Question regarding U/S in 3rd Tri.

happylife7 · May 2015

So, I had my anatomy scan last week and doctor says all looks great with baby! I am 16 1/2w and when I asked the tech when my next ultrasound would be, she said that I would not have another one before baby is born unless there is something wrong. Is this common? I feel like almost all of my friends have had an U/S done in 3rd Tri to see how baby is positioned/ect. I see my dr in 2 weeks so I will ask her but was just wondering from others experiences.

VexyMommy · May 2015

That's not unusual at all. No one I know of is receiving scans in the 3rd trimester unless there is a problem.

Squirtgun · May 2015

I think some of it depends on where you are living, and on your doctor as well. My doctor does an ultrasound at every appointment, but I feel like that is very uncommon. From what my friends have said, I think that they have other ways of telling how the baby is positioned, and might check close to due date via ultrasound if they think baby is breech, or is there is another suspected complication as PP said.

dogsombrero · May 2015

Those who are low risk often don't have any other u/s past the a/s. This is normal practice. I ended up having 3 in 3rd tri due to baby's size which they detected by a very off fundal height (6 cm ahead at one point). This time it's scan-a-palooza due to twins.

Pontot31 · May 2015

I only got one at the end due to high blood pressure and going overdue. Otherwise it is not common to get another one unless you have issues.
The doctor can tell with their hands the position of the baby.

LSRoo · May 2015

The only reason I had one in my 3rd trimester was because of placenta previa. They checked at 33 weeks to see if it had moved up ( luckily it did!). Otherwise no reason for another. The dr can usually tell the babes position by examining your belly.

swhitm · May 2015

I don't think it's unusual. My doctor said my last will be at 20 weeks unless there's a reason. Having said that, almost everyone I know has had some reason in the last 20 weeks to have at least one more. Blood pressure, blood sugar, weight gain/loss, measurements, and pain are all reasons for U/S in 3rd tri. A lot of people do the 4D US at 28 weeks too.

MargaretC5 · May 2015

I had a bunch in my 3rd trimester because I was on bed rest for high blood pressure and DS was two weeks late. I only had them because they were concerned something was wrong.

Gapeach83 · May 2015

None in third tri for any of my previous pregnancies. It's a good thing to not get one as much as you want to see that sweet baby. But the question is why was your anatomy scan done so early. Usually done at 18-22 weeks for accurate measurements. 15/16 weeks is a bit early.

MadBloom · May 2015

I did have a 3rd tri one but it was to check on growth. My fundal growth or whatever it is called was on track for nearly my whole pregnancy and then jumped from measuring 32 weeks to 38 weeks in a 2 week span.

It ended up being that she was just in a super weird position during that visit and we were back on track and measuring correctly on the next visit.

I also had 2 anatomy scans a few weeks apart because she wouldn't move and they couldn't get a few measurements. The 2nd one was super quick.

2octobermama · May 2015

Completely normal. I didn't have anything beyond my anatomy scan at 20 weeks with my first. My Dr. would have ordered one for me in the 3rd tri if I went over my due date just to check on baby, but that didn't happen.

nbpa3027 · May 2015

I had one with each of my kids around 36 weeks, but it was just to confirm they were still head down and they took all of 10 seconds, if that. But my doctor at the time had ultra sound machines in every room.

ddkistler · May 2015

I didn't expect to have any more ultrasounds after the 16 week anatomy scan - low risk and all that. However, during my third trimester I "measured small" - which means the doctor used a literal measuring tape to measure my belly. One week, his hasty and quite inprecise measurement didn't fit expected norms. Seven ultrasounds later (one a week + extra tests), we were fine every time. We spent a lot of extra money on unnecessary tests. But it was better to be safe and know for sure.

The first ultrasound was fun. All the others were either nerve-wracking or mind-numbing based on how quickly LO could hit her benchmarks each time (move, take a breath, size, amount of fluid, etc).

happylife7 · May 2015

Thank you all for the responses! The friends I have asked said they remember receiving 1 in 3rd tri but I guess my A/S was so early (15w3d) that I feel like I'm so early I should be getting one later on but I guess not…also, maybe I am remembering friends getting their A/S at 20 weeks like normal people. My Dr. scheduled me early and other patients of hers and her nurses say she has a habit of it they are trying to break. I feel more relieved now that my tech got a good look at baby's sex and is really confident in her prediction and has a history of only being wrong once in all of her years of being a tech (over 15 yrs).

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