Is a private 16 week scan worth it?

[hopingforapeainapod]

Hello - first time mum here, 15 weeks tomorrow. DH and I originally wanted sex to be a surprise but over the last couple of weeks I’ve decided I actually really want to know - I also submitted my 12 week scan pic to Early Glimpse and they said they were 99.9% sure I was having a boy (!!) which has, bizarrely, made me even more curious. DH has come round but says we should just wait until 20 weeks (we ended up paying for private scans at 6 weeks and 9 weeks so he thinks we have paid enough already!) I understand, but the wait between 12 and 20 weeks seems so long - I’m not really showing at all yet and I can’t feel any movements, so also feel I would like the reassurance. DH makes the point that we should be able to hear the heartbeat at 17 week midwife appointment anyway and that might make me feel better. Any thoughts? Should I be patient and hold out, or is it worth it?

I didn't - the MW easily found heartbeat at 16 week appointment and that was reassuring enough for me, and we're not finding out the sex. There's nothing else they can really tell you at 16 week scan. It's normal not to feel movement at that stage.

Personally I would save the money and spend it on a date night, or a pregnancy massage for when you're later in pregnancy.
Finding out the gender 4 weeks earlier will not really change much

It depends where you are if the midwife will listen to the heartbeat at the 16 week appointment. In my health board they only listen from the 24 week appointment onwards because it can be hard to hear the heartbeat before 20 weeks due to the size of the baby, and not hearing the heartbeat then leads to stress for the parents even if everything is fine.

I personally went for an additional 3-4 private scans throughout pregnancy, I was 37 and really welcomed the additional reassurance as I was nervous something would go wrong! I also loved seeing how the baby had developed at each stage as he was so much bigger at every one! I would do the same thing again if I were to be pregnant a second time, I enjoyed going to them and they really put my mind at rest

Hi Op!
we have a 16 week private scan booked (I’m almost 14 weeks) for reassurance.

we were under epu before 12 weeks and had 5 scans and the waiting is too much for me 🙈
think you just need to do what’s right for you!

I would say it's worth it if you can afford it. At 15 plus 5 I had one with my son (he's now 2) and we decided to find out the gender last minute ! It was magical and we both cried tears of happiness.
I won't be finding out the gender of this one though. Xxx

We had a 16 week private scan wasn't bothered about knowing the gender really but I was very anxious (v v long awaited for IVF pregnancy after miscarriage) it was 100% worth it for me..just to have that reassurance all was ok. We decided to have the gender put in an envelope so we could open at a later date if we decide to... That later date was 5 minutes after we left the clinic because we had both guessed from what the sonographer had said!
Also had a 6 and 8 week reassurance scan and again found them well worth it.

I had this exact discussion with my partner, I was desperate to find out at 16 weeks he said to wait until 20. It did build up the excitement more and having already had a private scan at 9 weeks we didn’t want to fork out again. Ultimately I’m glad we waited until 20 weeks although it felt like time stood still at the time.

Mw checked heartbeat at 16 weeks so that gave me the reassurance I needed. So an extra scan would have just been for gender

My 16 week private scan was my favourite in my last pregnancy so much that even though I am having lots of extra scans this time round we have gone and booked again. Hoping to bring our LO with us as children cannot attend nhs scans.
personally if you can afford it I think it’s worth it!

Depends on your finances and how intrigued you are. If having an additional scan doesn’t break your bank or/and if you are curious about the gender or the general health then it’s worth it. If you don’t care about anything then don’t book it. Listening to heartbeat at MW appointment is not guaranteed, they are not required to do that anymore and gender reveal on 20W scan is not guaranteed either, depends on the mood of the sonographer. Getting your moneys worth out of a 16W gender scan can also depend on the centre you’re attending. I’ve been booking with an award winning centre and even though I had a basic gender reveal booked the sonographer took the time to look at the heartbeat, general health of the baby, spoke to me about my placenta and I guess I could say it was the same quality as the 20W scan, but she didn’t do an in-depth analysis of the organs. She just viewed if everything is where it should be, the sizing and if there’s anything to highlight or not. Getting all that from a gender reveal scan is not guaranteed in all centres.

Are you sure they will listen for a heartbeat? They never did at my regular midwife appointments, only in the hospital (when I went for reduced movements).

I did get a 16 week scan with my second pregnancy so my daughter could come and find out gender with us as she wasn’t allowed to the hospital.

Really? I've had it checked at all my appointments (16 wks, 25 wks, 28wks, 31 wks). It was a standard part of every appointment, not something I've had to ask for.

I think it must vary between areas, my SIL heard her babies' heartbeats but it just wasn't something they did with either of mine 🤷🏽‍♀️.

I have only heard my babies heartbeat at the private scan I had at 17 wks. The midwife said they don't do it before my next appointment at 28wks because the baby is too small. This was different than my first. I got to hear it in every midwife appointment.

A lot of trusts don’t listen for a heartbeat at 16 weeks anymore so don’t count on that without checking x

I always had the heart beat checked for both babies it was part of the checklist the midwife had to do.
My midwife for one baby did it at the booking in appt. She said she had never not been able to find it and so if she couldn’t she would have sent me to the hospital.

It varies by trust. They don't commonly do it in my area but as it was my second baby and I had the same Mw for my first I cheekily asked and she said they don't usually as it can be hard to find at this stage causing unnecessary worry but they'd give a go and luckily I was able to hear it which was lovely.

If you're wanting to find the sex out OP I would book a private scan. The 20 week scan is an anomaly scan and some sonographers won't tell you the sex/ or go looking if it's not obvious

My daughter had a gender scan when she was 16 weeks at a private clinic. Told she was having a girl. At 20 week NHS scan the sonography ask if she wanted to know the sex? She said yes, was then shown definite proof it was a boy!!

I did a gender scan with both of mine. I'm so happy I did.

Also, if the baby isn't in the write position at 20 weeks, usually they don't bother at the hospital to find out the gender- and after that, you won't get any more scans.

I love how on the private scan they keep looking until they are certain or they call you back for another scan (that will be included in the price).

Some people are OK to wait, but I'm not one of those. I have loads of friends who wanted to wait until the 20-week scan but ended up booking a private scan later on as they couldn't tell the gender due to the babies' position.
I think it's worth the money.

I did with DD, for reassurance. I'd had multiple losses beforehand, including an ectopic, and I just did not trust my body one bit. For some reason I also had my 12 week scan a bit early at just 11 weeks and then it just seemed so long to leave it before the 20 week scan! We did want to know the sex, but only because we were exhausted by that point, and wanted as few surprises as possible, even good ones! But because of my history, we only paid for that one private scan. I remember going for a burger afterwards with my partner, and just giggling nonstop. Our daughter became real to us that day, I think. A lovely memory.

I think it's worth it! I had one at 17 weeks where they told me my baby was a girl. It was a wonderful experience and you get more certainty than the 20 week NHS scan (where their role is to check for any anomalies). It was honestly one of the best days of my life.

If you can afford it I say go for it!

Thank you for all of your answers! I should add that husband and I are hoping to go on holiday at the end of May, before my 20 week scan. I’m therefore also tempted to have a scan just to double double check everything is okay before I fly abroad - we couldn’t move the holiday to after my 20 week scan as I’m a teacher so have to go in May half term.

I think husband is on board but he says he would rather we get the sonographer to write it down and then we can find out in private - think he gets self conscious about these kind of things and I agree it would be nice to celebrate together / find out the two of us. I assume it will be fine to ask the clinic to do that?

We had a sex scan at 16 weeks because my NHS trust don’t tell you at the 20 week scan so as others have said you should take that in to consideration. My midwife also didn’t start listening to the heartbeat until my 24 week appointment.

One thing I’d say is if you’re planning on going on holiday the 16 week scan may be a good idea to find out the position of your placenta if nothing else. I had a low lying placenta 2mm away from cervix. Zero issues at all and it’s since moved up but I did find it useful to know.

I've had quite a few private scans, including a gender scan, I don't regret getting any of them. It would absolutely be fine for the sonographer to write the babies sex in an envelope for you to open privately.

Personally, it's helped me feel more connected to the baby (I've been quite unwell and have had difficulty connecting) and it has definitely helped reassure us! X