Ultrasounds for Fun

bustysinclare · May 2014

A friendof mine recently paid for an ultrasound at 14 weeks to find out if she was having a boy or a girl. Has anyone tried that? I dont like the idea of the 3D ones they look a little freaky to me but I am dying to know boy or girl and if I can find out at 14 weeks versus 20.....

bustysinclare · May 2014

Is there a risk to doing multiple ultrasounds?

ImJessesGirl · May 2014

I don't know how I feel about it yet. It wasn't even an option 9.5 years ago with my DD, so it wouldn't bother me to not do it this time. I think it's not necessary, but nice to have that if you want it.

My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

[Deleted User] · May 2014

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YaMrWhite · May 2014

I get the excitement of wanting to find out early but no I didn't do that with DD and I won't do it with this pregnancy because I don't want to find out later that it was wrong or that they are unsure and can't make a determination. Waiting another few weeks isn't all that hard and it's worth it to get a more accurate answer if you plan to buy boy or girl specific items ahead of time.

MusicFanatic · May 2014

bustysinclare said:

A friendof mine recently paid for an ultrasound at 14 weeks to find out if she was having a boy or a girl. Has anyone tried that? I dont like the idea of the 3D ones they look a little freaky to me but I am dying to know boy or girl and if I can find out at 14 weeks versus 20.....

I'd wait until 20 when your chances of a more correct reading will happen

14 weeks is pretty early..

WillCMyInk · May 2014

I've heard of people doing the 3D ultrasound earlier than the anatomy scan. I think it's kind of a waste, since the baby still doesn't look all that much like a baby. If I'm going to pay $100 for an elective ultrasound, I think I would want it to be closer to my due date.

That being said, some places do package deals. It's really personal preference IMO. And I don't think the extra ultrasounds would hurt the baby, otherwise they wouldn't do elective ultrasounds at all.

[Deleted User] · May 2014

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YaMrWhite · May 2014

CrazyMonkeyBear said:

emmyg65 said:

Unbiased: https://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/ucm115357.htm

Possibly biased: https://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-iib-ultrasound-not-as-safe-as-commonly-thought

We won't be doing any unnecessary ultrasounds for several reasons. We don't feel strongly enough about seeing our baby to take on any possible risks and this kind of medical imaging is very expensive and drives up overall healthcare costs.

I'm going to a midwife-staffed birthing center that doesn't do any routine ultrasounds, but we can request an anatomy scan at 20 weeks. We'll do that mainly to make sure there are no obvious reasons to move to a hospital.

It's really a personal choice though. Like anything else, evaluate both sides and make a decision that works for you.

THERE ARE NO RADIATION RISKS FROM ULTRASOUNDS!

Studies have been done on babies born that had 1 ultrasound and babies born that had multiple (5 or more) and found no differences. My last pregnancy came with a slew of ultrasounds and DD is just fine. A little nutty and quirky but she gets that from me

FLRainbowGirl · May 2014

There are no radiation risks. In South Africa, you get a scan every time you see the OB. He does it himself. They have the u/s machines in their examination rooms. (SA has 1st world health care - really amazing.)
At 12 weeks you can clearly see the sex. It won't be clearer at 20 weeks, just smaller, off course. Depends on the quality if the machine & the expertise of the technician...

motherboy · May 2014

ImJessesGirl said:
I don't know how I feel about it yet. It wasn't even an option 9.5 years ago with my DD, so it wouldn't bother me to not do it this time. I think it's not necessary, but nice to have that if you want it.

My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

Whoa that's pretty extreme. And violent. I think 14 weeks is pretty early. There is also the panorama blood test they can do at 10 weeks that will definitively tell you the sex, as well as check for some of the trisomies. A couple friends of mine had that done and they said that finding out so early made the rest of the pregnancy drag on.

YaMrWhite · May 2014

ImJessesGirl said:
My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

What the what?!?!

LuckyPenny1231 · May 2014

I think 14 weeks is early. Most elective places suggest waiting until 16 weeks.

Fwiw, I went in at 17 weeks with DD because I was impatient. They said she was a girl. 3 weeks later at my a/s she would not cooperate at all. They couldn't tell me a guess. I was so glad I had the elective already or I would have been seriously bummed.

I don't know what we will do this time.

LeadMitten · May 2014

Three of my friends that I work with are sonographers who are mothers. They did u/s on their babies almost daily. All of their babies turned out healthy and happy. Ultrasound do not use radiation. Do you think they would let people come in and watch for fun if they we being exposed?

pettycrocker · May 2014

There is a local place that does optional 3-D u/s here. I didn't do it with my daughter and I wish I would have, just because they give you a keepsake DVD, I think it would have been nice to have, so I'm thinking about doing it at some point with this pregnancy.

ImJessesGirl · May 2014

YaMrWhite said:

ImJessesGirl said:
My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

What the what?!?!

She also has already lectured me about daycare ... the day I told her I was pregnant she started in on why I shouldn't put my baby in daycare. She also said that doing the 3D ultrasound was the equivalent of throwing a baby against a wall. She is very opinionated and hard to talk to. I try to avoid talking to her most of the time.

ImJessesGirl · May 2014

I guess my thinking is this... if we can't determine the sex of the baby at our 20 week ultrasound, I'll likely do one at those 3D places.

LuckyPenny1231 · May 2014

ImJessesGirl said:

YaMrWhite said:

ImJessesGirl said:
My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

What the what?!?!

She also has already lectured me about daycare ... the day I told her I was pregnant she started in on why I shouldn't put my baby in daycare. She also said that doing the 3D ultrasound was the equivalent of throwing a baby against a wall. She is very opinionated and hard to talk to. I try to avoid talking to her most of the time.

...speechless
:-O

LeadMitten · May 2014

emmyg65 said:
Unbiased: https://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/ucm115357.htm

Possibly biased: https://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-iib-ultrasound-not-as-safe-as-commonly-thought

We won't be doing any unnecessary ultrasounds for several reasons. We don't feel strongly enough about seeing our baby to take on any possible risks and this kind of medical imaging is very expensive and drives up overall healthcare costs.

I'm going to a midwife-staffed birthing center that doesn't do any routine ultrasounds, but we can request an anatomy scan at 20 weeks. We'll do that mainly to make sure there are no obvious reasons to move to a hospital.

It's really a personal choice though. Like anything else, evaluate both sides and make a decision that works for you.

Elective u/s are out of pocket so how exactly is this driving up the cost of health care? If anything procedures like this help local hospitals and imaging centers bring in extra revenue.

longcat07 · May 2014

ImJessesGirl said:

YaMrWhite said:

ImJessesGirl said:
My SIL told me it's the equivalent of throwing your baby up against a wall though... she's kind of a bitch though.

What the what?!?!

She also has already lectured me about daycare ... the day I told her I was pregnant she started in on why I shouldn't put my baby in daycare. She also said that doing the 3D ultrasound was the equivalent of throwing a baby against a wall. She is very opinionated and hard to talk to. I try to avoid talking to her most of the time.

wow, she sounds delightful.

it's technically possible at 14w, but it will be clearer at 16+ weeks. at 12w (someone here said 12w), it's an "angle of the dangle" thing, which is harder to make out...so yes, it WILL be clearer later, not just bigger.

dragontears507 · May 2014

I personally plan on finding out at one of the elective places. They do gender determination as early as 14 weeks, and if they can't tell, they have you come back free of charge. For me and DH, we've waited so long to get to this point and are just too darn excited to wait.

Plus, we know we'll be moving either right before or right after the babies get here (and thanks to the Army we don't even know where in the world that will be right now), so I want to have everything squared away for them early just in case.

AlfiesMOM · May 2014

I did one at 17 weeks because I couldn't wait! This time I was planning on not doing that but we will be on a family vacation (both sets of parents) when I am 19 weeks. We hired a professional photographer as a gift for our families and plan on revealing the gender, so I am going to do another one probably at 18 weeks this time.

I agree though the 3-D ones freak me out!!

mellie86041 · May 2014

I'm not convinced that more ultrasounds are harmful. I just wouldn't do an extra one early like that purely because I'm cheap and wouldn't want to pay for it myself! I'm happy just waiting until they do the one at around 20 weeks.

When we did DD's 20 week, the tech tried to get a 3D of her, but DD would NOT sit still for it. THANK GOODNESS! They totally freak me out!

Pips09 · May 2014

I think 14 weeks is too early. There's too great a chance of it being wrong, and then you'd be more distraught than if you didn't know at all.

rmpar29 · May 2014

With my first twin pregnancy, I got many, many u/s. From 26 weeks on, I was going in for an u/s and NST every two weeks, and starting at 30 weeks, weekly. My boys are perfectly fine. I see no risks from having multiple u/s. Also, at the 12 week NT scan I was told that one of my babies was a boy, but they couldn't see the other one. So, they can tell at 14 weeks, IF the baby cooperates and it's good medical equipment, which I'm sure all of these elective 3D places have.

I'm spoiled...my OB does 3D u/s during the a/s.

YaMrWhite · May 2014

mellie86041 said:

I'm not convinced that more ultrasounds are harmful. I just wouldn't do an extra one early like that purely because I'm cheap and wouldn't want to pay for it myself! I'm happy just waiting until they do the one at around 20 weeks.

When we did DD's 20 week, the tech tried to get a 3D of her, but DD would NOT sit still for it. THANK GOODNESS! They totally freak me out!

My OB's office also gives us 2 or 3 3D pics if she can get good ones. Pretty nice of them

bustysinclare · May 2014

@crazymonkeybear there may not be risks from radiation but there are risks for multiple ultrasounds. The energy and sounds waves you expose the baby to - you wnat to minimize how much is too much for example: https://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasound.asp

mpiemont · May 2014

I really would like to get an early elective US this pregnancy. I have 2 boys and found out at my anatomy scans what their sexes were. A place near me does a mini "pink or blue" 10 minute US session for $45 after 16 weeks. That difference of a few weeks is worth $45 to me. But I'd never get the 3D. They look like weird clay figurines to me.

Mrs_Bennett · May 2014

I don't really understand the benefit of finding out the sex a few weeks earlier. Maybe I'm crazy? No way would I pay extra money to find out the sex a month before my anatomy scan, when I could save that money and buy something for the baby (or me!) with it later. Sure, I'm curious.....but I'll wait.

YaMrWhite · May 2014

Mrs_Bennett said:

I don't really understand the benefit of finding out the sex a few weeks earlier. Maybe I'm crazy? No way would I pay extra money to find out the sex a month before my anatomy scan, when I could save that money and buy something for the baby (or me!) with it later. Sure, I'm curious.....but I'll wait.

I was just sitting here thinking of all the stuff I could buy with that money. Maternity clothes, baby gear, food, a hair refresh, food, new shoes, food....

LadyXaverian · May 2014

I didn't read the whole thread, so I don't know what everyone said, but here's my .02: Get one if you want, but don't be surprised if you don't get an accurate answer at 14 weeks. I had my anatomy scan at 21 weeks. For this one, my a/s will be around the same time, but I'll find out the sex after having the Mat 21 test at 10ish weeks since I'm over 35.

We may get an elective 3D in 3rd trimester, though. We did one at 33-34 weeks last time, and it was pretty cool.

Lalalady54 · May 2014

I will say I found out last pregnancy at 14 weeks at my MFM office- and they said in 14 years their u/s tech had never been wrong (they did also state she wouldn't tell at 14 weeks if she wasn't positive) so she said girl and for the next 15+ ultrasounds she stayed a girl! I was glad I got to find out early

(especially bc at 18 weeks I ended up in the ER and a sweet resident who I'm sure thought she was being nice, stuck the probe on my stomach and said- oh my gosh did you know you are having a girl?! I wanted to say--noooooo we are team green, but I felt like id make her cry, so I said yes

) I'm all for finding out ASAP- but I won't pay for an elective

spoonleg · May 2014

We'll likely find out at 10ish weeks with the Maternity21/Harmony test as well.

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