no twenty week scan :(

[Makingdo]

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That's awful. I can't believe you don't get one! When do you have one?

Wow, that amazes me. I've never heard of that before. I would have thought the twenty week scan was essential. I had anomalies picked up at my last one, so unfortunately it does happen. I think you are right to go private.

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Have you contacted your local hospital maternity scan unit?? A lot of hospitals actually do the private scans there too. You'll have to pay but most of the time it's cheaper than independant places. And closer.

Check out the NICE guidelines on www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG062publicinfoWord.doc (extract below)

Ultrasound scans
You should be offered an ultrasound scan between 10 weeks 0 days and 13 weeks 6 days to estimate when your baby is due and to check whether you are expecting more than one baby. This scan may also be part of a screening test for Down?s syndrome (see below).
You should be offered another scan, normally between 18 weeks 0 days and 20 weeks 6 days, to check for physical problems in your baby. This is called the anomaly scan. Your doctor or midwife will give you more information about the scan and what the results may mean for you so you can decide whether you want to have the scan or not. If the scan shows a possible problem, you will be referred to a specialist to discuss the options available to you. It is important to realise that no test is 100% accurate.

THis is what you are supposed to be offered. Speak to your midwife/GP and ask why your area is ignoring the national NICE guidelines.

What scans do you get?

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When I had my babies I was given 20 week scans but not 12 weeks - don't know if it has changed since.

Oooh tis all wrong

In swansea where a friend of mine lives, they only give 20 week scans to parents who request them. I found this quite suprising although I assume that most people would request one anyway.

If you were to get an NHS scan where would it be? It might be that you would have had to go to aberdeen anyway, even if it was on the NHS.
Would the unit where you would have had a scan if you were high risk let you pay for a scan?

That is very bad. I would say the twenty week one was the most important.

Our healthboard also has this policy. I only had 12 week scans for both my pregnancies (until I was overdue with both of them and had scans at 41 weeks). I probably would have preferred to have had a twenty week scan but I also think it is gives false reassurance. Yes it can show some anomalies but it is no guarantee your baby will be born in perfect health. It can also give false indications of problems which can cause a lot of unnecessary worry.

I think your midwife has a point. Yes it would be good to know if your baby has any abnormalities, but the 20 week scan doesn't tell you that for certain. And in a cash strapped health authority where only one automatic scan is given, the dating one is more important. You will get as many scans as you need should you have any problems.

Good luck with your pregnancy! Relax and try not to think about what problems there might be. I know it's easier to say!

Scotland?

You're right about NICE but what about this?

www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/files/Ultrasound%20Advice_final.pdf

It's dated 2004 but I can't find a later version. There may be one that changes the advice in this document.

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Well I come from a totally different perspective in that at a twenty week scan anomilies were detected in my baby. Had I not had that scan I would have gone through an even more traumatic time than I did (sadly the baby's problems were terminal). I am so grateful that I found out when did, I simply do not know how I would have coped otherwise.

I know that situations like mine are rare, but I know two other people whose babies needed operations as soon as they were born due to heart problems, both of whom found out at the 20 week scan. They are both well now.

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I have heard of people paying for scans in this way, might be worth giving them a phone and seeing if it is something they would offer.

GO private. You shouldn't have to pay for it, it should be standard, and I can't believe it's not!!

I think that if the news is all good, then you can relax and enjoy the peace of mind, and if the news is something that you have to come to terms with, then that time before the baby is born is extremely valuable.

Makingdo - same here in Lanarkshire (and some areas of Glasgow too I think).

I was just talking about this on another thread. I think it's terrible. We were advised to lobby our MP and/or write to the Trust if we feel strongly enough about it.

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I'm very sorry to hear that Constancereader. That must have been incredibly distressing. It was a real fear of mine towards then end of my pregnancies that the babies might have a similar condition. Both times it made me wonder if I should have had a 20 week scan privately. But then again I don't think anxiety about the welfare of your baby is limited just to those of us in stingy health authorities

I agree that in an ideal world every pregnant woman would have two automatic scans. It is clearly best practice in England. But in Scotland we have some of the worst health outcomes in Europe and the health boards have lots of claims on their cash. God this makes me sounds like a real defender of the health board and I'm not at all. I guess I am used to a 12 weeks scan being the norm. It's what I had, and most of my friends had. To me it doesn't seem that unusual.