Early scans

[thismotherhoodthing]

5.5 weeks pregnant with my second

Last time I had early scans at the early pregnancy unit at 6 and 7 weeks due to bleeding and the fact I have very bad endometriosis/adenomyosis and had had a previous early miscarriage. I then had a private scan at 10 weeks, I had already booked this scan for the 7 week mark but due to the hospital scans, moved it back.

Pondering what to do this time around. I live in a different area now, and I'm not sure if I'd be eligible for an early hospital scan. I've had a little bit of mild spotting but I've assumed I can't even call them until I'm at least 6 weeks so I'm considering getting a private scan booked in as I think this is probably my only option.

Not sure whether to get it as early as possible (6 weeks) or to try and hold out a bit longer (8/9 weeks) so it's them not so long until the 12 week scan.

I am familiar with what the scans look like/what you can see at each stage. But just thinking more about mentally what would be the best option - any thoughts?

I always went with a 9 week scan. If it’s got a heartbeat after 8 weeks and measuring fairly on track then it’s likely to remain positive.

My very first pregnancy- 9 week scan was a missed miscarriage. So the next two pregnancies it helped to reassure me. Also like you said it’s then only a 3/4 week wait for the 12 week scan.

If you have one at 6 weeks will you just end up booking another at 9 weeks? What if you measure a few days earlier than 6 weeks and don’t see a heartbeat, will it make you more anxious than reassured? I think the 6/7 week scan is only helpful if you suspect ectopic. That’s only my view though. (In my current pregnancy I ended up at the epu at 8+0 due to intense pain and concerned about ectopic, it was ok though).

My personal opinion is to do it as close to 8 weeks as you can manage (I'll be something like 7+5 for mine). The logic being that by that point if you see a heartbeat your risk of miscarriage reduces significantly, but doing it too early may needlessly worry you as it may well be too soon to see the heartbeat. Even if you're pretty sure of your dates it might have taken a while to implant, for example, and so be behind what you expect. I'm doing 7+5 to make sure I'm definitely at least 7 weeks.

www.tommys.org/baby-loss-support/miscarriage-information-and-support/miscarriage-statistics#:~:text=Risk%20of%20miscarriage%20by%20week%20of%20pregnancy&text=According%20to%20one%20study%2C%20once,scan%20around%20week%2011%2F12.

Yes this is great advice and I think if I did it at 6 weeks I would probably end up booking another anyway as you say. I think I might aim to hold off until 9 weeks!

Yes exactly it can just cause more worry can't it. I think cause I had the scans at 6 and 7 weeks last time I want that same reassurance but the situation is different and I wouldn't be getting them at the hospital so I might aim for 8/9 weeks and just try to distract myself until then. Easier said than done!

I would definitely wait until 8-9 weeks, as others have said less of a wait for the 12 week scan + earlier scans can cause more stress if dates/measurements are off (which isn’t uncommon early on)!