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Rhode Island Babies
We don't get to hear the heart beat?
Hi all! My husband and I live in Johnston and are currently 8.5 weeks along and everything is going as well as can be expected. I'm nauseous all day, so that's no fun but I haven't had any strange or concerning symptoms. I've been going to University OB-GYN in East Providence since I was 18 so I figured I'd just continue on with them for my pregnancy. Right now, though, I'm wondering if I should switch doctors. I wanted to get your opinions since I'm really confused.
I called my OB-GYN a few days after BFP to schedule the first appointment. She said they usually like to have the first meeting at 8 weeks with a nurse to fill out paperwork for the hospital, give vital information, and ask about family history and then another between 9 and 10 weeks with the doctor to do a pap smear and "routine check up". Since I had seen on many places online, including on the Bump, that virtually everyone has heard the heartbeat by 8 weeks, I assumed that the second visit would include an ultrasound. I thought this was kind of silly since if the heartbeat is detectable at 7 weeks, why would you go through the resource/time/emotional investment of the first appointment only to find that there's no heartbeat at the second (heaven forbid). So I called the office again and asked why they do it this way and told them it seemed counter intuitive to me. The woman sounded sort of incredulous saying that this is just not the policy of the office and that she's never even heard of such a thing!! And the she dropped the bomb - she said they don't even do any ultrasound at all until 20 weeks!!!!
WTF? She said that as long as I'm having morning sickness and breast
tenderness and I'm not bleeding or having bad cramps that they just
work off the assumption that everything is progressing normally. Does
any of this sound reasonable to anyone? Is this something specific to the state?? Since we have been waiting
for a heartbeat before telling anyone, I haven't been able to ask other
moms that I know around here what their experiences have been. Please let me
know what you think of all this. As it stands know, I'm hoping to
convince someone at my office to just perform a sonogram anyway, just
to appease me.
I called my OB-GYN a few days after BFP to schedule the first appointment. She said they usually like to have the first meeting at 8 weeks with a nurse to fill out paperwork for the hospital, give vital information, and ask about family history and then another between 9 and 10 weeks with the doctor to do a pap smear and "routine check up". Since I had seen on many places online, including on the Bump, that virtually everyone has heard the heartbeat by 8 weeks, I assumed that the second visit would include an ultrasound. I thought this was kind of silly since if the heartbeat is detectable at 7 weeks, why would you go through the resource/time/emotional investment of the first appointment only to find that there's no heartbeat at the second (heaven forbid). So I called the office again and asked why they do it this way and told them it seemed counter intuitive to me. The woman sounded sort of incredulous saying that this is just not the policy of the office and that she's never even heard of such a thing!! And the she dropped the bomb - she said they don't even do any ultrasound at all until 20 weeks!!!!
WTF? She said that as long as I'm having morning sickness and breast
tenderness and I'm not bleeding or having bad cramps that they just
work off the assumption that everything is progressing normally. Does
any of this sound reasonable to anyone? Is this something specific to the state?? Since we have been waiting
for a heartbeat before telling anyone, I haven't been able to ask other
moms that I know around here what their experiences have been. Please let me
know what you think of all this. As it stands know, I'm hoping to
convince someone at my office to just perform a sonogram anyway, just
to appease me. This discussion has been closed.
Re: We don't get to hear the heart beat?
That sounds odd to me. I am 18 weeks now & have had 2 ultrasounds already, my next one is for around 20 weeks. I go to OBGYN Associates in Providence and was a new patient when I got pregnant. My 1st appt was arount 8 weeks and was w/ the nurse where we went over family history, etc. but I had an ultrasound at that time. I had an appointment a few days later w/ the doctor and she did another ultrasound. I think the 2nd one was just precautionary though b/c I had some spotting. Ive also had 2 appointments since where the dr listened to the babys heartbeat.
Anyway, thats just been my experience so I cant really say whats normal procedure. I hope this helped & good luck w/ everything!
I go to Women's Care. I had a u/s at 8 weeks (confirm pg and hear heart beat) and another at 12 weeks for tests. I also go to have the 18 week one, plus some others due to what they thought were complications.
I know some places wait until 10 or 12 for the first one because it can be more difficult to hear the heartbeat, but I've never heard of waiting until 18. At my regular appt at 10 weeks they could use an external doppler to let me hear the heart beat, so maybe they do that instead...?
If you aren't comfortable though, definitely switch.
With my first pregnancy, there was a question about how far along I was (I had effectively skipped a cycle, and had a delayed ovulation), so I got an ultrasound at my first appointment with my OB (not the initial meeting with the nurse). While a baby's heartbeat can be detected by U/S as early as 7-8 weeks, an U/S is not the most cost-effective way to determine this, and the portable machines aren't the easiest to maneuver! Generally, they will check the baby's heartrate on a dopplar machine at every appointment after 10-12 weeks or so, and unless you opt for certain genetic testing to be done, you may not get an U/S before you are 18-20 weeks along.
With this pregnancy, I did not get an early U/S like my first. We were able to hear the heartbeat at my 12 week appointment on the dopplar. Unless there is something wrong that is detected at the anatomy U/S this week, I will only have that one U/S.
All of the ladies who get multiple U/S's throughout their pregnancy should consider themselves lucky.
I can understand why your nervous! I'm with the girls who say that if you don't feel right about your doctor you should switch to one your more comfortable with. I'm also at broadway obgyn (someone mentioned them) and I had my first U/S at 8 weeks and then another at 12 when they couldnt find the heartbeat via dopplar. Thankfully u/s showed we were fine.
They don't use great u/s though. They are old & we don't get a real good u/s till the 18-20 week mark. Still, it makes me feel good to know I'm okay.
I go to Women's Care and they do an U/S around 7-8 weeks at the first appointment (already had 2 babies, same process both times). You get another at 12-13 weeks if you opt to do the quad screen and a 3rd around 18-20 weeks. During my 1st preg, I also had a growth u/s at 33 weeks, but the 2nd time I did not have that. I heard the HB around 12 weeks with the doppler at at all appointments after that too.
I got multiple u/s, but only because I had already experienced 3 losses. I do not consider myself lucky.
Those who are considered low enough risk that they don't need more than one u/s are the lucky ones.