I plan on going through a midwife with a home birth. I'm not 100% certain what type of fetal monitoring equipment they normally have, but I'm 95% certain ultrasounds are not part of it. However, my husband wants two ultrasounds, provided there aren't major complications (fine by me).
So, if you could choose when to have your ultrasounds, when would you have them? I know 20 weeks is standard, but are early ones or late ones more useful?
bananas / 9118 posts
These were just for fun and not diagnostic- We got the 3D/4D ultrasounds at Storkvision since our doc didn't offer it- best money we ever spent! We went at 15 weeks to find out gender (earliest possible at this place), and again at 30 weeks. The 30 week ultrasound looked exactly like him at birth- great quality!
At our doctor we had them at 10, 19, and 34 weeks.
coconut / 8234 posts
12 weeks and 20 weeks seem to be standard. I don't know if you want to do the nuchal translucency screening for down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities--but that is usually an ultrasound and then 20 weeks for the anatomy. Some women get them in the third trimester, too--a growth scan to check on the baby if the baby seems smaller.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
I'd adhere to what your provider suggests for you. There is typically an ultrasound (vaginal) between 8-10 weeks to look at the heart beat (can't hear it with doppler yet), then there is the first trimester screening test which includes serum PAPP-A and hCG testing as well as a nuchal ultrasound that helps risk stratify the pregnancy for possible further testing such as CVS or amniocentesis. Finally, you have the anatomy scan at 16-20 weeks.
If there are other concerns, you'll have other ultrasounds. You don't get to dictate these, but rather your midwife will recommend them if growth is behind or ahead of your dates or if you have other health concerns. I had biweekly and then weekly ultrasounds towards the end because Little Jacks wasn't growing.
Your midwife will hopefully adhere to the standard of care, and if they don't, that would be cause for concern regarding clinical judgment. Hope this helps!
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
My OB only does one ultrasound at 20 weeks. If you want testing (which I did) they'll also do one at 12 weeks. But that's it unless there's complications.
eggplant / 11824 posts
I liked the one we had at 11 weeks for the NT scan the best. Since the fetus is too small to be felt at that age, it was really cool to see how much she was moving around, plus it was nice to get some exciting and fun news when I was feeling so crappy. It also looked much more like a baby than at earlier ultrasounds, so that was neat too.
clementine / 994 posts
We had a vaginal one at 8 weeks, which DH *loved*. We both expected to see a little blob with a head, but we got photos of a tiny person! It was a great experience for both of us, since this is our first, but I appreciated it more for DH's sake. He doesn't get the morning sickness or the fatigue, so I think seeing the baby made it more real for him.
We also opted for the NT scan, which we'll get next week, and our doctor does a 18-20wk anatomy scan as well. We're fairly sure that we're going to do a 4D ultrasound in the last trimester, too.
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