Any overweight girls have ultrasounds?

lacideshae51 · June 2011

so im wondering if my first ultrasound will be vaginal or over the belly.

im a heavier girl, 240 lbs. but ill be almost 12 weeks by the time i go to my first ultrasound. i know when the baby is tiny they have to do vaginal if you;re a bigger girl but what about 11.5 weeks. should they be able to see?

also do they automaticly give u a print out of the ultrasound or do you have to ask for it

jenick · June 2011

My best guess is that they will try external first and if they don't get the images they need or want they will do vag. And for pictures, they have always been printed out for me without asking, but it doesn't hurt to mention it before they start. Something like "Assuming everything is ok, will I be able to get some pictures to share with family?" I think they know everyone wants pictures...

JGarber1 · June 2011

I agree that they will try external first. I am about the same weight as you, and they could see the gestational sac, but the baby was towards my back, so they did a vaginal ultrasound and there it was!

secst26 · June 2011

I'm a size 22/24 on bottom. I had my first u/s this week at 9w0d. They had me undress in case they needed to do t/v, but the abdominal worked just fine. They had no trouble finding baby or hearing heartbeat. What surprised me was how much it hurt, as she was really putting a lot of pressure on my belly with the wand.

ecleptic · June 2011

I have had both internal and external through the course of my IVF/FET. They will be able to get a picture of your uterus with an external ultrasound. My embryo transfers were guided by external ultrasound and the doc had no problem getting the embryos where they needed to be or seeing the tiny bubble that indicated that both embryos were placed. That said- the tech had to push for a clear picture and it was mildly uncomfortable.

What was different for me than what you see in the movies: They didn't put the gel directly below my belly button. I have a layer of fat there. They put it closer to my pubic mound and pushed over towards the belly button and down towards the surgical table. You'll probably want to take a shower when you get home. Frankly the gel felt disgusting (especially so if you have pubic hair. TMI I'm sure- but it's better to know.)

As I understand it, there's a difference in the zoom capabilities of an internal and an external u/s. Because the internal is closer to the source and no blocked by any layers of fat- it can get detailed pictures of tiny things. My ovaries looked like a close up of a bunch of grapes with my IVF cycle when each follicle was less than 1.8cm in diameter. For comparison the baby will be about 5cm big at 11 weeks.You can zoom out, but there comes a point when a transvaginal u/s just isn't necessary because you can get a better view of the expanding gestational sac and baby from a birds eye view..

The external gets a larger overview of the uterus. Because you and I have a layer of fat though- it's a bit more zoomed out than on a thin person. They can still zoom it in quite a lot though!

If they do happen to need a transvaginal u/s though- it's easy and not as embarrassing as it might seem. Wear warm socks, and know it's much easier than a pap smear.

pinksweetpea2 · June 2011

I was about 215 when I got pregnant with Lily and they were able to see her fine with the regular u/s at 12 weeks. I have actually never had a vaginal one.

GL

kyethra · June 2011

I was wondering as well-- I have had plenty of vaginal ultrasounds doing fertility procedures (I was going to get a bikini wax before IVF) and I'm ok with those. It is not so bad. But I haven't been preggers before so I can't attest to the external ultrasound.

diana.filipi · June 2011

I'm not far off your weight but since we see an RE they will do transvaginal for me at 6wk, 7wks, and 8wks then transfer me to my regular OB who will send me out for over the belly ones from there on out. We never had a problem with them being able to see DD.

babyflynn08 · June 2011

MY OB will not do abdominal US before 12 weeks. The baby does not start moving up until 12 weeks, so the transvaginal US is easiest to use.

Kath713 · June 2011

My pre preg weight was about 250 and I had the transvaginal ultrasound done and we got great pics.

I think I actually will prefer it to the external ultrasound because it also hurts when the doctor presses hard on my abdomen. The nurse tried a doppler at our last appointment and she was painfully grinding it into my stomach so I asked her to stop since we got the heartbeat with the Transvag Ultrasound.

Our next appointment is at 16 weeks so we'll see what they decide to do then but I am hoping for the internal ultrasound.

nykki16 · June 2011

I weigh a little more than you do. I had an external ultrasound at 12 weeks and they could see the baby perfectly.

Waiting4myJulyBaby · June 2011

I'm heavier too and I had an abdominal ultrasound at 8 weeks. I was expecting a transvag but they were able to see everything abdominally.

MrsJM11 · June 2011

I am also very overweight and just went for my ultrasound Friday. I was barely 6 weeks and they did it over the belly. We were able to see the baby and the heartbeat!!! We asked for the printout just in case because we really wanted it!! Good luck!! It's so neat to see!

tarafredritz · June 2011

i was 240 at 8 weeks with my first baby, I fell on my stomach so they decided to do an ultrasound to check the heartbeat. They did an extrenal and they seen the baby just fine. The tech that did mine gave me copies when i asked.

Want a personalized experience?

Any overweight girls have ultrasounds?

Re: Any overweight girls have ultrasounds?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards