ultrasounds... is one enough?

emmaleigh63 · October 2010

Hi ladies,

I am new here, just found out 3 days ago that I am pregnant!

I am a veterinary medical student and have insurance through school and obtain my referrals through the campus health center. Today I went to the health center to get a blood test to confirm the pregnancy... they told me that if the stick was positive, I am pregnant. No blood test needed.

is that strange?

Then they recommended an OBGYN practice and told me to call for my 1st appointment. The office said that they want to see me at 8wks, but they only do one ultrasound at 20wks.

I know that this is normal for some practices, but I feel like everyone I know had 2,3 or more. If you wait until 20wks how do you know if you have twins or an ectopic pregnancy? How do they evaluate the heartbeat?

Am I just freaking out? I thought pregnant ladies got lots of medical attention, but I feel like I do more thorough physical exams on my pets weekly.

thanks!

staycee · October 2010

with most normal pregnancies, one u/s around mid-way is enough and pretty standard.

Cat-in-Boston · October 2010

A lot of insurance companies only cover 1 ultrasound unless they are medically ncessary. What a lot of people try and do is to get involved in a research study where they offer you more ultrasounds but the data gets put into their study.

The alternative is to pay for them yourself, which can run around $300 each depending on your location and provider.

Mrs.ABC · October 2010

As far as the blood test, yes that's normal. You will have to do prenatal blood work and I'm sure they confirm the pregnancy along with everything else they test for at that time.

I have heard of doctors that only do one US so I guess it depends on the practice and your insurance. I had 5 or 6 US with my DS. I did have to go in for one extra us once because DS wouldn't move so they couldn't get the measurments of his head that they needed. I would ask if there is another doctor that is covered by your insurance.

flamingos2010 · October 2010

one ultrasound is normal if you aren't high risk or have had previous losses.

I had just one ultrasound at 20 weeks during my first 2 pregnancies. It would've been the same this pregnancy, except I had a dating ultrasound done at 8 wks.

I've also never had a blood test to confirm my pregnancy. My OB said the same as yours.. positive pee stick=pregnant.

Congrats!

SarahTx5701 · October 2010

yup. One is standard.

as far as ectopic- you would most likely have symptoms

twins- they can measure your uterus and order and extra u/s if they feel it could be a twin pregnancy, but man women get a surprise at their 20 week scan.

kristennd · October 2010

That's all basically what happened with me too.

I called to scheduled a blood test to confirm and they said that the stick was plenty, that I wouldn't need an appointment until week 10, and that I wouldn't get an ultrasound until week 20. Very surprising.

marriedtoeric · October 2010

All of that is normal and standard. Ectopics come with their own signs/symptoms, you'd have warning signs if you were having one. They'd pick up on twins when there were three heartbeats (yours + A +

instead of just 2 at your appointments. You can listen to the heartbeat without an u/s, and that should be standard after about 10 weeks, from what I understand.

jcsumm0 · October 2010

Yep, I didn't get a blood test and my doc's office typically only does 1 ultrasound. You might want to see if your insurance covers a NT scan. That is an ultrasound that is done around 12 weeks that screens for Downs Syndrome and some other disorders. My insurance covers it and DH and I look at it as a chance to see the baby and prepare ourselves if there is a problem.

And they will listen to the heartbeat with a doppler. Not sure when they start that though--around 8 weeks maybe?

smiling76 · October 2010

Yeah, unfortunately until there (God forbid) is a loss, you only get the standard one (unless there are other concerns). BUT they do start to listen to the heart at the appts with a doppler around 10-12 wks--so that is reassuring. By 20 wks you'll probably know if you are having twins just due to size.

congrats!

klibby707 · October 2010

My obgyn does one at 20 weeks too. To see my baby sooner, I did the first trimester screening, NT scan. They do an ultrasound! Also, I saw her at about 11 weeks, and we heard the heartbeat.

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