8 Week Scan - worth it??

[orlz2010]

Hi, I have just found out I am pregnant for first time ;-)
I was wondering what people though about going for an 8 week scan?
On NHS I can get a scan at 12 weeks but can pay £160 for a private scan from 8 weeks, dont want to waste £160 for sake of 4 weeks if there is not much to see, would like to know what people think who have had an 8 week scan!!
I am excited so I am considering it, also I dont feel pregnant, no sickness or anything, I feel normal so maybe seeing baby will make it real cos we havent told anyone yet!!

There's not alot to see at 8 weeks, a small blob in a sac, maybe with a heartbeat (it can be normal to find one a little later). The 12 week scan shows up alot more, it's amazing how much they grow in a few weeks.

Congratulations

Heart beat starts at around 5weeks, 3 days, and will be seen on scan by 6weeks, but they might have to use an internal scanner to see it that early (the normal scanner may not pick it up until about 7 weeks, depending on the position of the uterus), a sac, fetalpole and yolk sac should also be visible.

With an early scan at 8 weeks you would see a head/body and limb buds, a beating heart, and they would be able to count the heart rate and measure the crown to rump length of the fetus, and the crown to rump measurment will tell them how fast the heart should be beating, and these two together give an indication of fetal health.

The size of the sac, and the yolk sac, in relation to the size of the embryo is also an indicator of fetal well being, so there's actually a lot of "indicators" they can use to assess fetal viability - the big one being a visible heart beat.

It is the size/heartbeat, sac size, presence of a yolk sac of appropriate size that they are looking for in these private "viability scans". They would also rule out ectopic or molar pregnancy, as these would be evident at this stage too.

It's up to you to decide if it's worth £160, if money is no object, sure, why not.

I've had LOTS of early and repeated early scans in the past couple of years (several m/c and now a very closely monitored pregnancy of 23 weeks), so I have a good idea of what they can see from week 4 1/2 onwards, but I've fortunatly not had to pay for any of them. It could either reasure you, which would be great, or warn you things may not go well - if it was bad news would you rather know that
sooner rather than later? If not, don't spend the money!

I had a private scan at 7+6 weeks and found it really good at putting my mind at rest, was amazing to see the heartbeat and it really helped DH switch onto the fact I was pregnant.

I didn't pay £160 though, think mine was £79 at babybond so it may be worth shopping around a bit.

From a different view, I had a scan at 8 weeks and all fine. Had one 2 weeks later and not all fine. I was completely convinced of the greatness of early scans with previous pregnancies until I had this, and now not so sure.

to loopy and knackered. Its a no win situation really. I had one at 6 weeks and 9 weeks, because I am ridiculously impatient. Was only £100 though, which I felt was worth paying for peace of mind. But there is still that doubt that something could go wrong even though the odds have gone down. For me, it was more that I didnt want to carry till 12 weeks, if the baby had failed to develop early on.

I had an 8 week scan for reassurrance as I have a history of miscarriage. You should see the heartbeat at that stage, but the baby really isn't much to look at - it's a bean shaped blob really! By 12 weeks, it looks like a baby.

Fwiw, dating isn't very accurate before 10 weeks as the baby is too small. So if you need a dating scan to get an accurate EDD, you'll still need a 12 week scan. The approx dates I got at my 8 week scan were out by 6 days.