Redo Ultrasound?

Dear Tiara,

I had the same issue with my daughter when I was about 19-20 weeks along. She was very "camara shy" so to speak. I schedules a follow up ultrasound a week later. She did a lot better that week because I was able to see all of the necessary bone structures, therefore everything was cleared up and I was to have a baby girl. Some babies just don't want to cooperate. My advice is to schedule another ultrasound in about a week or two. Also try to schedule the appointment at a time of the day when the baby isn't normally active. It might be a little easier if the kiddo is asleep to get the images needed. I know it was that way with my two boys that followed my daughter! =) Take care and I hope all goes well!

Sincerely,
C.

Tiara,
I wouldn't worry. I am a sonographer, and this happens frequently enough. Babies are not known for their compliance. We do live in a litigious world with malpractice fee's that are out of this world. Better safe than sorry for the Doctor's reading the study. As far as ultrasound creating heat, it does when using high power levels. These power levels have been scrutinized and studied for years and the ones used for diagnostic exams of babies are restricted to the lowest levels possible. I hope this helps. Take care.
C.

Don't panic, with both of my kids I had to have the ultrasound redone. With my daughter I had one at 19 weeks, 21 weeks and again at 25 weeks. They could not get in to stay in the correct position long enough. With my son it was the same thing, he stayed in a very strange position until about 2 weeks before my due date. I was nervous also when they said I had to have it redone but I found out that it happens alot especially when the first one is done before the 20 week mark.

Tiara,

My general philosophy about stress/worry is not to do it until there is real reason to. Always assume the best until you KNOW different. I think you are jumping the gun here. Hang in there!

K.

Sounds to me like they really just could not see her spine enough to make sure! Stay positive, my ultrasounds never gave us a hint that something was wrong with my son...45 minutes old, my sister in law saved his life. Just stay positive and ask questions! We'll be praying for y'all!

Dear Tiara,
I think they probably just couldn't get a good view. I had several ultrasounds, and I remember them saying that my son wasn't giving them an easy time with certain things they needed to see. I wouldn't worry, though I know it's easier said than done.

Yes, I have two kids and it happened to me both times I went in for my first ultrasound. According to my technician I wasn't really quite at 19 weeks (my first child I was at 17-almost 18 weeks and with my second at a little over 18 weeks). They said that the baby is in a better position at closer to 20 weeks - at least that was what I was told. Anyway, both of my kids are just fine - with no issues. Try not to worry about it and enjoy getting to see your new little one another time.

My first child had SIX ultrasounds! And she was (and is) super healthy...but they were worried about all sorts of things...her head, her spine, her size...and in the end, they estimated her size at 10.5 lbs. at LEAST. She was 8! I would not be worried in the slightest that you are having another one. It wasn't until the sixth one that they could even see her gender (she kept crossing her legs), and ultrasounds are inexact on the best days.

Take care, and don't worry! Good luck with your pregnancy! Your daughter is due three days after mine was...Crystal came a week early (thank goodness).

Tiara, I am a perinatal ultrasound specialist and I know for a fact that this happens all the time. The best way to evaluate the spine is with the spine up and not all babies are totally cooperative when you go in for your anatomy scan. So don't worry. This is very common. The majority of the time if there is a major spinal defect there is usually brain anomolies as well. So relax. Things are probably fine and look forward to getting to see your baby again. T.

With my first son the doggone ultrasound technician's would've driven me to a nervous break down if I had let them! At EVERY single appointment the tech would tell me that some specific feature was a "possible sign of Down Syndrome." (Because of a specific genetic disorder, I had a CVS in my 11th week. Since they already had the genetic material I authorized a test for Down Syndrome too. The test came back negative so I knew he didn't have Down Syndrome.) I had a friend who was pregnant at the same time, and SHE was told that her baby looked like he only had one kidney. (He was born with two!)

Your baby is almost certainly perfect. They're just being ultra cautious. (And in our sue-happy country, they need to be!)