Bit nervous: scan after reduced movements

[Nope2024]

I'm 28+3 and had to go to triage last night for reduced movements. Had to go last week as well. Baby was okay both times (last night had loads of movement as soon as we got there!) but they say I need a scan tomorrow. I've said yes but I don't know what they're scanning for.

I've had a lot of quiet days and busy days where kicks are concerned. But yesterday I didn't feel anything for about 9 hours. (I have an anterior placenta which is complicating things.) Is a scan likely to throw up anything scary? I've felt baby this morning and all feels okay today. But scans make me very anxious. 😔

I think it's common to send you for a second when you get repeated episodes of reduced movement just to have a check that everything is ok and there's nothing causing the reduced movements. They'd rather scan 9 women that don't need the scan than miss the 1 that does

True reduced fetal movements can be caused by placental issues. What I mean by 'true' is a baby who isn't getting enough oxygen and genuinely not well enough to move. As opposed to the odd off day, you're dehydrated or didn't eat enough, or even too busy to notice. A CTG would show a baby in acute distress so it's not that. But they do need to check placental function to cover every avenue. I'm sure it will be fine as baby is moving again and you were let home. Always good for completeness to have the scan though.

Thank you both. I'm happy to have the scan done but just forgot to ask what they're actually looking for, if you see what I mean. Placenta issues would make sense as a reason to have a scan, but fingers crossed it isn't that.

(I got very worked up about the 12 week and anomaly scan so my brain is conditioned to dread them! Baby has been all kinds of active today, so hope it was just a quiet day.)

It’s just the standard practice when you report for reduced movements in a lot of Trusts. They’re not looking for anything specific, they scan again to see if they can see movements you aren’t feeling (very likely with an anterior placenta) and for additional reassurance.

I had a scan after a second episode of reduced movements, the midwife told me it was standard practice to scan after two episodes. Wishing you all the best.