1st Trimester

confused and concerned

so, i called my insurance company the other day and they told me that they only cover 2 ultrasounds and will cover others that are deemed medically necessary by my doctor. ?fine! ?

but what about in between those ultrasounds? ?how does my dr make sure the baby is healthy and thriving? ?i am so confused about this.

Re: confused and concerned

  • Someone correct me if I'm wrong...but my understanding was that if you are requesting an ultra sound when there really is no medical need for it, then that would not be covered by your insurance. If your docs deems it necessary that you need to have one then I believe that should be covered.
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  • I didn't have an ultrasound untill yesterday because of my old dr's chose, but at around 11-12 weeks you can hear the heartbeat on a doppler.
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  • Most drs only do 2 ultrasounds.  They are for diagnostic purposes to see if something is wrong, not for us to see our babies, although that is why we love them.  The first will be mostly be to confirm due date the second for checking everything is right.  Unless there is cause for concern (GD or other complications) you will have only 2.

    They take measurements, do urine screens, listen to heart rate, fetal monitoring, all of these will let them and you know the baby is thriving.

  • It's common - don't worry. There are plenty of ways for your doc to tell that your baby is doing OK without doing an u/s - were you expecting one at every appt?
  • Normally you should get 1 or 2 ultrasounds at most.  The only reason for more if there is some problems with the pregnancy or if you have issues due to high risk.  You don't want to get too many ultrasounds.  The Dr can tell how the pregnancy is going by your symptoms and monthly and then bi-weekly appointments.  They do an internal exam each visit.  They do blood work. 

    If your insurance covers two ultrasounds that is good.  You wont not get anymore unless there are issues so you don't want more.

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  • imagednewton:

    so, i called my insurance company the other day and they told me that they only cover 2 ultrasounds and will cover others that are deemed medically necessary by my doctor.  fine!  

    but what about in between those ultrasounds?  how does my dr make sure the baby is healthy and thriving?  i am so confused about this.

     

    MOST doctors do not do multiple ultrasounds.  Most only do one or two (generally at 12 weeks and 20 weeks). They make sure the baby is healthy and thriving by listening to it's heartbeat and doing internal exams?feeling your uterus?and blood work and urine tests (yours).

    My insurance will cover 3 ultrasounds without pre-authorization and will need the OB's office to contact them if more is deemed medically necessary. 

    I'd call your doctor and ask what goes on at prenatal exams, what to expect to calm your fears.

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  • I think the doctor can tell that the baby is fine by normal milestones, tests, etc, but if anything seems out of the ordinary, they will do one and it will be covered.?
  • I would make sure your doctor is aware of this because their medical biller can usually code things correctly so that the doctor is saying its necessary.
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  • My doc said they would only do 2 u/s, but everytime you go to the doc they check your weight, blood pressure, measure your belly, pee in a cup, and they listen to the hb with the doppler (or at least that is what my doc does), my doc said there was really no need to do no more than 2 (bummer, I know) but 1 so they can tell how far along and get an EDD and then 2 to find out the sex.  But if you would like more u/s you can always pay out of pocket for one.
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  • We had the same  concern but because I've had 3 u/s's already. All three of them were because I was bleeding. The doctor assured us that it is "medically necessary" because anytime you have bleeding when pregnancy it is deemed necessary. I'm not sure if my insurance will feel that way but it makes sense to me.

    Fortunately, now that the bleeding has stopped, I am going back to the normal routine of u/s'. I think there's the nt one at 12-14 weeks (which they really want to do, especially because I've had a subchorionic hemorrhage) and then the one at 20 weeks. I'm not sure if anything comes after that, though.

    So I'd say unless you have bleeding, are high risk, or have any other warning signs, be thankful you don't need as many u/s'.s I know it's nice to have the visual reassurance but you also don't want to do anything that's unnecessary.

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  • i wasnt expecting one at every appt, but i havent had an internal exam and today is my third appt. and have already had 2 ultrasounds. ?one to date the pregnancy and another because i had cramping and spotting. ?honestly, everytime i go to the dr, they just take my blood and i pee in a cup and thats it. ?maybe i am being paranoid, but i feel like i am not getting enough attention/guidance from my dr.

    ?

  • Also, just to add in some science, there have been studies in small mammals (rats, rabbits, etc) that show that excess ultrasound waves can cause problems with nerve/brain cells not appropriately migrating/moving into the right places.  Not shown in humans with the average u/s during pregnancy, but something to keep in mind.  U/S is not harmful like radiation from xray or CT, but is not completely benign.

     Trust in your doctor to do the right thing.  Ask them questions-that's what they're there for!

  • well, i won't even SEE a doctor until i'm 9 weeks. girls are all correct - unless there's a problem, you usually only get one ultrasound around 19 weeks or so.
  • imagednewton:

    i wasnt expecting one at every appt, but i havent had an internal exam and today is my third appt. and have already had 2 ultrasounds.  one to date the pregnancy and another because i had cramping and spotting.  honestly, everytime i go to the dr, they just take my blood and i pee in a cup and thats it.  maybe i am being paranoid, but i feel like i am not getting enough attention/guidance from my dr.

    Internal exams don't really show anything until the end of the pregnancy. 

    As the other ladies said, 2 ultrasounds is normal. And a lot of docs don't start pulling out the doppler until the second tri anyway, since it can be hard to find the heartbeat on one before then. 

    If you don't feel like your doctor is paying attention to your needs, then maybe you should look for another one. But if you only feel that way because they aren't doing an ultrasound every time, then you just need to take a deep breathe and realize they're doing what they need to.


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