 15th. I had one booked at the fertility clinic on the 12th and they said I should cancel because its not been two weeks... and said its because of safety and 100% mentioned radiation which really confused me.

Their dismissal in scanning me just made me think they think im being over the top but when you are bleeding and think you are miscarrying, it sucks to not be able to know if all is okay and have to wait 2 weeks...

thank you for the replies! I will definitely mention this all to them when I go in Friday when i go in

How far along are you OP?

I assume the first scan confirmed the location of your pregnancy was your uterus and ruled out an ectopic?