First ultrasound at 12 weeks instead of 8?? [Update in #20]

My OB won't see you until 8 weeks, but he's done an internal u/s at my first appt both times. I think its more for dating than anything else. If you do the nuchal fold test you have another between 12-14 weeks. Then at 20 wks. I don't really remember having another after that point.

With your concerns, I'd request to be seen at least prior to the 12 week mark. I'd want to be seen at 8 wks...which seems to be the norm around here for 1st visit.

I really think it depends on the practice, and all three times I had the same insurance (Kaiser). With DD1 I got one at 7 weeks only because the machine had been left in the room from the prior visit and DH was with me. Sometimes I think they are more inclined to do them at first if the partner is with you. With the baby we lost I got an internal one at 8 weeks because the RN tech just happened to be in the office. With DD2 I didn't get one until we did the nuchal test at 11 weeks. I then got the 18 to 20 week one and then didn't get another ultra sound after that.

I had one at 11 weeks, but it was to figure out the timeframe/ due date as I conceived at apparently about 7 weeks post partum and had no idea!

Normal in my area is at 20 weeks.

Thanks all. Seems it's all over the board in terms of the first u/s. I'm not interested in switching OB becuase I love this practice and they delivered my DS 2.5 years ago. I have had 2 miscarriages in the past, one resulting in a D&C after 8-week u/s showed no heartbeat, so I am sure I will be able to convince her to send me for an 8-wk u/s. I was just curious what the norm was.

ETA: I am going in in a few days for bloodwork to confirm the pregnancy, check viability, and for dating.

Within my medical care system (Kaiser Permanente NorCal) they do a standard ultrasound at 20 weeks. If you are doing genetic testing you also get a 12 week - in the radiology lab with the good equipment.

For all my pregnancies I've also had one in the office at the first OB appt around 8 weeks, or earlier when there was suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy. Since my first was a MC, I requested early U/S for the other pregnancies and got them. For DS I had high blood pressure toward the end and did non-stress tests which involved a detailed U/S a couple times a week for the last month. That's way more than the norm - Many of my friends have had only a 20-week ultrasound, nothing else.

I actually know of one person who had surprise twins - she had only the 20week U/S, and did a homebirth with a midwife. She herself is an L&D nurse, so not naive at all about these things. Kind of rare these days to see those kind of surprises with all the interventions that typically happen.

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Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles

In neither practice was a 1st trimester u/s the norm. Both offered an u/s at 18-20 weeks and with ds2 I could have had the nuchal fold u/s test but opted not to.

I hope all is well and you can get reassurance soon.

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:yeahthat: I have never had a 1st trimester U/S. Only had the 20 weeks U/S done. This is with 3 different offices. And I was not able to get an appointment until somewhere around 10-12 weeks, because they said unfortunately, if you start to MC before then, it's really too early to do anything about it. So, I was told to take my prenatal vitamins (store bought or they would call in a script for me) and not to drink, smoke, or take any medications without calling them first. And they would see me in 5-6 weeks!

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Originally Posted by essnce629

With DS2 my first and only U/S was at 22 weeks and if I wouldn't have wanted to find out the sex I probably would have skipped it all together.

With DS1 I had one at 6 weeks for no reason at all (they just offered it) and I regret it. U/S have not been around for all that long and I still don't think we know if there's any long term risks. I am not a fan of routine U/S for no medical reason. They used to give X-Rays to pregnant women all the time and then found out that wasn't such a good idea. 30 years ago the average was one U/S per pregnancy, now it's three, and I don't think there's been any improvement in infant mortality or morbidity.

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:yeahthat:

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Originally Posted by essnce629

30 years ago the average was one U/S per pregnancy, now it's three, and I don't think there's been any improvement in infant mortality or morbidity.

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You are absolutely correct. The use of routine ultrasound really hasn't changed the rate of infant mortality and fetal death, mostly because there is so little that can be done when problems are discovered. I had a long discussion with my doctor about this point after my first pregnancy. Our first baby had a very rare, non-genetic birth defect that likely would have been discovered if I'd had more than the routine anatomy scan at 20 weeks. However, even if we had discovered it, the only course of action would have been watchful waiting - meaning lots of undue stress for me. The multiple ultrasounds wouldn't have changed the outcome.

That said, I had a LOT of ultrasounds in my 2 subsequent pregnancies, mostly for my peace of mind. I also had NSTs weekly at the end of both. I've had 2 ultrasounds with this one and will likely have at least 2 more.

My office will do an ultrasound that early for specific reasons-- including if you're bleeding. They'll also do it if you have reason to suspect that your due date is more than 1 week different from what it would be according to first day of last period. In your shoes, I would insist on it. My office will also see you earlier than 12 weeks, even as early as 6 weeks.

My OB saw me at 6 weeks and also sent me for an u/s. U/S couldn't explain the spotting, meaning everything looked normal and the baby measured 6 weeks. Now, it's just a wait and see approach and hope everything stays normal.