low placenta re-scan at 36 weeks, is this right?

[mama2leah]

i was told i had a low laying placenta at 20 weeks, and am told i will have to have a re-scan at 36 weeks, i spoke to the midwife about it today, she said the hospital changed its policy...it use to be 32 weeks...is there anything i can do to get a scan earlier?
what are my rights?

Don't really understand. What's wrong with being scanned at 36wks?

I had low lying placenta and they rescanned at 36.

I was rescanned at 32 weeks and could barely contain myself.

I understand how frustrating, worrying AND confusing it is.

Believe them when they say it is likely to move. Mine is posterior and was least likely to move as opposed to anterior but it still did and is now pretty high.

Did they say how low?

34-36 weeks is about right, most of them do move up, they'll just re scan to be safe, if it was one they were really worried about then they'd have you in earlier. Try not to worry I had it with dd1, was re scanned at 34 weeks and it had moved right up.

No point in getting a scan at 32 weeks - the baby at this stage is really piling on the weight and so a low lying placenta at 32 weeks could possibly move up by 36

I wouldn't worry about it. I had a low lying placenta and had a scan at 36 weeks and by then, it had moved up

I think the standard is 34 weeks if placenta was covering cervix at 20 weeks (likely to need emcs so want to know well in advance of likely labour) and 36 weeks if it was just low-lying and therefore had more chance of moving. At 20 weeks my placenta was just on the edge of the cervix but not covering it in any way - I was scanned at 36 weeks, and placenta had moved. So sounds to me like your hospital is doing the standard thing. I think if they scan at 32 weeks then still plenty of time for it to move so no point doing then as would need to rescan anyway at 36 weeks.

I guess the later the re-scan the more likely it is to have moved. My placenta was shown to be partly covering my cervix at 20wks and I have been told it is hospital policy to rescan at 32 weeks, however if it has not moved at that point I will be demanding a rescan at 36 wks anyway (not sure what the hospital policy is) as I won't be happy to make a definite decision on CS based on 32 wk scan - I imagine that's why your hospital have changed their policy - the earlier the re-scan, the more like a further scan will be required.

Wouldn't worry about it.

I was told of low lying placenta at 20 weeks scan but didnt worry as had it in previous pregnancy and by my 34 wks scan it had grown out. Anyway this time round had a bleed at 26 weeks and was admitted to hospital for 10 weeks during this time i was scanned about 3 more time- placenta had moved from grade 4 to a 2 My final scan was last week at 38weeks and babys head is lower than placenta now so can have natural birth.
I think it mainly depends on if you bleed and what grade it is. as the others have said by 32 weeks there is still time for growth. In the majority of cases its sorted itself by your next scan which is generally 34-36weeks.

ahh thank you all for your responses,i understand that but it is worrying, plus we are not sure of my exact due date, breastfeeding and got pregnant so its all an estimate...and i always measure small for my dates anyway.

the person who scanned me didn't really go into great detail as she was worried about many other factors due to problems with dd pregnancy.

the midwife was annoyed that the hospital changed its policy, as it causes worry to the patient, example in my case, where i am unsure of dates, and worried if i go into labour before they scan me, and i may need a c-section

i also know im very hormonal right now so i am probably not seeing sense.

Ah I see about being unsure of dates. Have you gone into labour early previously? If not I wouldn't worry too much, the early scans are fairly accurate at dating I think.

my early scan was when i was 16 weeks + 1, would the due date still be accurate?
no i went 2 weeks over with dd, but everyone around me seems to have gone into labour early...

paranoid mind i knw

I was told my placenta was overlying cervix at my 20 week scan and am being rescanned at 34 weeks (2nd June), I understand how frustrating it is to wait and have been very impatient myself. The likelyhood is that it will move something like 9 out of 10 do.

I just want to know if I'm having a c-section or not so I can get myself prepeared mentally more than anything.. this is my second pregnancy and it must be the hormones or something as you just seem to want as much information as you can get..

Hold in there and try not to think about it to much

I had a normally placed placenta at my 20 weeks scan, then it moved south which was picked up at a 31 weeks scan for GD. I am going back at 36 weeks and then possibly 38 weeks to re-check it's position. I know it is something like +4cm from being in a difficult position so I guess they are not too worried. Hope it all turns out ok for you

Oh - I see your issue with the dates - that does make things slightly more complex... Have no idea if dating scan is as accurate at 16 wks - perhaps someone else here will know? If it's any help I had a dating scan at 10 wks then the estimated growth dates at my 20 wk scan were also given and they were about 3 to 4 days out from each other so not hugely different...

Easier said than done, but try not to worry - i'm sure your dating scan couldn't be too far out from your actual dates.

i hope your right...

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Hi All

I had low lying placenta with dd in 2005 and was supposed be re-scanned at almost 36 weeks but dd was impatient and arrived the day before

and she hasnt changed a bit since...still wants everything yesterday lol.

I think it's normal so don't worry - chances are it will move higher in time