Number of Ultrasound scans

Amik

Hi!

My wife has been visiting her GP and the hospital as per the pregnancy program here in Ireland. Does anyone know how many ultrasounds she is entitled to under the program? She had one so far (she is not in her 3rd trimester.

Amik

By program I mean the HSE.

JDD

Hi - I assume she is going public? I.e. the care is free?

What hospital is she booked into? Holles St only give one scan at 20 weeks. Different hospitals have different policies on scans.

Amik

@JDD: Exactly, public. She's visiting University College Hospital in Galway.

Ayla

Completely depends on hospital & how her preg progresses, but most people have 1-2 scans. There will only be more if a problem is diagnosed, the hosp has a routine habit of scanning frequently, or if you pay for it (ie: go private).

Amik

Thank you both! Looks like she'll only have the one.

galah

I don't think there's an 'entitlement' as such - I was in UHG, and ended up having several scans - but all late in the third trimester due to various complications.

The first 'official' scan was at week 20, although I've heard of other people who got that scan a little earlier. But unless there are any complications, that's pretty much it in terms of scans.

Good luck!

JDD

I'm afraid I haven't a clue on that one as I live in Dublin. Their website isn't much use either. I'd give them a call and see if they can answer your question.Remember you can always get an early private scan for reassurance purposes. You'll have to pay around €100 for it though.

Amik

@JDD Yes, just for my wife's peace of mind I've found a private clinic that will do a very thorough scan for around 130.

I keep telling her not to worry but the care she has gotten from HSE is scaring her. Like today the doctor just touched her stomach and measured it for about 2 minutes and that was it. :P I keep telling her if there was something wrong they would give her the proper care.

JDD

It's normal for her to be nervous about everything at the start. I couldn't believe that my first hospital appointment wasn't until 12 weeks, and the next one wasn't for another 8 weeks after that! I'm also doing combined care, and I'm usually in and out of the doctor's surgery in five minutes. Urine test, blood pressure test, quick feel of the stomach (he listens to the heartbeat now but you can't do that with a Doppler until about 14 weeks) and out I go.

There's nothing really for the hospital/doctor to do in the first six months except intermittent monitoring and be there to answer your questions. I'm going public and I have to say I have no complaints about the care. They picked up on a small issue at my 20 week scan and booked me in for another scan at 34 weeks to make sure it had cleared up (it had). I have a work colleague who has gone private on her first, semi private on her second and has opted to go public on her third as she's realised that she was paying through the nose for consultant care when she really didn't need it.

Maternity care really comes into it's own in the last two months of pregnancy. Tell her she'll be sick and tired of the inside of her doctors surgery and the hospital once it gets to fortnightly/weekly appointments.

Buy her the What to Expect When Your Expecting book, and get her to register with one of the online forums like Rollercoaster.ie - they'll be able to answer the myriad of questions she'll have. And tell her to hang on in there until she gets to five months and they'll be paying far more attention to her then :-)

Ayla

Amik - how far along is the preg?

I ask b/c if you've already had one public scan you're probably already past the 5-month mark that JDD noted.

Truthfully, I was surprised as the casualness of the checkups, but if there are no indications otherwise (ie: urine/heart/blood pressure are all fine & your wife isn't experiencing any unusual pains or symptoms) then there isn't much to be done at the appointments. The doctor will feel the belly for a couple minutes (if that long!) just to check the size & position of the baby, and might listen to baby's heartbeat for a minute using a small handheld machine.

If any red flags go up that something is amiss then the care becomes more in-depth, but if all's casual & quick then be comforted that everything's fine.

holidaygirl

Have a look at the attached for some information on what she might be able to expect from uhg. http://www.bump2babe.ie/women_children_directorate_uhg/services/early_pregnancy/#faqs

I'm been public on all my pregnancies, this is my third pregnancy. The amount of scans have varied depending on the pregnancy. My first ended in mc, second was pretty straight forward until week 37. This one has been eventful from the start. On my second pregnancy as a result of the mc, I had an extra scan at 8 weeks, this was offered by the hospital, I had 2 further scan's up to week 37. Gp visits were very quick, weight, bp, urine check and checking of the bump. This pregnancy I have had 6 scans so far, and am due another one this week due to a low lying placenta that was noted at my first scan and some issues as a result of that. The "norm" in my hospital is one at booking in visit between 12-14 weeks and one in the last few weeks.

Neyite

I'm 17 weeks and public in Galway.

I was told by my GP not to expect a scan until about week 20 -23. However I got 2 private scans in Galway Fertility Clinic at 7 & 9 weeks for 100 a scan.

Due to a pre-existing prolactin issue the Maternity Endocrinology professor called me in for a checkup at week 11 anyway, and I happened to have a scan then, but that was pure chance. But as far as I have heard around here you get one scan if you are an uncomplicated pregnancy and thats about from 20 weeks onwards.

We got a doppler from week 12 so we could listen to the heartbeat at home. My GP said they were not harmful however can cause panic if baby is well insulated and you cant find the heartbeat so if you are going to get one get a good one so you dont freak out. Ours is a Hi-Bebe and was about €130 if I recall.

Amik

THANK YOU for all your replies!

Just to give my wife some peace of mind (+ have a good look at the baby! ) We've booked a quite thorough scan at a local private clinic.