Extra scan for HB

[MadamRose]

Ive had some resistance to my HB but its being resloved slowly. I spoke to another MW who works in my triarge but not my own and she has been brilliant. She said i wasnt under teh wrogn hospital like my MW said but if i did it means i get an extra scan at 38 weeks to check baby isnt to big or small and also to check baby is head down, no cord round neck etc to make sure HB will be as safe as can be.
Was anyone else offered an extra scan because of wanting a HB as i have never heard of this but think its a very good idea

 

[Blob]

I would love this but no they havent

 

[summer rain]

Hi

the hospital where I had my first baby did a scan when in the earlier stages of labour; for similar reasons as mentioned. However it does sound like it may be a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing, firstly they can almost always tell if the baby is breach or not without a scan, same with the size issue; I had a large second baby and they had no idea how much he would weigh from the scan. Also the cord being around the neck is very common, though scary, and isn't usually a cause for concern if handled by an experienced midwife (and obviously if the cord is only once around the neck and doesn't have any knots in it etc). At that stage as well because there is so little water around the baby and he/she is so squashed up in there, they can't see much. I would just worry they would use something found on that scan as an excuse to not 'allow' me a hb and to press for unnecessary intervention such as a c-section if the cord was around the neck or they worried the baby would be too large or something else they are guessing from the scan. What would happen if you declined would they say 'no hb?'

Soph x

 

[wannabubba#4]

OH I would have loved this too - but I wasn't / haven't been offered it either.

Even when my mw said on Wed that I NEED to be careful if my waters go before I start contracting etc, as baby is sitting SO high and risk of cord prolapse -thanks for that mw!!!

It seems logical to me though, just to check size, cord position etc - as long as they then dont try and use it against you.
xx

 

[MadamRose]

No i can just stay under the hospital i am now, not have the scan and still have the HB if i wish

 

[KandyKinz]

It's not standard practice here and I don't really see it as being a necessary practice as well. As mentioned above, midwives can almost always tell whether a baby is breech or not (if they are unsure well then that's a reason for a scan), as for size it's standard practice to measure symphysis fundal height. If the SFH has been normal it's unlikely that there is a significant size issue. As for the cord issue... there was a study that showed approximately 40% of babies have the cord wrapped around their neck. It's not a crazy emergency like many make it to be, it's a very common thing which is quite easily handled in the vast majority of cases. Usually you can just move it over the babies head, if it's really loose you can just deliver the baby through the cord and sometimes summersaulting the baby is necessary. If it's extremely tight or if it's wrapped multiple times the midwife may need to clamp and cut the cord after the birth of the head (quite rare for them to need to do that!) and the main risk of that is that if there is a shoulder dystocia (unrelated to the cord....) then the baby would go longer without oxygen.

 

[Pops]

Nope, we haven't had an NHS appointment for anything since 20 weeks (other than the routine MW obviously). We paid for a couple of private scans but had we not it would have been a loooooooooooong time since we had seen Missy!

xxx

 

[JenStar1976]

I was sent for a growth scan on the Friday before Alex was born (he was born on the Tuesday), as I was measuring 32cm!! The sonographer asked why I'd been sent along and I explained and she just looked at me and said that of course I'd be measuring smaller because the baby's head would have been engaged! She did the scan anyway (so was lovely to see him again!!) and estimated 6lb 1oz on the day. He ended up being 6lb 13oz. I do wonder what would have happened if they'd estimated just a few ounces smaller. Does anyone roughly know what are the maximum and minimum weights are that they would allow for homebirths? x

 

[KandyKinz]

Ultrasounds can be off by plus or minus 2 pounds... So because of the inaccuracy of that it's really hard to say yes you can or cannot have a homebirth based on estimated weight.

 

[snagglepat]

Ultrasounds can be off by a lot more than 2lbs. They are notoriously unreliable for size estimation and various studies have shown this - though it does depend on the hospital/equipment/experience of the sonographer. I had a client a few years ago who was very petite and they were concerned that she was carrying a big baby. The growth scan estimated a 9lb baby but when she was born she was 5lb 11oz!

I'd also be very concerned about having a late scan 'just to check'. Like others have said many of the issues it can pick up are non issues. A breech baby can turn even during labour and a good midwife can tell this by palpation. Cord round the neck is very common and easily managed during the birth. If I was offered this I'd almost certainly turn it down. As lovely as it might be to get to see my baby on the scan again the potential for it to throw a spanner in the works for my home birth would be too much of a risk for me.

Jenstar, the cut off points for small and large vary from hospital to hospital, but a rough figure for 'normal' is between 6 and 9lb. Much above or below this might cause concern, but generally it would depend on the policies of the trust and the circumstances for the mother. I know in my case that because I've already had a problem free vaginal birth with a big-ish baby there would be less concern about a bigger baby this time. There's no hard and fast rule though.

Gina. x