Hi ladies, I'm pregnant with my second. I seen a doc at 5 wks. She has requested I do a blood test before my 8wk appointment, which is no problem. I asked if she would do a ultrasound sound at my 8wk appointment, but she told me she prefers not to do an ultrasound until 12wks, her reason being as the fetus is so undeveloped an ultrasound can harm it. Ive never known anyone to wait until 12wks for an ultrasound and i had a scan at 6wks with my firstborn. So I'm just not sure what to think or do. Has anyone been advised to wait until 12weeks for an ultrasound? Does anyone have any useful info? Thank you
12 Replies
An ultrasound can't harm bub. I'd be finding a new doctor lol. In a healthy pregnancy there's usually no reason to have a scan until the 19week scan which is standard procedure for alot of people.
The only reason I can think anyone would hold off until at least 12 weeks with a requested scan is because it's not always possible to pick up the heart beat early on which is really stressful
An US will not harm your baby. Generally the only reason they scan earlier than 12 weeks is a) if there's a problem or b) they have a reason to believe the dates may be off and therefore request a dating scan. By all means you could request an independent US which will cost however generally can be claimed on Medicare.
First bub we didn't do a scan until 12 weeks. Second one we had a scan at 8 weeks but only because I was unsure on dates
I had 4 internal ultrasound scans before 12 weeks, and there is no way these can harm you or your baby....go somewhere new & request a referral for a scan! What a joke!
US is seen as a harmless scan but CAN in some cases have an affect on the bubs. Yes US are performed when needed for medical reasons but if you can avoid it, then do. The Dr isn't being silly or flippant.
No one knows if ultrasounds are safe or not, it's just assumed they are.
Safe or not though, there's really no need for one at this stage, if blood test shows hcg levels are fine, that's all you need.
I had 5 babies, and after the first and all this unnecessary stress about possible, but improbable problems, I just didn't bother till the 18 weeks one
Original poster here
Thank you for commenting. The reason I'd like to have an 8 week ultrasound is that I've recently spoke to someone who had a ectopic pregnancy, so I'm in fear of this. I also am hoping to share the new with my close family when I'm 9 weeks as we will all be together, which doesn't happen often so I'd really love to share this with them in person. Although I'm afraid to tell them when I haven't had a scan. I'm wondering if the doctor can detect the babies heartbeat via doppler at 8wks, maybe I'll feel a bit more certain then.
I would just request an independent scan, I believe MIA radiology was about $186 for us and we got about $51 back from Medicare or so :-)
Why? Why scan early?
Generally the only reasons for an early US is if you don't know dates or if monitoring is needed for a specific medical reason.
I have heard this before and we waited for my 2nd and third ! Really any medical intervention is not ideal including ultrasound ! They should t do it for long if they did .
Maybe if you REALLY want one tell then you don't know your exact date or you've had some spotting . But really unless there's a problem a scan before 12 weeks really isn't necessary !! We didn't even do the 12wk one for our bubs (x3) just waited til 18wks ....
Hi there. I can see you want an ultrasound so you can disclose earlier to your family and due to fear of ectopic pregnancy. There are many things that can go wrong with a pregnancy, and miraculously many babies who grow just right. Don't worry about something like ectopic pregnancy if there are no signs you have problems, it is really just going to raise stress unnecessarily. I wouldn't be jumping down the road of ultrasound outside the doctor's recommendation unless there are problems. There might be some effects according to some research pointed to here and why intervene in a pregnancy that is healthy? There can be risk in any unnecessary procedure. Re telling your family, why would an ultrasound help? You can disclose early but there are still higher risks until 12 weeks or so regardless of what's happening at 8 weeks. If might be ok to tell some people earlier but also if it happened that you miscarried are you ok with them knowing that? Sometimes it's good cause they can support you. I suggest you try separate the emotional parts of what's driving you and the medical issues to decide what you want to do. Good luck with your pregnancy!