What is a typical ultrasound schedule like?

[babybloo]

With my dd I had so many ultrasounds. In first tri I had an sch so had one every other week to monitor and then my regular scan around 20 weeks and then got Preeclampsia and had regular growth scans til the end. I have quite the photo album. My first appointment this time is at 7w6d and there was no mention of a scan. Gah! I want one so bad, as if I can't really let myself feel pregnant until I see something going on in there. I feel horribly pregnant, my anxiety is just horrible not having any visual proof this time.

Does anyone else have to wait a while? I keep seeing so many early scan posts. Should I just ask for one at my appointment if they don't offer one? I'm not really sure what to expect for a "normal " ultrasound routine.

 

[tcinks]

I think most people in the US get them around 8 weeks, so hopefully that's just included in your appointment. I don't think asking for one without a reason will do much. I've tried. :/ How far along are you now?

 

[Kaybear]

I had early ultrasound's with both of my pregnancies. My first pregnancy, I called my office because I was bleeding/spotting and they wanted to bring me in early. I was around 5 weeks at the time. I ended up having a MC with that one.

Now I am pregnant again and I have my first ultrasound tomorrow and I'm also around 5 weeks. I also got blood work done every other day to see if my beta's were rising. I don't think this is typical because most friends I talk to, they don't have their first ultrasound until 9 weeks. But I think my doctor's office is taking precautionary measures, especially since I had a MC last time. I know how you feel with feeling anxious while you wait. It's tough, but hang in there!

 

[babybloo]

Thanks! I'm 6w4d now. They saw me for bleeding at 4 weeks but that stopped and my hcg was rising so they didn't feel an ultrasound was necessary at that point. I'm hopeful it will be included. I didn't think to ask while I was there. This is a new ob for me so I did give them my history but I guess it's not enough to warrant one. :/ hope this office is better than the one I used last time. Even though they dropped the ball with most issues I had they were on top of it with always checking with ultrasound.

 

[arturia]

From what I've read, the only medically necessary scan is the 20 week anatomy scan, and largely because there are plenty of defects that are life-threatening and need immediate care.

If you're OK with Down syndrome testing, there's the nuchal at 11-14 weeks. It's also a good chance to ensure you aren't having a MMC, though those aren't as common as forums like this would lead us to believe.

Otherwise, additional scans are usually at your doctor's discretion. My OB did one at 6 weeks for dating.

 

[Kaybear]

Baby - it sounds like you should be fine then! I'm not sure how your doctor's office works but I work for a hospital so I must use the doctor's associated with them which entitles me to do all my appointments online and also view my records online. They schedule me for an ultrasound first then they schedule me to see the doctor after to go over everything. I hope that's how they do it for you!

 

[Jmxswack]

I just had one at 8 weeks as a dating scan (no period between my mc and this pregnancy) but other than that my next one will be my anatomy scan.

If I hadn't needed a dating scan, my anatomy scan would be my first unless I went to one of those private gender scan places.

 

[Ally2015]

I;m in the UK and we get a scan at 12 weeks and 20 weeks, and that's it.
They scan earlier if you have issues, bleeding etc.

 

[pooch]

I think normal in the US is 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 20 weeks then optional after that (fancy 3D places). They saw minor bleeding at my 12 week so I have to go back at 16 weeks.

 

[Isme]

In my experience (US) the "norm" is once around the 12-week mark and once again around 20 weeks. I had that plus one extra with my second daughter in the 3rd trimester to check if my placenta had moved out of the way, as it had been low-lying at my 20-week scan.

This time around I have ended having way more. It has to do with some high risk factors, though. I had once first at 5w6d because my midwife suspected an ectopic. Then I had the standard NT scan at 11 weeks. Then I had a scan at 19 weeks to check for all the mid-pregnancy stuff. They couldn't see everything they wanted to, so they brought me back at 23 weeks. After that I had a scan at 27 weeks and 31 weeks to check for growth, as I have a couple of factors that could influence it either way (she could grow too big from gestational diabetes issues, or grow to slowly due to blood pressure issues and the medication they have me taking for it). I have another one scheduled for 34 weeks to check growth again... and I expect that depending on the results of that, I may have one more before I'm due.

None of that is anywhere within the realm of "normal", though. When I was younger and healthier, they made it clear that two scans for the entire pregnancy was absolutely standard. Recently I've seen that some practices will occasionally include an earlier scan if there is some confusion about dates... But still others consider the 12-week NT scan to be an acceptable time to accurately date a pregnancy, so they won't bother with one sooner.

I can understand why you'd be anxious, especially since you had so many scans last time. Maybe a private scan would be worth it? We had one at 16 weeks to check gender and ease my mind until it was time for our 20-week scan. I guess it could also be seen as a good thing (one to hopefully ease your anxiety a bit) that your doctor's don't see any risk factors that would lend you to need extra scans. I know it's still a bummer, but thank goodness that you're not dealing with another SCH or (hopefully) preeclampsia.

 

[kit603]

I'm in the UK and we only get one around 12 weeks (to do the NT/Nuchal test and dating) and then the anatomy scan at around 20 weeks usually.

Last time I did get some extra scans - an early scan just after 6 weeks due to spotting/bleeding in first tri and a history of recurrent miscarriage, a repeat anatomy scan a week after the 1st one because baby was in an awkward position and she couldn't get all the measurements she needed and a growth scan at 28 weeks.

 

[workingttc]

Agree with what others have said--in my experience (in the US), they don't do any ultrasounds before 8 weeks unless you have bleeding, a history of miscarriage, or if you are in the care of an RE/fertility doc (they do them a lot more). I begged my OB to do a scan early this time to ease my anxiety but they won't see me until 8-10 weeks (so my appointment is at 8+4). Like others have said, I think after that it is typically just at 12 weeks or so and then at 20 weeks, with possible other scans after that, depending on need. With my first, I had a lot after 20 weeks because my placenta was very low (almost previa) and they wanted to make sure it was moving out of the way. That was not an issue with my second, however, so I had maybe one scan after 20 weeks with him, if that. I can't recall, I just remember wondering why so few scans with him!