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?

My first scan at 13 weeks was important to me as I was still in denial!! It made things seem real. I had one more' routine ' scan at 20 wks. I wish I had been offered a later one too, then I wouldnt have had such a traumatic labour.

I don't believe in scans for the hell of it but both the nuchal one and the 20 week one serve a purpose in picking up problems be they minor, major, life threatening or incompatible with life. I don't think scans are done willy nilly - no one thinks "Oh, I've not seen baby for a while I'll nip in for a scan".

Nice guidelines recommend an early scan but doesn't have to be nuchal, and 20 weeks.

I would like to point out that I did not call you smug SM. I said very specifically, that to someone who has experienced a life-threatening condition in pregnancy, your views sound (unintentionally) smug. ie I didn't need a scan, therefore they are a waste of valuable NHS resources.
Enid, I think pregnancy and birth is an entirely normal process, but so is death and disease. Just because it's normal doesn't mean it isn't potentially highly dangerous. It was for me and for plenty of others. It's one of the most dangerous things you will ever do in your life.

spidermama- express all you like but in your subject line you are asking a question - why do we bother... and people like me answered using our experience and how valuable the scans were to us. With dd1 I ended up having 10 scans - if you include the fetal cardiac scans......

I think making the point about how medicalised pregnancy has become - rules out the point that some women prefer to have all the tests etc, some need them for health reasons and some like them for reassurance. Others may be like you - decide to have as little intervention as possible.

You made your choices based on your experiences which are as personal to you as mine are to me...

Your initial statement is rather inflammatory - a waste of NHS resources.... well I wasted away and am glad I did.

as for needing them for bonding - so you didn't but perhaps others did.

You finish by asking why we love scans - cause in a number of cases they save lives, help people prepare for the known, and reassure that there are no problems.

Then you go on and say I knew this would happen - so why ask the question in the first place if not to stir things up and create a 'debate' about antenatal testing. Why get all wound up about people sharing their personal experiences when you asked for it in the first place.

Your tone in your messages is smug and you are putting down people who needed or wanted a scan... you reply to people with inane analogies and get all het up when people simply state their experience and knowledge.

So each to their own. For those of us who have had troublesome pregnancies ( for want of a better word) they are a godsend..... and that is why we bother.

ALL..there is such tension with this thread.....come on everyone are we not able to express our own personal views and feelings on this without getting upset about it???

My feeling on scans is it's nice to see the baby, no, we don't know what damage they do (if any), be prepared that you might see something you don't want to find out or is upsetting to deal with, but you might also see something that will help you have a healthier baby than if you hadn't had a scan.

How can I have missed this... LOL
Read a fair bit of the thread.
Spidermama- on a personal level I am totally with you
But I am not at all surprised at the reaction you got on here....
If I had a 3rd, I would have no scan, a home water birth (again), no immunization (again) and would probably go for elimination communication..... but I suspect the 3rd won't happen

Just to set something straight. It isn't actually illegal to plan to give birth without a midwife/if you choose to refuse all antenatal care. It is,however, illegal for someone else (say a DP or friend) to act as a midwife and deliver the baby if he/she is not a midwife or doctor.

Also, the fetus has no rights in UK law until it is born...

See here for further clarification on the issue www.aims.org.uk/

Now, back to ultrasound. Various studies have linked ultrasound to un-natural increases in left handedness (proving the ultrasound waves change the wiring in the unborn childs brain) , learning difficulties,behavioural problems and inter-uterine growth retardation. For the references and further information for this see Ultrasound? Unsound
Written by Beverley Lawrence Beech and Jean Robinson.

And here...

www.radmid.demon.co.uk/scans.htm#safe

Unless I am symptomatic I won't be having any ultrasound scans in pregnancy.

Another latecomer who has missed this thread up until now

I have read of Swedish research on scans that indicate a relationship between higher numbers of left handed people who were scaned while in the womb vs people who were not scaned while in the womb. Whilst that may not seem terrible, it does indicate that there maybe cause and effect relationships involved.

The sound has been compared to being in an underground station as the train comes in... very loud.

I don´t like scans. I have had scans, one with my 2nd pregnancy, but I have decided unless an emergency, that I will have no further.

Why? Because I find them invasive and upsetting. I worry more about having them, than not having one. I can see that the baby notices something - with both pregnancies the baby would bundle up in a corner. I think its the loudness.

Last time I went it took a long time to complete the scan because the baby was so uncooperative. They made me go to the toilet, cough lots and walk around. The women ended getting someone else to come and take over because she was getting nowhere with gaining the info required.

Whilst medical intervention has helped save many lives, I am glad I still am given the choice - that it is not compulsary, because for me the intuitive connection to pregnancy and motherhood is important to me.

Oh nuttynurse just read your post... only read half the thread before I decided to post and just skimed your post until now.

You mention the left handness too - going to look at that link now... thanks

I've just had my anomaly scan (21 weeks). I'm glad that we are privileged enough to have the choice whether to have scans. Personally, I wanted to have a scan and have taken a huge amount of comfort from the fact that everything is going as planned. This pg and my last were very difficult as was the birth of my ds 9 months ago. I would never criticise a woman for the choices she makes in her ante natal care or the choices she makes in relation to the birth of her children and I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to criticise me for having a scan. Pregnancy and childbirth are hard enough without comments and criticism from people who know nothing about an individual's situation. Can we all please be
a bit more supportive of other people's choices?

What a stupid question! (the title of the thread I mean) I could go into chapter and verse about why we should bother, but I won't. It's obviously one of those polarised threads if it has 188 messages!

I hate scans,but if I hadn't been scanned in early pregnany,I certainly wouldn't have my DD's & may not not even be here today.An early scan saved my fertlity & possibly my life.