Scans. Why do we bother?

[spidermama]

I expect I'll be a lone voice on this matter but here goes.

I never had scans. Didn't see the point. I think routine scanning is an expensive waste of NHS money and regularly scares women during pregnancy.

I've lost count of the number of women who've had needless, sleepless nights because of comments made or action taken as a result of scans.

I don't need them for bonding. I can bond perfectly well without a grainy picture.

Yet the vast majority of all women I meet seem to love scans. Why?

I lkoved my scan too; first chance to see the baby moving and, well, just there. DH loved it too. It was very special to us. Loved my picture too.

One more thing lockets.....Normally a midwife will be able to tell if you have twins by palpating. Routine scans mean many of them have lost the knack and the hospital mw was really pleased to be able to palpate me for this reason.

I think I'm just old fashioned and untrusting of modern man-made machinery in the birth arena.

I'm sure my friend would have known, really. I mean, with both my babies, I could tell head from bottom, and find both, so I'm sure I'd have noticed if there were twice as many heads and bottoms as you'd expect.

But it's still nice to think about not being sure. One of my aunts had triplets without knowing ahead of time - her GP knew, but didn't tell her, as he wanted to do the delivery himself, and knew she'd get a specialist if she knew it was a multiple birth.

I had 4 scans when pregnanat with my ds and have all 4 pictures still which i treasure deeply.
I have had 2 miscarriages, first mc wasnt scanned at all and second was scanned at 7 weeks and at 11 weeks but baby died at 8 weeks.
I am now 15 weeks pregnant and already have had 6 scans at 6,8,10,12,13 and 15 weeks. All these scans have been vital for me, not only to check on my baby but to also keep me calm and sane! I love knowing my baby is ok and seeing how much it has grown. I do understand that a scan is just a snapshot in time but i think they are amazing! I also have a doppler so i can hear my baby move and heartbeat! I am counting the days till my next scan at 21 weeks!!

Although that wasn't really a nice thing for her, she had a hard pregnancy, she was only a small woman anyway, and of course they were early, and they weren't ready for three babies.

Spider - why go to the expense (4 times? crikey!) of hiring a private midwife (I'll BET that was expensive). Why didn't you just do what other people who don't want a scan do and not go to the scan appointments?

Its strange but I worried far less in my first pg when I didn't (couldn't) have any scans, but then that was the norm and also I was v. young and possibly quite stupid especially about pregnancy.

The second time around I worried a lot about possible abnormalities because I was so old and the scans were both a source of anxiety (what might they find?) and very reassuring (when everything looked good).

I like to feel I wouldn't have had scans just for their own sake eg. for gender etc

And the modern man-made machinery now means that far fewer babies and women die in pregnancy and childbirth. If you don't want any interventions, fine, but for the women who need them and take them, they are something to be grateful for.

My friend who homebirthed all her four didn't have a private midwife. (Did sm say she had a private midwife?) She just refused all scan appointments.

It's a bit wasteful to have appointments and not go.

i don't see ay as foolish, all i am saying, is some people preach the 'au naturelle' thing too much..
my friend for example wanted to give birth to her first baby in her garden in a paddling pool, she didnt see a midwife at all and was convinced she could do it alone..she did do it in the end, and even caught her baby herself, but he had bad breathing difficulties and he ended up in hospital for two weeks afterwards( ok..this is an extreme case, but has only served to emphasise my feelings on this?)
my midwife has told me how many women come in 'ready to push' without havinng seen anyone beforehand..fair enough that is their choice but why risk yours and your babies life by denying the amazing medical treatment we can get.
i myself hope for a relatively intervention free birth, i will drink rasberry leaf tes before, then have a water birth with no drugs if at all possible (feeling safe in st thomas's hospital), but i will not deny any neccesary medical check ups

NQC - that's what I meant. No-one forces you to have them. Just say No!

Wow bonkerz - that's a lot of scans. Are they thinking there is a problem or just checking you to reassure you? I had two miscarriages before this pregnancy and had an early scan at 8 weeks. I got the impression that, if I'd needed further reassurance at say 11 or 12 weeks, that I'd have been denied any more scans and told to wait for my 16 week one.

Giving birth in your front garden in a paddling pool without a midwife is mad. Refusing scans makes some sense - the more scans you have, the more likely they are to find something they think is unusual, so the more likely you are to have an intervention.

(That being said, I have two friends who had babies without midwives present. Not on purpose. Everyone was fine.)

I had 5 scans w/DD. But I had a LOT of complications - chiefly hypertension and acid reflux that turned into an esophaegeal ulcer and made me very, very ill. I also had bleeding in the first trimester.

I've had 2 this pregnancy.

I had 5 scans w/DD. But I had a LOT of complications - chiefly hypertension and acid reflux that turned into an esophaegeal ulcer and made me very, very ill. I also had bleeding in the first trimester.

I've had 2 this pregnancy.

BOB - I think there is quite a difference between someone who seeks no antenatal care throughout their entire pregnancy and someone else who uses an independent midwife but refuses scans.

think it is a good thing for twins/multiples to be discovered prior to delivery.

obviously, only those with problem-free pregnancies are going to agree routine scans are a waste of money.
dh's friend recently had a baby whose heart abnormality was detected at 20-week scan and she was delivered by C-section (that alone prob saved her life as she would have been unlikely to withstand labour) and then had surgery at three days old. She's doing well now. So was routine scanning a waste of NHS money for her and her parents? Er, no.

ah of course..my friend weas a toatl fool in that respect, just trying to back up my 'earth mother' comment as many women are like that and it is shocking...

But your friend was breaking the law and sounds a bit barmy. That's hardly the same as sm.
The term earth mother isnt a derogatory term.

Interesting thread spidermama - imo scans are useful to check baby is as to be expected, but a lot of women nowadays seem to view their scan as a nice photo and chance to see the baby and find out the sex, when actually it is a check to find out all necessary organs are developed. It was really awful for me following 20 week scan for DS when people kept asking had we found out the sex - a possible heart anomaly was found and I had to go for a more detailed scan, was worried sick about this but it all turned out OK. Prior to that the nuchal scan gave odds DH and I weren't happy with and we agonised for weeks over whether to have an amnio or not. (Did in the end - with any future pregnancy I certainly wouldn't have nuchal scan 0- it's result is meaningless if you think about it).

By contrast with my first baby, had scans and thought they were wonderful and reassuring.
How much changes with time...

it isn't derogatory, unless the woman in question feels it her duty to preach to others about her beliefs..and having a few friends of this mindset I know very much what I am talking about.
Perhaps my friend is a little crazy..she kept it almost a secret as she had mentioned it to us, but we thought she was joking, or just exaggerating her expectations....
i'm almost certain there is no law against this though? who can force someone to visit a gp/midwife etc..and what about women who give birth in the back of a car alone?
you cannot force soemone dying of heart failure who could benefit from medical intervention to stay in a nospital, it is all individual free choice..
obviously i did stray of topic here..but who cares..

It is illegal to plan to give birth alone.