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First U/S Booked ? story
I get back from the Vacation and had no VM from my GP or the OB/GYN re: my u/s appointment.
The OB I?m going to (I know of from many friends) makes appointments very far in advance because they?re so busy. When I went to my GP I was 6 weeks so I thought 6 more weeks to book is plenty of time. I spent the afternoon yesterday calling both DR. offices about 6 times each clearing up a mess [Dr. was only faxing a request and OB only accepts phone call requests]. 
I get the ?first? u/s and appointment booked. August 13 ? At frist I was pleased until I wrote the date in my PG calendar and see that I?ll be 17 week. So yes I was a little pissed, there is no way I?m waiting for 17 weeks to see that everything is ok. So I again call the Dr. and I have to admit I was pretty nasty. WTF? They can?t just leave me with NO prenatal care until then! 
Anyways?after speaking with my DR. directly instead of his dumb-dumb wife he told me to come in this tomorrow and pick up the requested U/S form and Blood work form and that he will continue to see/treat me like an OB would until my actual OB is ready for me.
Soooo?.I?ll be getting my first U/S earlier than expected! 
Re: First U/S Booked ? story
Wow you're lucky. From what I know, if you are having a normal pregnancy and you don't do the NT scan, your first (and only) u/s is usually betweem 18-22 weeks.
Have fun at the u/s! There isn't much to see at this point, but it is so reassuring!
Wow! That is weird!!
For example: my GF, her 2 sisters, my aunt and her friends all have the first U/S around 12 weeks. I?ve never heard of the first one being 18 ? 22.
And from the list above the earliest one had her baby 2 months ago and the later was 10 years ago.
This is why I assumed that 12 weeks was the normal. BTW ? neither one of my ?friends? had any issues
Like the PP said... 18-22 is normal. The 12 week u/s is usually for the IPS testing.. that's my understanding of it. I had one at 8w for dating purposes as I didn't know how far along I was, but that was it until 20w
Mom, why are you washing my feed in the sink?!
Yes, first and only U/S in BC is 18-22 weeks, too.
Although my midwife sent me in for an extra at 15 weeks. I was measuring big for that stage, so she wanted to rule out mulitiples (and fibroids, I'm sure.)
I've known a few people get earlier U/S for dating purposes. (if they have no idea when their LMP was or when they ovulated.) But that seems rare nowadays.
WOW ok thanks ladies..
One one of the people I know did the IPS test this is why it was weird for me to hear that!
Good to know..
Ok this worries me. Then how do you find out if something is wrong in your first trimester or that your baby is even growing?
Seems kind of stupid to wait until half way through the pregnancy to make sure everything is okay.
I guess this could explain why my cousin and his wife didn't know that the umbilical cord hadn't attached properly to their baby until she was 5 months along and then she was forced to deliver her child or decide to carry what would be an eventual still born until the 9 months were up.
Totally retarded systems.
Makes you think twice about having a child.
You take the 12 week IPS scan. Most doctors won't see you until you're out of your 1st tri anyways.
Mom, why are you washing my feed in the sink?!
Ya but judging by what the above posters said.. it doesn't seem that this test is even reliable enough to take and seems like a stupid reason to take it just so you can have an ultrasound.
But anyway, definitely makes me rethink having a child or I need to find some health care that will satisfy my needs.
The only reason I've had extra scans is because of all the losses. Especially the ectopic - although I had no risk factors for one in the first place, having had one places me at higher risk regardless, so that needs to be checked on ASAP. Otherwise, 18-20 weeks would be my only one.
Onetier, I felt the same way.
I guess my option is to do the IPS scan JUST so I can make sure from the U/S that the baby is ok and then not do the 2nd blood work which is need at week 15-22 [I think] to complete the test.
I don't want to know the results but I want the early U/S.
Is that stupid of me?
I don't know that there are actually as many false positives from the test as other posters are making it seem. When I told my dr I wanted to do it she told me that she'd only ever seen 1 positive from the test and when the baby was born he/she was fine.
Mom, why are you washing my feed in the sink?!
That was not necessary.
You see a dr that uses a doppler to listen for the heartbeat. If they have issues with that then the dr would do something different, like an ultrasound.
Besides, if there is somehting wrong or the baby isn't growing in first tri I believe there isn't much that can be done anyways.
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Sorry I guess I used the wrong word. Totally inadequate system would have been the right word. Sorry.
Exactly. Plus first tri bloodwork - hCG series can indicate whether everything is progressing as expected.
I've been through the first tri ringer 5 times now. It has been so hard on me that I honestly don't think I could have done it again if this baby hadn't stuck (and I am still anxious about it sticking through the whole nine months and being born healthy). But really, there is *nothing* that can be done if there's something wrong in the first tri. It's a cruel waiting game.
They can hear the baby on the doppler at 8w - so if they suspected anything to be wrong, they would book and u/s - it's not like the hold the 18 weeks rule if you choose not the to do the testing.
In OneTier's cousin's case - It sounds like everything must have been fine for a while if they were hearing the hb and not booking anything until the regular time. It's a terrible thing to happen, but I think it's one of those "one off" situations.
And yes (imo) it's not right to not follow through on the testing. That stuff isn't cheap and to be "playing the system" for your sanity (or whatever you want to call it) when someone who might really benefit from the testing is waiting, it isn't fair to them.
The IPS screen may have high false positives for Downs Syndrome and a few other things, but major issues like poor attachment of the umbilical cord or major physical abnormalities would be caught. U/S is the best thing we have right now for prenatal screening until MRI becomes more cost effective, and further studies done to show that it's safe in pregnancy.
Our health system really isn't 'that' bad - there's been some major advances especially considering none (or very few) of our mothers would have had routine U/S testing.
Most of the time they can't detect and umbilical problem until 16 weeks or later, that is when they diagnosed my two-vessel cord and when I did further research they I discovered that they can go undeteted until when I found out or late, some are never detected.
YOu should be given the choice to do prenatal screening. It's called IPS, Integrated pre-natal screening where they check for Trisomy 18, 21 and Downs. IPS part 1 invovles an u/s and blood work between 11-13weeks and part 2 involves a blood work at 16-19w. That's probably what your friends had and your doctor should tell you about this screening to see if you choose to do it.
Otherwise, your next u/s would be the big u/s around 18-20w. My doctor also did a "dating" u/s at 7w to see how far along I was.
You may as well get the second part done too, why not? At least you'll know that your baby is ok and what your risks for downs, and trisomy are.
This is not true. The IPS doesn't definitely tell you whether your baby has downs or not, it will give a ratio, ie: you have a 1 in 1000 chance, etc. If your chances are over a certain cut off or threshold your results will be deemed ok, if it's below the cut off than you'll be offered the chance for additional testing, like amnio which will determine for a fact whether the baby has it or not.
That's kinda what I meant without actually saying it - because it's threshold based they'll never be able to say for sure, but can recommend further testing if you're over a 1 in whatever cut off for odds.
My point was just that the fact that we can even determine the odds of something being 'off' with the baby is pretty damn spectacular. Working in research, I can definitely attest to how long it actually takes and how much work is required to get to clinical implementation of anything like this.
I didn't want the IPS test b/c of the high amount of false positives. I asked my doc to send me for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy - he happily obliged. Then, they found a huge (tennis ball size) cyst on my ovary and asked me to come back 4 weeks later. THEN I had a "leaking" issue (what I thought was leaking, but it wasn't, gotta love the TMI factor in pregnancy) at 15 weeks, so I had one then too.
So I had 3 u/s before the "big" u/s at 18-22 weeks.
You could just ask your doctor for an u/s to date the pregnancy if you're not wanting the IPS
Humm...I don't know!
I know for sure that DH and I want to do the 3D one to find out the sex of the baby. [Yes, he got me to cave it].
You don't need a 3D one to find out in most cases. The regular old u/s at 20w will give you this information.
Those 3D U/S usually aren't done by medically trained staff. They're just for entertainment purposes. But a person would be able to find out if the baby was alive or not that way.
Many midwives and doctors won't even try the doppler till 12 weeks. The earliest I've heard one working is 9 weeks and it wasn't easy to find.
And it's true. If one is to miscarry it will happen no matter what.
I'm actually fine with the fact that low risk moms-to-be have fewer ultrasounds. Less of a burden to our already over burdened health care system. And not all medical professionals are convinced that multiple ultrasounds are in the best interest of the developing embryo/fetus. So they make sure the benefits outweigh any possible (even if improbable) risks.
I was happy to get one... but I wouldn't have wanted the other one if it hadn't been for my midwife telling me it was important for me in my particular situation.
It is not standard to have an ultrasound before 18-22 weeks. There are of course reasons for an early ultrasound:
Dating
Testing
Spotting
PRevious complications
Otherwise, you have to pay for the 3D one and they do not have to tell you teh sex there either.
I had three ultrasounds done and they were just because certain parts or organs could not be seen clearly becuase baby did not work with them. That is why they wait until 18-22 this is when the organs are all usually developed properly.