How many sonograms have you had ?

[Anonymous]

I have had just one. I am 37. The one we had was great and baby looked great but I am shocked due to my age they are not ordering another one. Is this normal or is my doctor just cheap ? I asked in my last appointment and my dr. said there was no medical reason for one.

[Anonymous]

I am a little younger than you are (35), but I only had one for both my pregnancies. It seems to really depend on your OB. Some do more as a matter of course, some do only one unless there is another reason for one. As long as you are having a normal pregnancy, I don't know why your age would warrant another one.

[Anonymous]

It also depends on your insurance. Some only allow one sono unless there is a health issue and another is warranted.

[Anonymous]

I am 30 and 28 weeks pregnant in what is so far a risk-free pregnancy. I've had three routine sonograms -- one at eight weeks for dating and viability purposes, one at 12 weeks as part of the first trimester screen, and one at 20 weeks. I expect to have another routine one at 35+ weeks, too, I think.

[Anonymous]

I'm 35 and have had 3. The first one at 8 weeks to check progress/heartbeat etc, then the "big" one at 20 weeks. That would have been it, but the baby wasn't cooperating so I had to go back for a follow up for a couple of other measurements the following week. I'm attempting a VBAC and had a huge baby last time, so they might order one more at around 36 weeks to check the size.

[Anonymous]

I am the 2nd poster. I think it also depends on whether the OB has the equipment in their office or not - mine does not and you have to go to another dr. in the building for sonograms, so that is probably another reason why he only does one.

[Anonymous]

I'm 38 weeks now and have had two, one in the beginning as part of the first trimester screen and then the 20 week sonogram.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who has had three so far -- and my doctor has not performed any of them. The equipment is in his same office building, but I've scheduled a separate appointment for each. For two of them, only the u/s tech was present, and for the twelve-week one (the first trimester screen), another OB was there to read the results.

[Anonymous]

I am 11 weeks pregnant and 29 years old. I had a sono at 7 weeks for dating purposes ( I had NO clue I was pregnant) then I will have one at 12 weeks for 1st trimester screening (this is a new recommendation by ACOG for more indepth screening for trisomy and other genetic problems) and then I will have one at 20 weeks for structure check. My last pregnancy (my son is 8 months old) I had one for dates at 8 weeks, one at 20 weeks and then again at 36 weeks (baby was measuring big) I didn't do one at 12 weeks with this pregnancy because it wasn't an ACOG standard yet. Hope this helps-

[Anonymous]

Bottom line is, it totally depends on your OB. Some are fine with one, some schedule more than one. I don't think your dr. is being cheap since often times you go to another dr. all together for it and your OB makes nothing from the sonogram.

[Anonymous]

I'll have had 6:

1 at 9 weeks to check for viability, since I was going out of the country
1 at 13 weeks as part of the nuchal fold genetic screening
1 at 20 weeks (the big one)
1 at around 28 weeks to check on the dermoid they found on my left ovary at the 20 week ultrasound
1 at 29 weeks, at a specialist's, to check on the dark spot on the placenta they found when checking on the dermoid
Finally, will have 1 at 36 weeks to check the baby's position in preparation for delivery

So, I had some extra because of a few weird (but totally non-threatening) things going on in my body. Each time they were ordered as medical necessities, so insurance will cover them.

[Anonymous]

I am 38 and had 4.
First one to confirm the date (no idea I was pregnant)
Second one for nuchal fold measure (14 weeks pregnant)
Third one at 20 weeks
Fourth one the other day (I am 38.5 weeks). I have to say this was because I had to wait for a long time before my OB saw me and when I told her I was really curious of the baby's position. It was just a quick look and she only looked at the position and nothing else. I have to say that I had an amnio which was ok so perhaps that's why they're not looking at anything else.
Maybe you should just ask for one and pay for it?

[Anonymous]

I am 37 yo and 33 weeks preggo, last sono I had was at 20 weeks and was surprised to find out no more are planned unless they suspect baby is breech. I was even in a car accident (car totaled!) and thought for sure they would do a sono - but nope, her heartbeat was fine, I wasn't contracting so no sono. We did IVF so had a number of sonos before we graduated. I really miss seeing her!

[Anonymous]

My doc says insurance will only pay for those medically necessary, in my case (healthy, 30 years old), no more than 2 unless something happens. I think, however, there are doctors who abuse this to (1) appease nervous moms and (2) increase their fees. During my last pregnancy I considered switching practices and went to meet a highly-recommended doc who said he will do sonos at every visit and just submit a 'reason' to insurance (presumably pretty easy to gin one up) - that made me uncomfortable (it is insurance fraud and drives up the cost of medical care for everyone else) so I never went back. I hope insurance companies wise up to this sort of thing so less fortunate women can maybe get their one or two sonos, rather than a small handful of well-off and insured women get as many as they want.

[Anonymous]

For the 33weeker...you'll see her SOON ENOUGH!

I've had three so far -- 8w, 12w and 20w.