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January 2016 Moms
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Too many ultrasounds

bdamico123bdamico123 member
in January 2016 Moms
Let me preface this by saying, I personally love the ultrasounds because I get to see my beautiful baby, but my concern is how much is too much?  Does anyone know if too many ultrasounds can end up being bad for baby? I have had so many already, and have to go back for another anatomy scan (My third) to check the baby's stomach.  I feel like i have had like 6 or 7 now and I am 6 months along.  Two of those were really quick, just to get the heartbeat, but as I read everyone's posts, it seems that they get one, maybe two ultrasounds their whole pregnancy. Does anyone know if this can effect baby?
TTC since June 2014
BFP: 5/5/15
First baby due date: 1/14/16




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Re: Too many ultrasounds

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    Kelley421Kelley421 member
    No it does not affect the baby. I think there are previous threads on this topic.
    High risk pregnancies have tons of ultrasounds. I haven't been keeping track, but thinking back I have had at least 9- 10 ultrasounds and I am 22w.

    Two years, two losses and three IUIs...

    We are having TRIPLETS!

    EDD 1/26/16

     GGB born November 2015!


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    Monilee1017Monilee1017 member
    I had about 12 for my first and second, only 3 so for with this one. I have heard recent things, all I have read seem to lack evidence. The way I look at it is they had to do weekly ultrasounds of my boys once I was 32 weeks to make sure they were safe and healthy. Your are doing it for the safety of your child, you are not doing a pointless photo shoot.
    Married 2006
    DS1 2010
    DS2 2013
    DD1 2016
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    SummerFall03SummerFall03 member
    I had at least one a week in my last trimester because I was high risk. My boys turned out fine! :)
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    kmo8986kmo8986 member
    I would love more!! I only get two. One at 8 weeks and one at 20.
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    ariasbabyblogariasbabyblog member
    I was high risk my last pregnancy and ended up having an ultrasound and non-stress test every week for 3 months. My son is a happy and healthy 2.5 yr old. No worries, enjoy looking at your baby.
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    EastoncjrEastoncjr member
    I'm at 3(9w,21w and today's was a fetal echo at 26w due to family history) but I'm scheduled for a 4th to check for growth because my DS was small. Nothing I've read says to many is unsafe. Pretty much nobody really knows but there's no evidence indicating they're unsafe.
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    mg137mg137 member
    edited September 2015
    Recent warnings from doctors and scientists are telling mothers and doctors to not get/give unnecessary ultrasounds because the current machines are so much stronger than the ones that were tested for safety and these newer, stronger ones have not been sufficiently tested. There's concern about a few possible risk factors, including heating fetal tissue. If you search online you should be able to find some recent articles.

    I've already had 4 (had to get a dating one and a nuchal fold one) and will decline the last one unless there's some compelling reason to get it, like they can't tell what position the baby is in by checking manually.

    If you have complications or risks that require a lot of ultrasounds, obviously get them. But, if, like me, you feel uneasy about it, then decline any that aren't necessary.

    I have 17 month old twins and had so many ultrasounds with them that I lost count. They're beautiful and, despite coming 5 weeks early and tiny, are very ahead developmentally with incredible language and problem solving skills. But that doesn't mean the extra ultrasounds didn't create risk of harm to them. Increased risk is just that. Obviously, even if there are risks, most babies won't show any obvious ill effects.
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    ah1013ah1013 member
    I have to have a bunch as well for them to find out my son has a congenital heart disease and a two vessel umbilical cord. Now that they found these problems there are three different ultrasound places we have to continually follow up with since the cardiologists and maternal fetal center and my clinic aren't all able to test for the same things. I think if you are having so many you already have plenty to worry about- so try not to stress too much about this. Also, like a PP said, just decline any that aren't necessary! Good luck!
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    jrouge12jrouge12 member
    I only have had two. From what I read the warnings about ultrasounds recently have cautioned about boutique ultrasounds because they are often used for a significant amount of time more than your average medical ultrasound.
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    ChrissyD1203ChrissyD1203 member
    edited September 2015
    I'm 25 weeks and I've had 6 and have 1 more scheduled. I'm of the mindset that the doctor knows what's best and even if there is a small risk, the doctor is ordering them because they know my personal health history and think the benefit outweighs the risk. I'd trust your doctor's opinion over what non-medical professionals without knowledge of your health are saying.

    Just to clarify - I'm not saying there is a risk, just even if there was a risk...

    Also I think all the literature that talks about risks is about ultrasounds that occur more frequently than weekly.
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    mg137mg137 member
    enkb said:

    I think you are misunderstanding how many ultrasounds the 'average' pregnancy in the US gets these days, I know many women get them at every appointment, so you are not necessarily in the minority with this. 


    That being said, there are some scientific studies that suggest slightly higher risks including low birth weight and premature delivery, with frequent ultrasounds, but it is still a low risk overall.  Google scholar is a great place to look for the original study information (my experience has been don't every just google this stuff, you get all sorts of craziness which doesn't help anyone).  If you are truly concerned about a medical or testing issue, you should talk to your care provider about it and read the scientific literature.  Not to be a downer, but a few women telling you they had lots and everything turned out fine is not actually useful information in terms of making medical decisions about your pregnancy.


    I have chosen to decline all but the anatomy ultrasound, in large part due to the potential risks of the ultrasounds, but also to do with the risk of being falsely labeled 'high risk' for a number of conditions that are notoriously overdiagnosed by late stage ultrasounds, especially 'big baby'.  You do have the right to say no to an ultrasound if you weigh the pros and cons and decide it is not best for your baby.

    Yes to all of this. It drives me crazy when moms say, "well I did x/didn't do x and my kid is great so it's totally fine." I knew a mom who smoked meth the first 7 months or so of her pregnancy and had a big beautiful baby with no obvious health effects. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. That was my point bringing up my twins-if it's important for the doctor to see your baby often the benefits probably putweigh any risks and don't worry too much because chances are you'll have a healthy baby. But the fact that mine or someone else's kids are healthy doesn't mean that the things we did during pregnancy didn't carry any risk. For moms with severe anxiety, the risks of taking xanax are outweighed by the benefits, but that doesn't mean I should pop xanax when I'm having trouble sleeping, as much as I'd love to.

    I'm also not going to let my baby be measured towards the end for fear of being told I have a big baby.
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    l4rkl4rk member
    You're also going to find that people's location affects the number of ultrasounds. In Canada, the standard is only one (or two if dating is needed) in the entire pregnancy, unless there are medical complications. So that's a whole country's worth of posts that will talk about having only a couple ultrasounds. And the reason is because of our health care system/costs to the tax payers, not because of health risks.
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    willashbabywillashbaby member
    I'll have close to 10 by the end, confirmation scan (2 minutes), dating scan (10 minutes), NT scan (60 minutes), early anatomy (60 minutes), regular anatomy (60 minutes), and 3-4 growth scans (should be 30 min). They all serve a purpose so I'm going with it. 
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    Rach8672Rach8672 member
    I think I'm at 5 but I need one more to determine if I need a C section because at 18 weeks I had marginal placenta previa . I'm getting kind of annoyed because my insurance denies payment after 4 ultrasounds. Has anyone else had this problem ? I think the doctor hasn't provided adequate documentation as to why I am having additional ultrasounds . Im not paying 400 per US twice !!! Does anyone else have this issue ? I have blue cross
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    willashbabywillashbaby member
    Rach8672 said:
    I think I'm at 5 but I need one more to determine if I need a C section because at 18 weeks I had marginal placenta previa . I'm getting kind of annoyed because my insurance denies payment after 4 ultrasounds. Has anyone else had this problem ? I think the doctor hasn't provided adequate documentation as to why I am having additional ultrasounds . Im not paying 400 per US twice !!! Does anyone else have this issue ? I have blue cross
    Your doctors office has the fix their billing codes, keep contacting them and annoying them until it's corrected. Also talk to your insurance company. I've always been able to get these kinds of things straightenend out even if it's taken over a year. 
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    ChrissyD1203ChrissyD1203 member
    @Rach8672 tell your doctor's office to they need to get precertification for it from your insurance company before you get it done. They should start working on that now.
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    nanampnanamp member
    I have to get a scan every week and it is super annoying.
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    samara267samara267 member
    I've had 3 and I'm done unless there's a medical necessity. I had one at 6 weeks for dating since I didn't know the date of my LMP, 12 weeks for the NT (which I regretted immediately and was pressured into getting. It's part of why I ultimately switched providers.), and one at 21 weeks for the AS. 
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    andreachristine81andreachristine81 member
    l4rk said:

    You're also going to find that people's location affects the number of ultrasounds. In Canada, the standard is only one (or two if dating is needed) in the entire pregnancy, unless there are medical complications. So that's a whole country's worth of posts that will talk about having only a couple ultrasounds. And the reason is because of our health care system/costs to the tax payers, not because of health risks.

    I live in Canada and had one at 5 weeks (early), one at 8 weeks, another at 12, 19, 20, 21 and 23. Before my pregnancy was considered high risk the 8, 12 and 19 were all scheduled by my doctor... I am not sure it depends on your location as much as it depends on your doctor. And as far as having too many ultrasounds, I don't think it is harmful for the baby. If they were 3D ultrasound places wouldn't even be legal and high risk pregnancies wouldn't have them every 2 weeks at the risk of harming the baby.


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    huntboyshuntboys member
    No worries ! I believe the baby is fine .. I am 24 weeks and I have had about 7 ultra sounds as well! Do to my short cervix so they have to monitor me once a week to make sure that my cervix measurements aren't dropping ! It's annoying at times because I am tired of going back and fourth to the hospital but I do love seeing my baby :) and again I don't think our doctors would putout Babies In Harms way or at Risk!! Just remain calm and let them do their job :) No worries :)
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    mpdeling212mpdeling212 member
    I hear you on that! I have to go and get a cervical length measure every 2 weeks since I was 15 weeks. It is tedious and I am frankly getting tired of it....but we do what we have to do for our babies. I also have to get a progesterone shot every week ontop of the US. This has been a rough ride.
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