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1st Trimester
PLEASE READ ME, in response to my u/s Q...
Okay, Okay! I stepped on some toes, and I certainly didn't mean to! If I offended anyone I'm really am sorry. I'm not judging anyone for doing their best to try to determine what is best for their baby, I'm just trying to do the same.
Let me make it clear, that I'm not the type to be overly concerned.
I eat lunchmeat,
I drink coffee,
I turn on the seat warmers in the car ::gasp::!
But it does make me crazy to think that I'm supposed to take the advice of a Dr. without question. I know that we're all smarter than that!
And I know that there is a ton of articles and docs that are pro ultrasounds. My giving two random internet articles is not the basis for my concern, nor was it meant to scare anyone. I have done a lot of personal research with midwives who have delivered thousands and thousands of healthy babies without an u/s.
If you really feel that it's neccessary to try to make me feel stupid for taking my and my child's medical care into carefull consideration, you can just keep trying.
**Nowhere did I say that I thought that anyone of you were planning to terminate. I simply stated that I, personally, would never choose to do so.
Truly, I'm sorry if I scared or offended anyone, that wasn't my intention. I was simply curious if anyone else was CONSIDERING to forgo their ultrasounds.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: PLEASE READ ME, in response to my u/s Q...
Malakai - 8.3.09
Ezra - 12.1.11 ASD
a friend of mine's sister has decided to stop having u/s. i think with her first two children she had maybe 2 u/s and with her 3rd she had none.
it's a personal choice, but i'm not giving them up. nor do i plan on terminating. it's really just peace of mind.
::oh my::
The basis of everthing I just said was not based on google...
Listen, I do agree that there many people have unnecessary u/s. I have seen posts about people lying to their doctors to get them, which is just wrong. I turned down u/s for genetic testing with DS because I have a serious phobia about any unnecessary testing. I do need a dating u/s for this pregnancy because my cycles were still screwy from having DS
Note: I am not talking about those with issues that warrant multiple u/s
However, to refuse any u/s is doing a serious disservice to the health of your baby. As pp mentioned, you didn't scare anyone - people are just flabbergasted that you would take that kind of risk
DS 3.12.08
DD 7.11.09
DD 8.01.13
Sorry I jumped into this late and did not read everything from the last string of posts. There is quite a bit of evidence that shows that some women do not psychologically fare well with a traditional medical model of care. Many of them are well informed and responsible parents. If you are very opposed to ultrasounds you should find a reputable doctor, who you are comfortable with who supports this decision. Although having no ultrasounds probably will not pose a serious risk not having a competent doctor certainly does.
As for people jumping all over you, you opened the door by suggesting that ultrasounds are risky. In fact, there is no known risk. Read the articles that the article you linked to cited. The summaries on that cite mischaracterize the opinions given in those articles.
There is no reason why your decision should be infomed by a bunch of strangers. Make whatever decision is best for you. I have friends who have done all kinds of things that I would never even consider, such as having a VBAC at home. Delivering a baby without a doctor being present. Refusing a C-section when two twins were transverse... and overall no harm came to them. The bottom line is that much of anyone's pregnancy is out of their control. Ultrasounds, by and large don't cure problems, but they do give piece of mind; or, in the case of some potentially high risk pregnancies, such as mine, important information. So, find a doctor you are comfortable with and discuss.
FWIW: if I hadn't had an ultrasound I would have NO IDEA that I was pregnant with twins and I am certain that it would create a very serious problem in the future if I didn't know.
ditto...
I didn't read all of the responses to your original post, but I skimmed through the first few.
First, I don't think you're crazy. I think it's smart to question things, even established medical practice. I think that, in general, people tend to be far too ready to believe anything their doctor tells them. Doctors are people too, and they can make mistakes.
I think that avoiding unnecessary ultrasounds is probably wise. However, those articles that you cited used inflamatory language and shady facts to try to scare people into avoiding ultrasounds. One of the articles kept talking about how unnecessary the 20 week ultrasound is because it's selfish to do an ultrasound just to find out the sex of your baby. This is totally wrong -- the purpose of the 20 week US is NOT to find out the sex. It's to examine all organs and limbs to make sure the baby is growing properly. Finding out the sex is just a bonus.
So, do your research and talk to your doctor if you're concerned. If you can find an open minded doctor, he or she might be willing to cut down on the number of ultrasounds you have.
says a newb we've had fun with before...
Joaquin's hospital and Isela's birth center med & intervention free "hypnobabies" birth stories
I am an MD training in obstetrics & gynecology. This happens to be my turf.
There are numerous clinics in my city that do not offer ultrasounds for the entire pregnancy. Yes! It does seem nuts that places would offer prenatal care and never do an ultrasound. For the vast majority of patients, u/s really is not necessary. Most of these women have pregnancies that are not complicated, they have few risk factors for anomalies/birth defects and their babies generally do well.
With that being said, this audience is full only of women who are drawn to a first trimester message board. We are all curious, inquisitive and seek out answers to a zillion questions. Of course this group will be the first to have an anatomy scan to rule out anomalies and to ensure that everything "seems" ok. That does not make us the norm. I can tell you from the vast numbers of indigent patients I see and deliver daily, we are not the norm. We are outliers. We are overly-educated. We have access to resources that these women could not even understand.
Either way, ultrasound or not, we are not perfect as physicians nor are our sonographers. I have seen trisomy babies whose obvious anomalies were missed on ultrasound and whose quad screens were not at increased risk. Every day I admit women in labor who have not had prenatal care, no ultrasounds, and amazingly their babies are usually fine.
From my perspective ultrasound is not a must for all patients. Proper triage between high and low risk patients would allow for stratification of risk and the decision whether or not to do a scan. For my personal practice, I would never consider skipping them unless the patient refused.
With that being said, I would not personally go through a pregnancy without an ultrasound. There are hundreds and hundreds of defects that can be found that are not trisomy related. Cardiac abnormalities are by far the most common found on anatomy scans, and I sure as hell would want pedi cards readily available if my baby had any issues.
As for twins being diagnosed, ultrasound is not necessary. Measuring fundal height would show that it is measuring large and leopold manuevers can be done to palpate fetal parts. I know many midwives who use these techniques and who do not ultrasound. Again, I would personally advise against this only because twins are high risk and anything high risk usually needs minimum one ultrasound. With twins, you want to know placenta location, same or different sacks, etc. But the bottom line is that ultrasound is not necessary for the diagnosis.
Just trying to play devil's advocate here. I did not read the initial post. As an MD, I will tell you that we are not perfect. Our professional opinions are highly based on the literature we read and the training we have undergone. My word is not gospel, nor would I ever portray it to be that way to my patients. Any intelligent individual who believes every single thing their physician says is ridiculous. Physicians are here to inform and guide - not to force patients into decisions.